Attaching a Heating Wire to Sapphire Stylus for Vanrock E101

[character_grab]

Hi Trolls,

Noob here, first time posting. I received a Vanrock E101 a few months ago and had a few questions that I couldn't seem to find a direct answer to. I want to attach a heating wire to my stylus but I’m missing the specifics on how to do so. I bought .005" nichrome wire as this seemed to be the suggestion, but not sure how exactly to attach it.

1. Where do I attach the wire to the stylus? I’ve read that I shouldn’t attach it to the “metal of the stylus”, but as someone quoted from a manual, the “stylus can be equipped with a heater by… sliding the coil over the shaft of the seated stylus”, so this has me a little confused. And if in fact I CAN’T attach it to the metal shaft, then do I wrap it around the sapphire right before it meets the metal (similar for example to where the exposed wood is of a pencil)? Just want to make sure I don’t either ruin the stylus or my cutterhead somehow by accident.

2. How do I create a good wire with the nichrome? I'm assuming I would take several small pieces of the nichrome wire and wind it together. I’ve seen the number 7 or 7.5 turns of winding, but could someone explain to me the significance of exactly 7 turns?

3. Is dental glue / jewelry cement a must? Or can I just attach the wire without, so that I can remove later if I want?

Thanks!

[character_grab]

Update on this:

So I made my own wire out of 36 gauge nichrome (.005"). I wound 4 or so strands together, probably about 4-5 inches long. I wound one side around the end of the stylus and the other side onto the heating mechanism. In theory I'm thinking that should work - but it didn't. To test the heating mechanics of the Vanrock itself, I put my old needle that had a heating wire attached back on the lathe, and sure enough it started it up and it was slightly smoking. So that leads me to believe it must be the nichrome wire itself that is not working correctly. For reference, I attached a pic of the wire I made.

Any suggestions or ideas about what is up here? /is there anyone I can just buy a heating wire or stylus with wire attached already?

[markrob]

Hi,

There does not seem to be any return path for your coil. You tied both ends of the coil to the supply terminal. I assume on the Vanrock. one side of the coil is tied to the chassis ground.

Mark