6 Filar Wire Twisting Tips?

[KarlSchmaltz]

Hi Everyone,

I recently watched Bedini Monopole Master Class 1, and when John is talking about winding the coil, he says to twist the wires together.

I decided to make a new SSG motor with a 6 filar coil. I ordered six wires, 320 feet each, and received them in the mail today. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on twisting them together when they are that long. Will I have to go to a football field and wind them with a drill? Or is there another work around for that kind of length? I read that twisted/Litz wire has "less resistance to the fast transients" and "causes self canceling fields". Is it worth while to twist them together? I know it'll be a pain in the ass to wind if I don't. All the previous coils I've made have been wound by hand because I don't have a jig (yet). I'd like to make this motor very precise and efficient, and to also follow what John Bedini says to do.

Any tips on how to twist the wires at that length would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, this new forum looks fantastic! This is way better than the Yahoo! Groups. Great work!

Thanks!

- Karl

[Ren]

Hi Karl,

While twisting offers its advantages the process of twisting can be somewhat difficult and problematic, especially without the correct equipment. Not to mention unneeded on the basic build. Infact, John Bedini has quite a few designs where he advises AGAINST twisting, as it will actually not be beneficial in those instances. For the beginners I would highly recommend 2 or 3 stranded coils MAX, no litzing (twisting) until you move onto more advanced builds. The price of copper alone can make litzing a daunting process, once twisted, your wires will never be the same again, straightening or removing kinks can be a real chore. If you must litz Erwins page here has a few tips on how he did it My First SG Replication. Some of the chaps in the past have built "litzing" machines to assist in keeping tension and twists equal.

320 feet is alot however, Id imagine you'd have to do it in sections, and you want to keep even tension on all wires an same amount of twists per inch for the whole 320ft. IMHO if this is your first build I would build a coil winding jig and try to wind all six wires onto the spool at once as neat as possible without the litz. Good luck and have fun.

Regards

[Marcia Stockton]

Here's how I do it. We have a big property here so there is plenty of room to stretch out the wires from an attachment point at a tree or fence. So I attach the wire at one end and set up some folding chairs or something to keep it up off the dirt, then tie it off on the other end to an object like a garden cart or tractor or another fence. I unreel the wire from a big spool and don't cut it until I have laid out all the strands that are needed.

Then get a cordless drill and some toothpicks, electrical tape, and wirecutters. Also a spool to wind the finished twisted wire on. Put all the small items in your back pocket, as you cannot go back to get them when you are holding twisted wire!

Place the ends of the wires into the drill chuck. Use the toothpicks as needed until you can tighten the chuck and the wires don't pull out. Tighten it hard! Now you can start operating the drill, slowly at first. The reason to keep the wires up off the ground is as they twist, they will pick up bits of debris that you don't want in the finished coil.

Be really careful not to allow any sharp bends or kinks in the wire, as these can short or break or cause problems. As you are twisting the wire, the whole thing will get shorter, and you will need to walk slowly toward the far end where the wires are attached to a fixed object.

There comes a point where the wire nearest you is very strongly twisted, and the wire at the far end is less strongly twisted. You may want to keep some tension on the wire bundle as you twist, but not too much or it will pull out of the chuck. Don't twist too far either, as the wires can break. There is a medium point that is good enough.

Now you will take the cord made from twisted wires out of the chuck carefully, start it on the empty spool, maybe secure the start with a piece of tape or to a hole in the spool, and carefully gather up the twisted wire onto the spool, avoiding debris and kinks. At the far end when you are done, I have found it best to cut the wire off the attachment point with the wirecutters in my back pocket, and secure the end with electrical tape until I'm ready to use it.

John has told me he uses Krazy Glue (the quick drying cyanoacrylate glue) on coils. I have used it and found it good. You just have to hold everything in place for a while while the glue sets. And don't get your fingers glued to it. :-)

Hope that helps. It's fun winding a new coil, but that's just the beginning of the fun.

Marcia

[KarlSchmaltz]

Thanks Ren and Marcia for your responses! I really appreciate it. I'll have to make a decision if I want to twist them or not. My yard is not near big enough, so I will have to go to a park or something.

This isn't my first Bedini motor. I've built a few of them before using items such as bike wheels, skateboard trucks, printer drive motors, I also built a window motor. The main reason I was building this new motor was to have a really good charger so I could do my 20 runs faster than using one of my smaller motors. My question is: are we still doing the 20 runs to be able to participate in the intermediate and advanced topics? If not, should I move on to a more intermediate motor to further advance my knowledge? Because of wire being so expensive, I'd like to get the most learning out of this next build. Does anyone have any suggestions? But on the other hand, if we are still doing the 20 runs, that is perfectly fine and I will continue my construction on it.

Thanks,

- Karl

[Ren]

Karl,

Just out of interest, what is the gauge of the wire you chose?

Regards

[KarlSchmaltz]

#23 power, #26 trigger.

[Tom C]

Karl,

you dont need so many strands, a single 23/26 combo is all you need for the vanilla SG build. save our wire for something else.

Tom C

[KarlSchmaltz]

Thanks Tom. Will do!