Helix Question

[ralph029]

Look, I get it... I'm old, my eyes are shot, and I should invest in a magnifying glass (don't get too high and mighty young ones, your time will come )

Does anyone have any tricks to ensure when building helix wire that you get the wire in all three grooves (yes it was a triple twist) and not overlap?

 

[whiteowl84]

I work with high gauge wire doing SSFCs and can't see it. You need to develop a feel for it.
The best way to do a helix is to straighten one long piece and fold it in half. Twist from the open end then hook the loop on the swivel. Get the first wrap started by just wraping it with the drill. Get the wire in the groove and keep the spool at that angle with good tension. If you do one full speed and keep the angle with good tension it won't pop out.

 

[ralph029]

I work with high gauge wire doing SSFCs and can't see it. You need to develop a feel for it.
The best way to do a helix is to straighten one long piece and fold it in half. Twist from the open end then hook the loop on the swivel. Get the first wrap started by just wraping it with the drill. Get the wire in the groove and keep the spool at that angle with good tension. If you do one full speed and keep the angle with good tension it won't pop out.

I was pretty successful with a two wire helix. I could feel that one better. I think that you are 100% correct and it's all about the feel for it. I would imagine that I'll waste quite a bit of wire learning this one.

 

[ralph029]

Just as a follow up, my first run at a two strand helix wrapped at a 2 mm for my Magma RDA came in at 0.12 ohms and is giving off some damn tasty vapor. My camera on my phone couldn't do it justice.