I had a lot of grief trying to make clapton wire in the beginning because I would constantly do well for 4-5 inches then have the wire wrap back onto itself. Then I made use of a swivel and started using wire still on the spool for my outer. When wire is coming directly off the spool it tends to have less imperfections, and imperfections can really bite you in the ass when you haven't perfected your technique yet. A spool also helps because the spool itself becomes a tension point for the outer wire. I don't think there's any one magic way that works for everyone, it's kind of this thing you can get tips on and then you just gotta master your own craft so to be speak. I will say, once you venture into specialty builds like claptons, helix wire, track coils, staple coils and things of the like, round wire builds just don't satisfy you anymore. Another key factor is keeping the perfect amount in tension in all the right places. Not too much, not too little, and it always has to be in the right place.
It can be overwhelmingly frustrating in the beginning, but once you get the craft down you can bang out ten feet of wire in just minutes like you were born to. But when you start out, you are GOING to fuck up, and you're going to fuck up a lot. You're going to fuck up when you've gotten good at it, it's just part of it. I remember spending sometimes two hours sitting there fucking up attempt after attempt and I began to just think I'd never get there. But if you keep at it, you do.
Your rhythm will vary on two things, how good your hand/eye coordination is for keeping tension on the right spots and what drill speeds you use most. To this day I try to avoid just hammering down the drill trigger because every time I get overly confident is when I fuck up the most, but you also don't want to go so slow every clapton wire session lasts twenty minutes for just a few feet.
The best way to look at it outside of the box, is to think of forces. You have wire going onto thicker wire, wrapping length by length side by side. Depending on the speed, which determines how fast the wraps happen, you'll need to modify your hand lean in the direction of the wraps. Too far, your wraps will gap out, too close, your wire will wrap over itself. There's a perfect 'lukewarm' zone of hand lean, tension and drill speed that you kind of just have to discover for yourself because everyone does things just a little different. A good thing to do is to prevent your tension point (like the spool) on the outer wrap to not be too close to the wire or too far away. There's a middle point that makes it easier. Too far out, and you'll have to lean into the direction more, too close and even the slightest leans can cause gaps.
As stupid as this may sound, when you hit your rhythm, you kind of become one with your drill speed. Leaning at just the right angle, with the right amount of tension, moving your hand along at just the right speed as your drill spins faster. You do eventually kind of go zen when doing it, your focus becomes unbelievable when you do this long enough.
