How to Wrap Galvanized Wire to a Zinc Steel Rod Circle

• 1

  Buy a soft steel rod for your core. Do not buy stainless steel, since the high percentage of chromium in the alloy prevents the formation of magnetic fields. The softer the steel, the more iron it has, and the better it creates a magnetic field.

• 2

  Start wrapping the wire around the base of the rod all in one direction. Leave some extra wire hanging loose to start. It's OK if the wire overlaps, but it must go in one direction. Wrap the loops as tight as you can. The electromagnet's power is directly related to the number of loops you can make.

• 3

  Stop wrapping loops when you reach the end of the rod. Cut off the wire with your wire cutters the same number of inches away from the last loop as the length of the rod. This makes it easier to connect both ends of the wire to the battery terminals, which power your electromagnet.

Wrapping Wire With a Rotary Tool

• 4

  Insert the butt end of the steel rod into the grips of your lathe. Secure the steel rod by tightening the grips. If you don't have grips, glue the butt end of the steel rod to a holder piece that attaches to the lathe. If you don't have a lathe, use another rotary tool, such as a power drill with a large enough chuck to hold the rod in its teeth. Only use a power tool like these if you have an automatic feeder for the wire. Otherwise, your hand may get wound around the wire as the wire is being fed around the rod.

• 5

  Insert the wire through the feeder hole. Wrap this end of the galvanized wire around the base of the rod. Start a few tight loops around the rod manually.

• 6

  Turn on your power tool to a low speed to spin the rod faster. Move the feeder head slowly forward, letting the wire get wound around the rod in one direction up the length of it. Continue until the wire is wrapped around the whole length of the rod. Turn off your rotary tool. Cut the wire at the ends of the wire, leaving enough length to easily connect the wire to the terminals of a battery.