Eish....aliens

Smoke_A_Llama

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So friend challenged me to try make some aliens, watched a few vids and attempted for the first time today... first cm was perfect... until I moved the key ring up and well it kept going to k@k... soon as it started biting again I had to move that ring up

So any alternatives to keep the wires parallel with out the key ring ? Swivels seem to only help me so much

Definitely suspect that I need to work on my angle
175B9657-7E7C-482C-8BAC-CFC2B1423C8F.png 74B62951-96FF-477F-A299-21F3BCB9C04F.png
 
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Here is the vid showing how the design works, pop him a PM, maybe he can help out with some info

 
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Makes a lot of sense , issue is I’ve only got two hands so will still have to stop to move it and start again suppose it’s just going to take take practice but those will prevent kinks from happening :confused:
 
Or just buy some alien wire, cut off a section and show it to your friend, claiming you did it, if he asks to watch you do it just say you dont have time or something ;):rofl:
 
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Or just some some alien wire, cut off a section and show it to your friend, claiming you did it, if he asks to watch you do it just say you dont have time or something ;):rofl:

Considered that.... but now it’s a matter of personal pride, I may be slightly masochistic :-D
 
Luckily haven’t had that issue with my fused but think the beads will make it easier... yeah agree with the practice part, definitely didn’t expect it to work the first time like all my other builds :-D
 
@Christos - i think i need to come spend a morning with you and help you build me some aliens
Maybe i can help with something else - like cleaning your bb panels or something simple like that - in return...
Lol
 
@Christos - i think i need to come spend a morning with you and help you build me some aliens
Maybe i can help with something else - like cleaning your bb panels or something simple like that - in return...
Lol
Sure thing. I'm just running low on my spools of 38AWG.
 
How do you get the stretch right? I've been wanting to make aliens for a while now but I'm intimidated by that stretch. Everyone is so vague about it in their vids

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Errr experience. I make about 30cms of Clapton and then stretch it mildly.... by mildly I mean about 90cms to 1.3m. The trick is with each gauge the stretch it's different. With 38AWG I'm putting tension on the wire as I wrap so if it's not stretched enough the first few wraps are buggered and I can add more tension and it stretches on the fly.
 
How do you get the stretch right? I've been wanting to make aliens for a while now but I'm intimidated by that stretch. Everyone is so vague about it in their vids
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A very common tip people say is to stretch your Clapton till it loses its “spring” or basically when stretching lower your tension and you’ll see if it wants to go back or not, there definitely is a point where it decides to just chill.... well with 36 that is

But I’m still an appi with this build so take my advice with a pinch of salt :D
 

A very common tip people say is to stretch your Clapton till it loses its “spring” or basically when stretching lower your tension and you’ll see if it wants to go back or not, there definitely is a point where it decides to just chill.... well with 36 that is

But I’m still an appi with this build so take my advice with a pinch of salt :D
With 36 and 34 you have to stretch. Stretching on the fly will put too much tension on the inner core and bad results will occur.
You will get the feel for it after 2 or 3 trys.

Just persist and it happens. I still have a few blunders every so often but lately I waste more wire making triple core claptons than aliens!
 
20171202_020049.jpg
3x28ga\36ga Gasphase Ni80 4 wrap

I'm far from a Coil Building expert but I have wasted a butt ton of wire and learned the hard way.
Prep, prep, prep, check prep and then double check your prep. Proper prep of you core wires, swivel height and keeping them parallel are paramount to making a clean Alien.

The stretch, I've had many people tell me their method to getting the ideal stretch but failed miserably. By trial and error I worked out the ideal stretch by making a de-cored clapton, tying it to the desk clamp and walking backwards counting the tiles. For my Aliens it's a 40cm de-cored clapton stretched out 5 tiles or 40cm to +-2m. I like the wire to have some springyness to it and then I use my fingers to create some tension on the wrap as it Aliens. There's a satisfying rhythm you get into as the wire pulls through your fingers when you wrap the alien that lets me know it's going fine.

I use a few key rings placed along the wire length to keep them parallel as they turn. I used to have the same issue where everytime I had to stop to move a key ring down the wire, I'd mess up as I start up again. But with some practice you will got over that hurdle.
What works for me is to slow the drill or daedalus down then stop as I near the key ring, then start up slow and speed back up again.

I still have a long way to go before my Aliens are anywhere near as neat and tight as the pro's but I'm enjoying trying.

@Christos I have no idea how you manage to Alien with 38ga - my eyes can barely see the 36ga as I'm building...
 
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View attachment 115744
3x28ga\36ga Gasphase Ni80 4 wrap

I'm far from a Coil Building expert but I have wasted a butt ton of wire and learned the hard way.
Prep, prep, prep, check prep and then double check your prep. Proper prep of you core wires, swivel height and keeping them parallel are paramount to making a clean Alien.

The stretch, I've had many people tell me their method to getting the ideal stretch but failed miserably. By trial and error I worked out the ideal stretch by making a de-cored clapton, tying it to the desk clamp and walking backwards counting the tiles. For my Aliens it's a 40cm de-cored clapton stretched out 5 tiles or 40cm to +-2m. I like the wire to have some springyness to it and then I use my fingers to create some tension on the wrap as it Aliens. There's a satisfying rhythm you get into as the wire pulls through your fingers when you wrap the alien that lets me know it's going fine.

I use a few key rings placed along the wire length to keep them parallel as they turn. I used to have the same issue where everytime I had to stop to move a key ring down the wire, I'd mess up as I start up again. But with some practice you will got over that hurdle.
What works for me is to slow the drill or daedalus down then stop as I near the key ring, then start up slow and speed back up again.

I still have a long way to go before my Aliens are anywhere near as neat and tight as the pro's but I'm enjoying trying.

@Christos I have no idea how you manage to Alien with 38ga - my eyes can barely see the 36ga as I'm building...

Far as I’m concerned both you and @Christos are pros.... thanks for the advice... need to hunt down some more core wire before I can practice haha
 
Far as I’m concerned both you and @Christos are pros.... thanks for the advice... need to hunt down some more core wire before I can practice haha

Thanks for the compliment @Smoke_A_Llama but I still feel I'm very much a scholar in this game.
If your looking for wire, I buy all my wire from Gasphase at www.gasphase.co.za.
Not only is the quality of their wire great but the service from Angilo is 2nd to none.
His advise wrt to building and coiling has really helped me.

Staple wire orders for me from Gasphase would be:
Core wires-
26ga Ni80 25 grams 24metres (+-75feet) is R170
28ga Ni80 25 grams 38metres (=-120feet) is R300
Outer wires-
34ga Ni80 25 grams 170metres (=-550feet) is R300
36ga Ni80 25 grams 260metres (=-850feet) is R300
38ga Ni80 25 grams 370metres (=-120feet) is R353

Happy building :D
 
Thanks for the compliment @Smoke_A_Llama but I still feel I'm very much a scholar in this game.
If your looking for wire, I buy all my wire from Gasphase at www.gasphase.co.za.
Not only is the quality of their wire great but the service from Angilo is 2nd to none.
His advise wrt to building and coiling has really helped me.

Staple wire orders for me from Gasphase would be:
Core wires-
26ga Ni80 25 grams 24metres (+-75feet) is R170
28ga Ni80 25 grams 38metres (=-120feet) is R300
Outer wires-
34ga Ni80 25 grams 170metres (=-550feet) is R300
36ga Ni80 25 grams 260metres (=-850feet) is R300
38ga Ni80 25 grams 370metres (=-120feet) is R353

Happy building :D
Those prices are quite attractive!
 
Those prices are quite attractive!
Get yourself some Gasphase and try it out.
R353 for 1200 feet of 38ga Ni80 is a steal!

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