Drawing Down Wire

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Often it is difficult to order wire without seeing some samples. Having a selection of drawplates enables you to make your own and frees you from the constraints of the stock list. The next problem is that to draw down thicker wires smoothly and easily you will need a draw bench and commercial draw benches are bulky, inconvenient and horribly expensive.
Some years back I called in to a yacht chandler, Arthur Beale in Covent Garden and they came up with this solution. To provide the traction I bought the smallest hand operated winch, one and a half metres of non stretch rope and a steel ring to attach to the end. I happened already to have my faithful work horse with a woodworking vice at one end. An old table or a very stout board might have done. All I needed in addition was some hand draw tongs with one hooked arm. A convenient length for this improvised draw bench is about 85cm, but you will be limited by the reach of your arms, because you have to hold the tongs closed with one hand while winding the winch with the other
A final bonus is that if you clamp annealed wire at one end and stretch it slowly, it will become slightly thinner, but perfectly straight.
The winch, DL600A is still available on line for about £20. Other costs: rope and ring £3, hand draw tongs from Sutton Tools £10, bench vice £25. How does that grab you?

Brilliant solution Dennis - as usual.

Brilliant solution as usual Dennis. Thank you.

i think that is excellent Dennis x

Oh and Dennis did you notice you had become a senior ?x

Great post Dennis. Now I want one of those too ;)

[COLOR="rgb(255, 0, 255)"]Dennis, what made you think to call a yacht chandler? What & where is the rope & ring? In the photo, it looks like metal cable (connected to the winch, to me), & I see the ring! ;)
You can also draw down your own wire with a draw plate & draw tongs & a vice attached to a counter/bench, but this is a little [LOT] more physical [/COLOR], but do-able for smaller amounts. You just have to file the end [to be grabbed by the tongs] to an almost point, so that it fits in the drawplate (feed the wire in the tapered end) & this is necessary each time you use a new, smaller hole. [just putting this in for beginners/newbies, because I personally NEED specific, detailed instructions/info to understand something new!]
I am a Newbie myself, Tara May :D

Dear Tara May,
What you see is what I described in my post. There is a winch, some rope , a ring, and draw tongs. The vice has a drawplate clamped in it. The point is that it will allow you to draw down very thick wire, say 5mm diameter round, smoothly, safely and with very little effort. To do that without a drawbench you would have to sit on the floor and push with your legs as in rowing. A yacht chandler is a store for boat and yacht supplies. Kind regards Dennis.

Good post Dennis - I think you were reading my mind. I've just bought a 'Turks' head, which is an adjustable drawplate with tungsten carbide inserts and I need to make a bench to use it properly. Like you say, commercial benches are hideously expensive.

Not sure about needing to hold the pliers though. With a pair of double hooked pliers you wouldn't need to - as the winch is wound, the pliers clamp down harder onto the wire being pulled through.

Attachment 1781

You're right, of course, Geti, but they have them at the college I attend once a week and I find them very rough and heavy and they sometimes slip off, so notching the wire. They make away with the length restriction, but then you might need the next thikcness of rope and the next size of winch. Let us know what you settle for, kind regards, Dennis.

I have brooded on the subject of the self closing tongs and have come up with these further objections. With my system as it stands, I have learned to pull on the tongs and flick the winch handle for a quick return to the drawplate. The self closing tongs are meant to be held tight by a V shaped shackle which connects to a chain. They travel along the surface of the bench, so the drawplate can no longer be held high in a vice, but will have to be retained at bench level by a system of pegs. Also the heavier tongs mash up the end of the wire quite badly.
I found that at college the tongs have to be carefully rearranged after each pass, and I spend more time messing around with the equipment than I ever do drawing a bit of wire.
Am I being grouchy? Dennis.