You are on page 1of 5

Alternative

This is an alternative to purchasing the bifilar coils already wound and cored. This alternative is
more difficult and time consuming than simply ordering the coils already wound and cored.

Hand winding jig.


My hand-built jig for hand winding a coil consists of the following parts when loaded:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Round tubing in a T shape (to hold the source wire spool.)


Round tubing (to hold the target spool.)
Source wire spools.
Target spool.
Mechanism to hold the wire taught.
Mechanism to permit turning the spool.
Mechanism to prevent the wire from unwinding during the wind.
Counter.

Tubing
There are essentially two tubes, the source wire tube and the target spool tube.
This picture is taken from below the target spool looking
up to the source spools.
In my case, the tubing was a part of a wheel chair and
happened to be exactly the right diameter so that the wire
spools could fit over them and turn freely during the wind.
I do not know any other sources for this type of tubing as
Ive not needed to find any but Im sure they are
available.
In both cases, one end of the tubes is affixed to a shelf and
the work bench; the other end with the spools on them is
extended out over the respective edges so that the source
wire spools and target spool can turn freely.

Source Wire Tube


The source wire tube holds two spools being the two weights of
wire used for the bifilar coil, #23 and #26. As noted above, my
source wire tube is in a T shape.
The source wire coils are on each end of the top of the T. The
stem of the T holds the source wire spools separate from each
other and provides a means to fasten the unit to the bench or a
shelf as the case may be.

Page 1 of 5

At the two ends of the top of the T, I used spring clamps to ensure the source wire spools do not work
themselves off the tubing onto the floor. That can be a real mess to clean up and the wire is essentially
ruined. These spring clamps also had rubber ends which, with a little care, can be pushed up against the
source wire spools enough to prevent the spools from turning too quickly.

Target Spool Tube


The target spool tube is much
simpler as it is holding only one
spool.
In my case, I was able to obtain
a curved tube with a springloaded nipple on one end. I
added a rubber washer held on
with electrician tape. The
nipple and washer prevented
the spool from moving during
the wind.
In the alternative, a straight
tube would suffice with clamps
on both ends to stop the spool
from falling off during the
wind.

Source Wire
I purchased source wire from a local electronics supply shot. They did not have the magnetic
wire I wanted and so I had to settle for a slightly different size but still within the tolerances as
described in the parts list.
I have just purchased bulk wire from "Truth-In-Heart" found at http://rpmgt.org/order.html, and
have yet to use the bulk wire to wind a coil. Obviously the size of the holes in the source wire
spools is likely larger than that in the small source wire spools Ive been using. This may
necessitate finding different size tubing to hold the large bulk spools.

Page 2 of 5

Target Spool
For the spools, I use the white plastic spools sold by "Truth-In-Heart" found at
http://rpmgt.org/order.html. I purchased 10 spools.

Mechanism to hold the wire taught


This takes some fiddling and depends on how your tubing is set up. As shown above, the source
wire spools are held in place with clamps that have rubber ends. Careful placement ensures the
wire is taught but not tight. It doesnt need to be very tight, just tight enough to so that the wire
is going on the target spool relatively tightly.
But the source wire spools are only one end of the wire. The other end is the target spools as
shown in the picture below. The placement of the spring clamp was used to keep a slight
pressure on the wire preventing it from unwinding.

Mechanism to Permit Turning the Target Spool.


Ive used two different systems. The first was to drill a hold into the end of the target spool into
which I placed a 4 inch long, round headed bolt (round head facing inwards towards the wire).
This worked fairly well, but I was concerned about catching the wire on the rounded head.
For the second system, I used a long spring
clamp (as opposed to a carpenters C clamp.)
I attached this clamp to the lip of the end of the
spool and turned it, thereby turning the target
spool. This also required some fiddling when
the wire got to the end of the spool onto which
this clamp was attached. At this point I
removed the clamp, turned the spool by hand
until the wire had travelled away from the
clamp end and then replaced the clamp.
It should be noted that this clamp had enough
weight to keep the wire from the source wire
taught if stopped in the right place.

Page 3 of 5

Mechanism to prevent the wire from unwinding during the wind.


Holding the wire taught is the main way to prevent the wire from
unwinding. But there are times during the wind when one will need
the use of ones hands. Some means had to be found to prevent the
wire from unwinding.
I used a small spring clamp which I clamped on the wire coming
from the source wire spools to the side of the target spool.

Counter
Im sure there are some fancy counters out there. I counted out loud and marked an x for
every 20 turns onto a piece of wood with a black marker. This number happened to be the
number of turns I could rely on not being interrupted. I tried to ensure I kept track of the number
of turns required for the source wire to travel the length of the target spool one way. I say tried
to because this number changes as wire is wound onto the target spool. At first the number is
over 100, but at the end it is under 80.
Stopping to mark my x, or to deal with any interruption required I keep track of which
direction the wire was travelling as I wound it on the coil (towards the bottom or towards the
top.) Youd be amazed how difficult it is to find this out by simply looking after a few hundred
winds. Short of unwinding 10 or so winds of wire, visual inspection was not helpful.

Preparation
Using a black permanent marker, I marked one end of the
empty white plastic spool "bottom" and drew a circular
arrow in the counter-clockwise direction.
I marked the other end of the white plastic spool "top" and
drew a circular arrow in the clockwise direction. This
leaves no room for confusion on.

Page 4 of 5

Youll note on the diagram at the left, which is


available from the files section of the
Bedini_Monopole3 site, the bottom of the spool is
where the winding starts. Youll also notice it
suggests ending the winding as near to the top of
the coil as possible.
The words top and bottom are with reference
to the coils position when mounted below the rotor
wheel also drawn in the sketch.
Youll also note the wires may be twisted. This
is NOT the same as Litzing. I do not twist the wire
as I have not figured out a way to incorporate that
into my jig though it wouldnt be difficult.

So I now have the source wire tube loaded with the source wire on spools and spring clamps
carefully adjusted to keep the source wire spools taught, but not too tight.
I left about 12 inches of wire loose (not wound into the spool). I taped this loose wire to the
bottom end of the spool so it is out of the way.) For my first coil, I made the mistake of not
leaving enough loose wire. I need more wire to properly connect the coil to the circuit. I tried
pulling the wire out from the wound spool and, as I pulled on it, I broke it. The coil and all that
wire was useless. I could not find where the break was or arrange things to unwind the spool
without crimping the wire. So take my word for it and leave 12 inches of wire loose.
I started winding at the spools end marked "bottom", winding the wire counter-clockwise as
viewed from the bottom clockwise as viewed from the top. It requires 8 or 9 passes up and
down the length of the spool to get the 850 winds recommended.
Manually turning the target spool (by turning the spring clamp) was how I wound the coil. One
hand was turning the target spool; the other hand was guiding the wire from the source wire
spools. Obviously this elementary system did not permit me to twist the two wires coming from
the source wire spools. That would require some means of turning the T shaped tubing. It is
something I may do, but for now this system is sufficient.
Thats it and the rest can only be learned by trying it.

Page 5 of 5

You might also like