DIY spiral winder machine for gabion baskets

[Xfarma21]

I wanted to build my own gabion fence (35 metres wide x 975mm high x 525mm deep) starting from scratch.  I wanted it to be an artisan project, so I built my own spiral winder from parts of machinery I had lying around the farm. The cogs came from a Massey Harris seed drill, and I used a length of acme thread as I wanted the spirals to be even, consistent and regular to make them easier to wind onto the mesh. I used hog rings to hold the mesh together prior to winding the spirals. 

If building your own, it is important to remember that the lead shaft needs to turn a bit faster than the winding shaft so that the carrier arm moves at least the thickness diameter of the wire per revolution. I used 3.15mm fencing wire. Looking at the figures there was a 2:1 ratio involved, and I would use 3/4" acme 6 TPI thread if purchasing a length. If using round bar for the winding shaft and stretching pole I would use 25mm and 20mm respectively as this would still give a 5mm differential to allow the coil to stretch.

 I was fortunate enough that everything I had, worked and gave me approximately 1 to 1.5 turns per 75mm mesh square. There were no mathematical calculations involved apart from the number of turns required!

Materials

• Large cog X755, 40 tooth, 175mm diameter
• Small cog X597, 19 tooth, 90mm diameter
• Cog housing for large cog X680
• Acme thread, 1" diameter 5 TPI (threads per inch)
• Pipe for winding shaft 27mm OD
• Pipe for stretching pole 22mm OD
• Bearings to suit acme threaded rod and winding shafts.
• Steel to mount machine parts onto.
• Bolts

Tools

• welder
• spanners
• wire cutters

Steps

Step 1

On the lead shaft (acme thread) I mounted the small cog and on the winding shaft, the large cog. On the acme thread nut I mounted a carrier arm with some wooden blocks to provide some tension on the wire without damaging the galvanizing. In effect, this acted like a lead screw on a lathe, as I turned the handle it would carry the wire along.

Step 2

I threaded the wire from the coil through the wooden blocks (only loosely tightened), over the winding shaft (27mm OD) and then around onto the hook, leaving a 100mm "handle" which is used to screw the spiral onto the mesh. For every 50mm length of spiral that I required I gave the handle 1 turn, (i.e., 1000mm = 20 turns). When I reached the desired number of turns, I cut the wire leaving a tail on it.

Step 3

I then took apart the end bearing assembly and removed the coil and put it onto the s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g pole (22mm OD)  which I hooked onto my work-bench and pulled it as far as I was able. This gave the spiral evenly spaced, consistent diameter and regular turns. I then removed the spiral from the stretching pole and tweaked the tail a little so that it would lead smoothly onto the mesh.

Step 4

Using the handle I then wound the spiral onto the mesh which I did with ease.

[EricL]

Hello @Xfarma21 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your D.I.Y spiral winder machine. 

What an amazing machine, it's incredible that you've managed to build this with two gears and some pieces of steel. I think the best part is that you can modify your machine to make the spiral bigger. I've seen other D.I.Y methods for creating spirals, but I think this is the best one I've seen.

Again, thank you for sharing such a clever project.

Eric

[Xfarma21]

Thanks Eric, the diameter size of the spirals always remain constant and I only mounted the winding shaft on a slotted base (ex concrete post hinge straps)  because when I started on the project I did not know what combination of gears would work best, so I used the slot so I could change the gears without having to drill different holes to mount the shaft. I had quite a few cogs from the seed drill so I started with the smallest one on the lead shaft and the biggest one on the winding shaft as I thought this would be the best combination. It worked so I did not change it!
You can only vary the length of the spiral with the number of turns.

[Akanksha]

An innovative and resourceful project indeed, @Xfarma21. Many thanks for sharing.

This would make a great entry into our D.I.Y. July project search, so I've gone ahead and entered it for you.

Let me also extend a warm welcome to our community. It's a pleasure having you join us, and I'm excited to see more of your handiwork.

Akanksha

[Tyro]

Wow @Xfarma21 

That's a massive achievement!  I bet plenty of city blokes would love to have access to those resources too!  That'll be one very fine fence!  Congratulations!  👏👏

[Xfarma21]

Thanks Tyro, your resources are probably closer at hand than you think. I would try and find some gears from a vehicle gearbox that would substitute for the cogs that I had. Acme thread can be purchased and the hardest job apart from obtaining suitable gears would be customising and fitting them to drive the lead and winding shafts.
Bearings/housings could also be purchased but I would only purchase something at the cheaper end as the shafts are turning only slowly (e.g. maybe a little faster than 1 revolution per second) as you are also counting the number of turns you are making. 
(It might be that my hand turning and counting brain may not be very well co-ordinated!) 🙂

I would also consider fitting the second bearing as close as possible to the hook on the non- wire side which would then leave the winding shaft open to slip the coil off when you had reached the desired length.

All of this could be mounted on any steel you had on hand.

[Tyro]

Thanks @Xfarma21 I'll look into that! 👍🏻

[Xfarma21]

Hello Tyro, I mentioned about having the second bearing/ housing along near the hook on the non-wire side but I ran out of space to explain why I made mine as you see it. 
The reason why was because all my bits and pieces were a “sloppy” fit so l supported the end of the winding shaft to avoid placing strain on the 2 gears (they were only made of cast iron) and when the “pull” of the wire came on when winding it may have deviated the shaft enough to break the teeth of the cogs. 
If obtaining gears and proper fitting shafts and bearings you may avoid this happening otherwise you will have to mount your bearing at the end of the winding shaft like I did.

Some of my so called “bearings” were really only shaft supports from a former life that were loose fitting. Some sort of “shaft support” maybe cheaper than bearings and pillow block housings as everything is not turning fast.

[Tyro]

Oh that's clever! Thanks @Xfarma21 👏👍🏻

[Dave-1]

Evening @Xfarma21 

Heaven! I have building Gabions for a fair few years and man this is a sweet looking machine! So many times I have been sitting there turning the 3.4mm wire onto a broomstick handle then stretching it out by attaching it to something solid at one end. Your way is a lot more consistant and way less effort on arms and wrists! You know when you see a decent machine and go "Wow" yeah thats what I said when I saw the pic

Dave