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Date Uploaded: January 8, 2006, 12:48 am Last Edited: August 7, 2012, 9:52 pm |
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Bootleg Power Winding
Article © MAIL User: ramenator
Most of the articles about power winding that I've seen on MAIL involve building something out of wood and clamping it down to a table, or something similar. For those of us who don't want to dink around with wood, here's a set of instructions for power winding (which is much easier on the hands) that doesn't require you to build anything.
I've used this method successfully on 18G (0.048") 1/4 hard stainless with no ill effects, but I haven't tried anything thicker or harder.
The supplies you will need are:
Wire
Knitting Needles
Cutters
Pliers
Duct Tape
Power Drill
You can do this on the living room floor if you want to, or pretty much anywhere.
Cut a length of wire and bend the end to look like this:
Insert your knitting needle into the loop thus:
Make sure it's big enough for the tip to fit in, but small enough that it won't slide down onto the needle.
Insert the needle and wire into the drill head point first:
And tighten the drill head down onto the needle, making sure the wire goes between the grippers, and not between the needle and the grippers.
Make sure the needle is stable in the drill head - you may need to push the wire downward into the drill head in order to get the grippers to tighten onto the needle. The wire should be able to move up and down just a little bit when it is fully tightened.
This would be a good time to use that duct tape:
I usually brace the drill against my leg, like this, with the wire in a position so it won't hit my face in the event that I accidentally let go and it springs back.
Pinch the wire up against the needle with your taped fingers thus:
And start the drill - SLOWLY at first so you can keep control of it:
Hold the wire onto the needle with consistent pressure from your fingers until you get to the end of the wire. When you do, hold it until you can put the drill in reverse for a couple rotations so it won't spring back and whip your hand.
And that's it! Just loosen the chuck, take out your needle and you've got a perfect coil that you can leave on the livingroom floor to annoy your parents!
I've used this method successfully on 18G (0.048") 1/4 hard stainless with no ill effects, but I haven't tried anything thicker or harder.
The supplies you will need are:
Wire
Knitting Needles
Cutters
Pliers
Duct Tape
Power Drill
You can do this on the living room floor if you want to, or pretty much anywhere.
Cut a length of wire and bend the end to look like this:
Insert your knitting needle into the loop thus:
Make sure it's big enough for the tip to fit in, but small enough that it won't slide down onto the needle.
Insert the needle and wire into the drill head point first:
And tighten the drill head down onto the needle, making sure the wire goes between the grippers, and not between the needle and the grippers.
Make sure the needle is stable in the drill head - you may need to push the wire downward into the drill head in order to get the grippers to tighten onto the needle. The wire should be able to move up and down just a little bit when it is fully tightened.
This would be a good time to use that duct tape:
I usually brace the drill against my leg, like this, with the wire in a position so it won't hit my face in the event that I accidentally let go and it springs back.
Pinch the wire up against the needle with your taped fingers thus:
And start the drill - SLOWLY at first so you can keep control of it:
Hold the wire onto the needle with consistent pressure from your fingers until you get to the end of the wire. When you do, hold it until you can put the drill in reverse for a couple rotations so it won't spring back and whip your hand.
And that's it! Just loosen the chuck, take out your needle and you've got a perfect coil that you can leave on the livingroom floor to annoy your parents!
Original URL: http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.php?key=374
