Done to death, foolproof DiD wickmaking?

[AnnaLaw]

I recently got myself a DiD clone and as it came with a ready-fitted wick and coil I've breen using that after many coil adjustments and one new coil. But I have yet to make a mesh wick and I want to replace this one because it works but is weird.
I'm somebody who finds it almost impossible to do straigh lines. I made rollies with a slant on the paper and even got banned from cutting cable because it always had an angle where I cut it.

So, I need to make a wick. Most methods oxidise the mesh before rolling but I saw one way that oxidised after. Which is best for somebody who isn't a good roller?
I've seen mesh oxidised very lightly that works and I know somebody who puts a torch on it for hours. Some boil the mesh before oxidising, some don't.
I even watched one video that left a part of the wick unoxidised, rolled before oxidising, said only the surface needs oxidising, and as long as the end of the wick doesn't tough the bottom of the tank you don't need to oxidise that part.

What do the experts say is the best way of making a mesh wick from scratch for a hole about 2mm or less in a mini-DiD clone to be used by somebody who is all fingers and thumbs and has a choice between a gas cooker ring and a lighter to oxidise?

I can keep this wick for a while but it is weird, only seems to have a hole in the bottom, just enough to hold with a 1.5 allen key in the middle, the rest seems solid. It also has a kind of notch, widening at the wick hole that makes the wick bendy there so I worry that it will break and the bendy bit makes it hard to keep the wick straight while coiling.

I discovered this when cleaning and making a new coil, couldn't believe it didn't have a hole right though the middle and the notch is very annoying.

That's why I'm asking if anybody has any tips for wick-making that aren't in the videos I've watched, or can say which is the best method.

Also as this clone is small and fiddly, is it better to wind the coil before fitting or after? I've been winding after, the last time before pushing the centre post up, so it didn't get in the way.

Ta.

[Skwoddy]

I think people largely find their own methods and stick with what works, some branch out and try different mesh grades and thicknesses and 'mesh inside a mesh.

For my dids I use a 40x30 piece of 500 mesh (some say 40x15 is actually all thats needed but for me its too floppy and crushes easily).

I oxidise the cut square lightly only to make the mesh more rigid for ease of rolling. I roll my mesh round a paper clip (larger variety) and keep it on there for oxidising.

For oxidising i hold in a flame till a section is dark orange and move it along making the next section dark orange, repeat whilst turning the assembly.

I do this twice whilst allowing it to cool naturally and twice with immersion in water and one final burn to dry it.

once suitably oxidised I coat it in non flavoured eliquid and burn it off. I do this 3 times.

Place wick in tank and measure how much to cut off, remove wick and cut taper in one end (the end that goes in the tank). make sure the paper clip can travel through the mesh still and insert wick.

Then start on the coil whilst leaving the paper clip in the mesh to aid rigidity and to stop the mesh collapsing.

Hope this helps.


edited for fat fingered typo errors

[AnnaLaw]

Thanks skwoddy.
That's a mixture of the methods I've seen or been told, mostly, so a good starting point, although I only have 400 and 325 mesh. That should work, I have a wick in use that was made with 400 and sent in a second-hand genie clone.
I don't have large paper clips though, just assorted needles, allen keys and drill bits. I use a large sewing needle to hold silica rigid while winding coils on it. Works a treat, but that's too thin for a wick hole, I'd end up with no hole at all after rolling. I've thin drill bits but they're too short, same as allen keys, so looks like I'll have to wait to buy more paper clips.
There are so many different methods it can get confusing to pick one.

[stuntmunky]

I like a double wick in mine a 10x30mm 500mesh wrapped around a paperclip, inside a 15x30mm wrapped around a toothpick.
Works well for chain vaping but it will darken juice faster.
Like Skwoddy said this was the method that worked for me so I stuck with it. Ditto as far as oxidation ect.
I've also found that the first wick can be a bit tricky to get free of hotspots but its much easier the second time you put a coil on it.
Todd posted a video the other day in this section called tutorial - unoxidized mesh in a genesis. Haven't tried it myself yet but it looks promising.
If you don't have a paperclip you can strip a piece of electical wire and use more or less of it twisted to make your core to the desired size.