# How to coil a cable without twisting



## Mini_Nigel (Apr 15, 2006)

Coiling a cable (or a hose) without twisting. First a few rules:

Never coil a cable between your hand and elbow, you will kill it!
Don't start or finish near the ends, leave a loop's worth of slack either end
Aim to finish with a comfortable handful, adjust loop size accordingly
Shake out bulk of uncoiled cable to remove twists as you coil
Don't thread the ends through the loops, just let them hang (see below)
Use a cable tie, or similar, to fasten. Place loose end on top if laying down.
_Note: I'm left-handed, so you may find it easier to swap hands!_

Hold the cable in your right hand, and grab the slack about 1 metre away with your left, then form a loop as if you were wrapping it around an invisible circle. If the cable doesn't lie flat, twist it slightly with the fingers of your left hand.

Now the bit that's hard to explain, the next loop is picked up and turned underneath, then made to lie flat as before. Watch the video now.



At the end of the fast run, did you notice that the cable was twisted? Watch it again if not. That last loop needed to be untwisted, the easiest way is to drop it and pick it up again.

Note that if a cable has become twisted, it may take several goes to get it right.

Nige


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## Mattieuk (Oct 26, 2005)

Nice one Nige...my days of twisted hell are over


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## stonecold2512 (May 7, 2006)

YEP that'll do it,thanks for that


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## Phoenix-one (May 7, 2006)

Sweet, saves me fighting with the stupid wires all the time.


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Top post Nigel, thanks for taking the time to post this. I have been doing it badly for so long lol.

Oddly enough that video has brought back memories as that was the way I was taught to loop rope in the Navyal cadets lol.


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Nice one Nige:thumb: 

And would you know this is how i coil my hose without even realising it:thumb:


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## riggsy (Dec 19, 2005)

exactly how I do it... got loads of practice when I was a sound/light engineer, so many bloody cables!!!


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

That's one of the most helpful posts I've seen in ages - I'm always getting into a tangle and swearing at my extension cable! Thanks very much! :thumb:


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## King Eric (Feb 27, 2006)

Brilliant!


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## Finnie (May 22, 2006)

Its actually just seamanship. If you are right handed just hold cable/rope in left hand with end towards your left hip as if you were pointing a torch ahead. Then with right hand take the next bit of cable and stretch arms apart. Then as said coil the cable from ahd to near your body with a slight clockwise twist to the right wrist. Should be about a diameter of about 2 feet. It is the method a seaman uses to coil a right hand lay rope whic is the standard


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## Mini_Nigel (Apr 15, 2006)

Finnie said:


> It is the method a seaman uses to coil a right hand lay rope which is the standard


Actually, it isn't quite the same. With right-hand-lay cordage you always keep your right thumb pointing toward the bitter end, so you get a clockwise spiral. The method I have described changes the direction of the thumb on alternate loops, so gives the same effect as laying a figure-of-eight, then picking up the crossover point.

Captain Nige


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## Phoenix-one (May 7, 2006)

Tried this today, and I can vouch for the method...


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Yep used it too :thumb:


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## richie.guy (Apr 10, 2006)

I'm going to have to practice :lol:


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## frayz (Mar 8, 2006)

Cool


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## richie.guy (Apr 10, 2006)

I still can't do this :laugh:


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## bazc (Nov 20, 2005)

thank u for sorting out the problems i was having with my wire, its very long and awkward


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## stewarty.c (Mar 8, 2006)

are you for real or being serious or what?
cause if your being serious think you need to seriously consider your sanity, thats wild. 

stewarty.c


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## B A Baracus (Jun 4, 2006)

I thought I'd add a bit of my experience to this thread as im an Electrician

This cable is approx 30mtrs long and 1.5mm 3core Artic flex

*CLICK HERE* to see Mr T. coil a cable safely (Y)

I pity the fool doesnt coil their cable this way


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## stewarty.c (Mar 8, 2006)

that is def the more safe way so you dont cut your head or poke your eye out. lol


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## Tyler Owen (Apr 30, 2006)

I gave up in the end 

Lack of Patience provailed


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## richie.guy (Apr 10, 2006)

B A Baracus said:


> I thought I'd add a bit of my experience to this thread as im an Electrician
> 
> This cable is approx 30mtrs long and 1.5mm 3core Artic flex
> 
> ...


:lol: :lol:


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## B A Baracus (Jun 4, 2006)

I was deadly serious mate!


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## richie.guy (Apr 10, 2006)

B A Baracus said:


> I was deadly serious mate!


It's the last bit that got me.


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## Ruth M (Feb 27, 2006)

the last bit is true!! no joke!


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## martyn (Nov 28, 2005)

Deffo true.... Love the video BA!!!

Any more?


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## Mini_Nigel (Apr 15, 2006)

I knew it, I knew you guys would take the p155.

Nige


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

FWIW All my cables are now coiled in that way! Good stuff Nige!


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## Mini_Nigel (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks Brazo.

Sticks out tongue at the mockers  

To those who are having trouble, try this. First untwist the cable, then imagine a figure 8 on its side on the ground in front of you, about 1m across. 

Start about 50cm away (to give spare cable at the end) then start to lay the cable over the 8. It will go clockwise round one loop, then as you cross over to the other loop it becomes anticlockwise. A bit like writing an 8 in the snow!

When done, make sure the ends don't get tangled, then grab the middle bit where it crosses over. It should end up exactly the same as the one in my video, and not all twisted like the one in Mr-T's 

Nige


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## B A Baracus (Jun 4, 2006)

Mines perfect lad, remember I coiled 30mtrs in record time!


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