Post pictures of your working wick and coil setup

[SLIPPY_EEL]

Don't have one at the moment but that's an excellent example of a pin vise (the other kind). Slip if you have a link to a source appreciated. I use clamps to make fused t.m.c. flat wire but those would be far more secure. Most I find are quite clunky.

Didya ever try ceramic braid in one of those slip? Thing's churnin' some heat at the core. What are ya usin' for a wick, asbestos?

Good luck.

Nice work as always Mac

Muji cotton is my weapon of choice Mac, the hotter build prefer's a slightly tighter fit orelse the cotton just gets blown under pressure
I do use rayon vvvvery rarely but i find it makes the vape too hot as its a good supplier of juice, plus i'd be dripping even more often than already am.

I finally found that item you wanted, it took me a longlong time to find it again But anything for you Mac here ya go! .. Items in Tools N Tools UK shop on eBay.

 

[WharfRat1976]

Well I just surprised myself with how well this turned out. This is 2x26n80 alien'd w/ 34ka1 and stitched w/ 40n80 lightly flattened.
Going to try and do 26/36/40 now. Fun stuff.

Super, thanks for your awesome response and tips. After blowing 100' it can get frustrating. I have another spool of 36, I do not have any 34 and will definitely setup a swivel setup as the best way to keep my core wires straight as I alien over. I have watched that vid you recommended and the slow mo macro. I wrap under a lit magnifier lite so I can see it perfectly. The stretching of the decore'd wire is I think where I am failing. I have been out of town for 5 days so will give it another whirl when I get home. Thanks again.

 

[WharfRat1976]

So super, for a 2x26g using 36g alien you would wrap the 36g clapton over 28g core? I have been using the 26g for my clapton core...is that my issue or part of it?

 

[Uncletattoowhat]

Attempt number 3 trying the alien today (this was attempt number 6 for today though). Finally got one solid inch and ran out. 3x26n80 and 34n80

How does one get the 3 strands to be parallel to the point they stop twisting on top of each other when wrapping the outside? Tried taping, swivels, straight up. No luck.

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

Unfortunately i have to buy clones lol i have 3x velocitys from ft But with all their stuff you have to change the screws or grubs or yeah you will get probs with rusting, yellowing onto your wick and screw/grub heads rounding off, ive had zero probs

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

you can even wrap them aliens a little loose and then just snug the wraps up together after.

as for keeping the three wires parallel, you know how you sort of hold your finger on the wires that are spinning to guide the clapton well you can sort of hold the part that has already just been aliened unless you dont hold
but i dont even alien with 3 wires parallel like that, i have each wire in its own segment of the chuck and then as i alien they come together but it sounds easier i suppose!?!


edit: i do it like LocalVape on youtube

 

[Superfecta_]

So super, for a 2x26g using 36g alien you would wrap the 36g clapton over 28g core? I have been using the 26g for my clapton core...is that my issue or part of it?

Yes.

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

fused clap 2x 24g ss317l + 32g 2.5mm id 0.07ohm

below is showing i cut the airflow control from the zephyr allowing the coils to get closer to the edge of the atty making it much better

and i thought i'd sneak this pic in of the family

 

[WharfRat1976]

Attempt number 3 trying the alien today (this was attempt number 6 for today though). Finally got one solid inch and ran out. 3x26n80 and 34n80View attachment 487898

How does one get the 3 strands to be parallel to the point they stop twisting on top of each other when wrapping the outside? Tried taping, swivels, straight up. No luck.

At least you got an inch. Do 1 and a half wraps and vape on LOL.

 

[WharfRat1976]

I'm gonna try hand wrapping an alien. Anyone ever tried it...lol

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

personally i need the speed of the drill to get the alien, its like if you stop halfway through you can lose the link, you need that constant slight tension that the spin gives.

i just been playing about and i clapton'd onto 24g, decored it and wrapped it over 3x 26g and it works much better than using a decored 26g over 3x 26g, but the key is not to pull the clapton apart to much, maybe right angles is about right( as you look at the springs or zigzags)

 

[WharfRat1976]

personally i need the speed of the drill to get the alien, its like if you stop halfway through you can lose the link, you need that constant slight tension that the spin gives.

i just been playing about and i clapton'd onto 24g, decored it and wrapped it over 3x 26g and it works much better than using a decored 26g over 3x 26g, but the key is not to pull the clapton apart to much, maybe right angles is about right( as you look at the springs or zigzags)

Yea Slippy, On the videos they pull it pretty tight it seems almost to the point of it flattening out, well not quite but it seems they stretch it fairly far. I have closely looked at the macros of a too flattened wire and a good one. I have tried using 24g as a core for my 34g and still no luck. I will get it. I just hate the learning curve on this one.

 

[Tom Forde]

Yeah when you're doing your aliens you can't really stop during the middle of it, the release of tension can and will cause a break in the wrap and will start a new alien pattern from that spot. If you're having trouble with aliens, try doing only a 4-6" segment with a swivel hook. Make sure you start the wrap by hand before using the drill so you can keep the 3 wires parallel. Put all 3 into the drill chuck with the wrap poking out & even spin the chuck by hand to wrap a couple more wraps to see how much tension is needed to hold while wrapping it. With the swivel hooks, what I do is I'll make sure the wires are parallel (I press them together and run my fingers down to the end where they go into the hook) & give them a quick fold over the clip with my thumb & index finger. The most important thing is that all there's no slack in the wires, pull the drill away and all 3 wires should be taught with the clip.
@EverPresentNoob - I actually got a stitched alien down BEFORE I got a full length of regular 3 core perfect. The stitch kind of acts as a guide for the alien in a way.
@WharfRat1976 - the alien stretches out along the core wires when you hold the right amount of tension on it. If you use too little tension, you may end up with a trianglular shaped alien, which isn't the worst thing. But it's kinda like this: each of the "teeth" for lack of a better name, in the decored Clapton should be able to grab on to the outter wires when the 3 cores are in parallel.
Edit: I ordered a 528 Customs Monster V2 (couldn't pass up the price I was offered), so I'm about to enter a whole new world of tiny screws and thin gauge builds. I'm stoked haha

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

Hey Wharf the thing is there is no exact science to the spacing of the uncompressed clapton cus there are far to many variables, the most important factor is the gauge of wire being used for the clapton, unless everyone gets the same wire from the same co. gauge is a pretty broad spectrum and as said drill speed, tension and technique.
32g can be decompressed a lot more then say 36g, 36g for instance will stretch a little as you alien unlike the 32 which will hold its ground a little more.
The first aliens i did were with .2(32g) which you should find easier.

The Three wires i use for the core of the alien eg 3x 26g n60 i straighten each piece out by spinning in the drill seperetly for 5secs then i line them up and give them a 90deg bend in the end, whilst keeping them parallel place them into the center of the chuck and give the doglegs(90deg bends) each their own chuck. This may take a good few attempts but as you tighten the chuck on these 3x wires you want to get them pretty tidy and parallel although i must say i have had good success with the 3wires even coming out as though they are all running away from each other on an angle.(note: i dont stick or tape the loose ends or use a swivel )
And even the next part may take a few attempts to get the alien started, i place the clapton in the chuck and start to spin the drill and if it looks like the 3wires are forming a triangle i stop, reverse the clapton off and realign the 3wires slightly and then re-try.
i will take a few pics later to make it more clear, ive kinda got my hands full right now lol

 

[Uncletattoowhat]

@SLIPPY_EEL thanks for that write up. Seems like my issue is getting and keeping the cores parallel. They kept seeming to form a triangle shape.

 

[vapero]

I decided to try to make a cartomizer build on an RDA...

well here it goes
parallel UD clapton and 24 ai

not the best looking in any way

wicking

added a sealer wick on top so any air that comes in is from the inside of the coil

and now the vape...

just what you'd expect form a carto, really moist gurgly vape, the flavor is there but the spit-back and gurgliness is too much for now.

it is really hot and a bit too restricted for me, but I do see some potential here

I see this try as a failed attempt in the right direction

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

@SLIPPY_EEL thanks for that write up. Seems like my issue is getting and keeping the cores parallel. They kept seeming to form a triangle shape.

Np i have some pics i just need to work out the best way to explain then i will post once the kids have gone to bed

 

[Tom Forde]

@WharfRat1976 sometimes they form this kind of shape:

when they get all twisty & the alien pattern forms like it would without a core. But surprisingly that is stitched, I wasn't expecting to get a full length of weird alien but it happened and I'm low on 34g, so I have to roll with what I got. I'm pretty sure what I did wrong there was stretch the decored alien too far & I allowed the wires to twist up inside because I got maybe 2" of sloppy alien, then about 7-8" of the pics above. When it forms that triangular shape, it's because the cores aren't aligned & they're twisting on the inside, so the wrap just goes over the 3 wires as if they were a larger gauge as opposed to 3 wires lying flat next to eachother. I was kind of hoping the stitch would keep the wrap aligned with the 3 cores but I guess with a 38g stitch, it's a little different than a 32g alien with a 34/36g stitch.

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

Okay below starting from the top is my 2 sets of 3 26g cores for the alien, i take 3 at a time and put them in my pliers parallel to each other and bend them together at 90degree's, bend them together then if they are more or less than 90deg it doesnt mmatter. they are 5" long but 4" would have been long enough for the one coil of 4 wraps on 2.5id.
The de-cored claptons also would have been okay an inch shorter than the 6" showing.
The 24g is used solely for making the decored claptons, no need to trap the clapton wire in the dril or drill vise just slide her in & try to wrap it up as then once youve finished you can just slide it off and do another without having to mess around.

hold your core wires as pic below

insert as parallel as possible

this is something i kinda figured out recently that you can pull the wires apart as shown below, insert you wire into the chuck but not into the center of the 3 wires, get it stuck into the side, start spinning slowly but if you form a triangle instead of a nice parallel then stop rewind and pull the clapton wire out readjust the 3 core wires slightly and go again, its real easy once you work it out trust me

below is a close up of how much i stretch the clapton out, dont stretch to much as it just makes it harder

i couldnt get any pictures of how i hold the wire when im making the alien but i hold it as i would if i were to do a normal clapton Only dif being that i hold very gently and i hold the alien wire that has just being aliened if that makes sense.

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

And here is that same wire.
Just to rub it in i got these two wires first go .
0.07ohm 2.5id