Minimum tools to get started?

[Fattlestar]

I have an IGO-L on the way and I've been searching to find the tools I need to get started with it. There seem to be a lot of suggestions for things that I'm not sure I need, and I'm on a budget this month (still recovering from the holiday!)

So far I know I need these:

Something to wrap on? (What's the cheapest option? Drill bits? Screwdriver? Nail?)

Tweezers (Steel? This is to tighten the coil when it's hot, right?)

Nail Clippers or Wire Cutters (I have clippers, no cutters. Is this enough for now?)

Ohms / Volt meter (have the eleaf one on the way)

Kanthal (What should I be getting to start with? 30g? 28g?)

Wick (Where should I start? Cellucotton/Rayon? Organic cotton? "Cotton Bacon"? I DON'T want to have to boil anything).

What else do I need? I'm not going to sub-ohm or anything and I'll probably be using it on an MVP or istick until I get my mech.

 

[twgbonehead]

Apart from the ohmmeter and Kanthal, you probably have stuff lying around for everything you need.
Either 30 or 28-gague Kanthal is a fine point to start from.
Coil on a small screwdriver or drill-bit, whatever you have that's a good size.
Nail clippers work fine.
I would recommend the Rayon, but if you're really tight, buy a bag of organic cotton balls from the drug store. (The rayon cellucotton is only commonly available in a 500' box ($12) or larger).

ETA: Forgot about the tweezers. Any metal tweezers, or needle-nose pliers should be fine.
HOWEVER, Don't squish the coil while you're firing it! The tweezers will short it out!!!

 

[Fattlestar]

Thanks twg. How about this, available in 5 or 10' - is this the right stuff?

100 Rayon 44060 Cellucotton Best Wick for RDA RTA Vapes Lot 5 10 15 25 50 Feet | eBay

 

[Raguvian]

I used to use drill bits, but I bought this last weekend and it's far better:

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-66-05...48079&sr=1-1&keywords=stanley+screwdriver+set

Comes with 1.4mm, 2mm, 2.4mm and 3.0mm screwdrivers, plus two philips head screwdrivers for tightening most RDA posts. It's much easier to wrap on the screwdrivers as you have something to hold onto instead of trying to keep a small drill bit steady with two fingers.

I use a two piece Revlon tweezer set. One is pointy and one is flat and both are great for squeezing the coil and for wicking. You might want to get ceramic tweezers if you want to fire the coil while squeezing and not short the coil, but I haven't really seen the need for one yet.

For cutting Kanthal, I would get some small diagonal cutting pliers, but nail clippers work just fine too. I also have a pair of scissors handy for cutting the wick.

As for the rayon, I don't have any experience with any yet, but I ordered what you've linked (Cellucotton 44060) and will be getting it today, hopefully.

This is a great thread for rayon if you haven't seen it already:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ck-better-flow-flavor-saturation-nic-hit.html

Apparently there's a couple different kinds to choose from.

 

[twgbonehead]

Thanks twg. How about this, available in 5 or 10' - is this the right stuff?

100 Rayon 44060 Cellucotton Best Wick for RDA RTA Vapes Lot 5 10 15 25 50 Feet | eBay

Yep. That's the stuff. Not a bad price with free shipping (although the guy's making a killing!) and even 5 feet will last quite a while....

 

[Fattlestar]

As to shorting the coil while firing/squeezing, I assume that won't happen as long as I stop firing before I squeeze the coil. Is this going to be an issue on a regulated device or all OK?

 

[twgbonehead]

As to shorting the coil while firing/squeezing, I assume that won't happen as long as I stop firing before I squeeze the coil. Is this going to be an issue on a regulated device or all OK?

All OK. Just don't be pushing the fire button while tweezing! (It's easier than you'd think to forget that part! Ask me how I know.....)

 

[Fattlestar]

Raguvian, thanks! I grabbed the screwdrivers.

I also ordered 20' of 100% Rayon Cellucotton (and a jeweler's magnifying visor to compensate my poor eyesight). I've already got some tweezers and nail clippers and the IGO-L is in the mail.

I ordered this Kanthal, hopefully it's the right stuff too.
25 ft 30 Gauge AWG A1 Kanthal Round Wire 0 25mm Resistance A 1 30g GA 25' | eBay

A little nervous about trying this, but the money is spent, so wish me luck. While I've watched a hundred videos on wrapping coils, the real thing will be a little more intimidating

 

[Raguvian]

Raguvian, thanks! I grabbed the screwdrivers.

I also ordered 20' of 100% Rayon Cellucotton (and a jeweler's magnifying visor to compensate my poor eyesight). I've already got some tweezers and nail clippers and the IGO-L is in the mail.

I ordered this Kanthal, hopefully it's the right stuff too.
25 ft 30 Gauge AWG A1 Kanthal Round Wire 0 25mm Resistance A 1 30g GA 25' | eBay

A little nervous about trying this, but the money is spent, so wish me luck. While I've watched a hundred videos on wrapping coils, the real thing will be a little more intimidating

Great! The screwdrivers make wrapping coils extra easy. Just start with a simple single coil and before you know it you'll be doing twisted coils and other more complex builds!

Just for future reference, Lightning Vapes sells Kanthal on amazon for really cheap:

http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Light...e=UTF8&qid=1420654994&sr=8-5&keywords=kanthal

100 feet for $5 with Prime shipping. I usually eBay everything for my supplies, but kanthal is extremely cheap on amazon.

 

[Stosh]

If you're making your wick small and loose enough 5' of rayon should last a year or two....

I started coiling on a round wooden toothpick for vivi-nova and evod coils, screwdriver works well for a RDA. If you wind the coils close enough and tight enough, squeezing the coil is not even necessary.

For my Orchid RTA an open coil with rayon works extremely well even at only 10 watts, clouds. flavor and ease of build.

 

[Fattlestar]

If you're making your wick small and loose enough 5' of rayon should last a year or two....

I started coiling on a round wooden toothpick for vivi-nova and evod coils, screwdriver works well for a RDA. If you wind the coils close enough and tight enough, squeezing the coil is not even necessary.

For my Orchid RTA an open coil with rayon works extremely well even at only 10 watts, clouds. flavor and ease of build.

Well then the 20' should be good, because I'm bound to waste some in experimenting for the first time

I DO want to move to RTA's instead of my Nautilus style clearos, but I went with the IGO-L just to see if I could manage to build a coil or not, kind of the "gateway" to getting away from stock coils. If all goes well, I'll probably be asking about which RTA to get (although I think Lemo, Kayfun, and Orchid are pretty well reviewed, just not sure which for a beginner). Also of course I need to wait until next month or so for that, vape budget is obliterated for January heh.

 

[Fattlestar]

Great! The screwdrivers make wrapping coils extra easy. Just start with a simple single coil and before you know it you'll be doing twisted coils and other more complex builds!

Just for future reference, Lightning Vapes sells Kanthal on amazon for really cheap:

Amazon.com: Genuine Lightning Vapes Kanthal 30 Gauge AWG A1 Wire 100ft Roll .254mm 8.36 Ohms/ft Resistance: Everything Else

100 feet for $5 with Prime shipping. I usually eBay everything for my supplies, but kanthal is extremely cheap on amazon.

I have Lightning Vapes bookmarked, great stuff, will have to shop there once I've settled into rebuildables!

 

[twgbonehead]

Raguvian, thanks! I grabbed the screwdrivers.

I also ordered 20' of 100% Rayon Cellucotton (and a jeweler's magnifying visor to compensate my poor eyesight). I've already got some tweezers and nail clippers and the IGO-L is in the mail.

I ordered this Kanthal, hopefully it's the right stuff too.
25 ft 30 Gauge AWG A1 Kanthal Round Wire 0 25mm Resistance A 1 30g GA 25' | eBay

A little nervous about trying this, but the money is spent, so wish me luck. While I've watched a hundred videos on wrapping coils, the real thing will be a little more intimidating

Don't stress about it! Yes, it's not quite as easy as it looks on youtube (those guys have probably wound hundreds of coils, so they have lots of practice!) Don't get frustrated if the first couple don't come out perfect; with just a little practice you'll get the hang of it!

By the way, if you find that you want to try a lower-resistance build, you can twist 2 strands of 30-gague together and get something that's close to 27 gauge. 3 strands makes it close to 25 gauge. (Not exactly, because the twisted wire is shorter than the original wire you started with, due to the twisting!) You can't (obviously) go the other way, unless you're really good at splitting hairs!

 

[Fattlestar]

Don't stress about it! Yes, it's not quite as easy as it looks on youtube (those guys have probably wound hundreds of coils, so they have lots of practice!) Don't get frustrated if the first couple don't come out perfect; with just a little practice you'll get the hang of it!

By the way, if you find that you want to try a lower-resistance build, you can twist 2 strands of 30-gague together and get something that's close to 27 gauge. 3 strands makes it close to 25 gauge. (Not exactly, because the twisted wire is shorter than the original wire you started with, due to the twisting!) You can't (obviously) go the other way, unless you're really good at splitting hairs!

I'll give that a shot if I end up needing to. I do have 3' of 28g kanthal coming with another order, so I can try that as well.

I keep seeing people using torches, do I absolutely need a butane torch? Or is firing the coil enough to clean it up before wicking?

 

[twgbonehead]

Firing it will do the job. If you want to torch it ahead of time, you can do that on a gas stove. Not usually necessary, although it can take some of the springiness out.

 

[Stosh]

Firing it before wicking will clean up the coil and show if it is heating up evenly.
All the coils should glow at about the same time = good coil job.

 

[twgbonehead]

Firing it before wicking will clean up the coil and show if it is heating up evenly.
All the coils should glow at about the same time = good coil job.

Yes, you should always fire it before wicking in any case (using your mod). But I thought the question was about pre-torching before you coil, which you only really do to make it coil easier. Pre-torching is always optional and a lot of people just don't bother.

Also, btw, you DON'T dry-burn rayon or cotton! (They will burn). Dry-burning when wicked only works with silica and stuff like that. Get your coil firing nicely BEFORE you wick, and get the wick well soaked before you fire it again. (Just making sure!)

 

[Stosh]

Yes, you should always fire it before wicking in any case (using your mod). But I thought the question was about pre-torching before you coil, which you only really do to make it coil easier. Pre-torching is always optional and a lot of people just don't bother.

Also, btw, you DON'T dry-burn rayon or cotton! (They will burn). Dry-burning when wicked only works with silica and stuff like that. Get your coil firing nicely BEFORE you wick, and get the wick well soaked before you fire it again. (Just making sure!)

You're giving away the secrets we learned the hard way.....

 

[twgbonehead]

You're giving away the secrets we learned the hard way.....

Yeah... The one I really learned the hard way was "Don't tweeze your coil while you're firing it". Nice coil, glowing bright orange, just needed a little tweak...........POOF! Fortunately it just blew the leg off! (The coil leg, not mine!) I knew better, but was lost in the moment.....

ETA: For once I was glad that my eyesight is bad enough that I can't coil without my readin' glasses!

 

[Fattlestar]

I ordered these (as they are usually 20$ for one, Fasttech just put them out for 6.82$ for all three) as well. When they show up in a month they might make coiling a little easier Pretty cool, check out the Rip Tripper review of them.

$6.82 Kuro Koiler Wire Coiling Tool (3-Piece Set) - CW-20 + CW-25 + CW-30 at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping