On Jul 23, 11:32*pm, "Bill Noble" wrote:
...
you know, don't you, that the 'real' spring winding machines extrude the
wire against an angled anvil that is tilted in X,Y (presuming the wire is
fed in Z) so that it causes the wire to bend to the desired spiral - if you
build that, then it's simple enough to adjust to get the diameter and
spacing you want, no adjustable mandrils required.

I wonder if an equivalent could be made from a scissors knurl with
grooved rollers. Tilt the near end down to grab the wire between the
lower roller and the shaft in the spindle, and adjust the upper roller
or the crossfeed screw to change the wire loop diameter.

There is an adjustable fine wire feeder in your MIG welder.

jsw