Zap Cables Instructional Series

Old School
Retractable Cable
Coiling Guide

1.0
Zap Cables Instructional Series Old School Retractable Cable Coiling Guide

STEP 1

Coil It
2

Get your cable coiled around your coiling rod. We recommend using
our Coil Collars to hold your cable tightly in place, but you can use
tape, zip ties, or whatever else you are accustomed to. (We also
recommend using a 90-degree coil orientation as shown. It is the
best orientation for these Old School cables).
Try your best to coil the cable onto the rod smoothly and evenly,
without manually squeezing the coils down with extreme force, or
too inconsistently (tighter in some spots versus others). A consistent
tightness is more important than extreme, over-smushed tightness
for these coils.
Zap Cables Instructional Series Old School Retractable Cable Coiling Guide

STEP 2

Bake It
The easiest way to set your Old School coils is with an oven. It will Make sure the excess coil is tied up neatly and isn't touching the oven
allow you to heat the coils evenly, and make it possible to bake floor or walls. Try and avoid using black Velcro straps to tie up the
multiple coils at once. slack, as they can leave marks on light-colored Old School cables.

Preheat the oven to 275° F (135° C). Once fully heated up, place When the 15 minutes are up, remove the coils from the oven and
the coiled cable and rod assembly into the oven for 15 minutes. straighten out the uncoiled parts of the cable. Allow it to cool fully.
Zap Cables Instructional Series Old School Retractable Cable Coiling Guide

STEP 3

Clamp It
Once the cable is fully cooled, remove it from the rod and secure one
end in place with a clamp (or have a friend hold it). This will make the
final step of reversing the coil easier and give you a good result. We
recommend clamping it (or holding it) about three or so inches from
the coil.
If the rings of the coil are stuck together, pull them apart by stretch-
ing out the coil (if you are using one of the "glossy" Old School cables,
they may be stuck tighter together and require you to unstick them
manually, ring by ring. Take your time and be gentle, you don't want to
mangle them at this stage).
Zap Cables Instructional Series Old School Retractable Cable Coiling Guide

You can see the "turning

point" where the coil is
reversing itself.

STEP 4

Reverse It
With one side held in place, grip the cable on the opposite side of the partially reversed). Keep the cable taut throughout the process.
coil, pull the coil taught, and twist it in the opposite direction of the You're not going to hurt it, so if there is any doubt if you've twisted
coil (reversing it). After twisting it for a handful of rotations, the coil enough...just keep twisting.
will snap into its reversed orientation on one end, and work its way
Once all of the coil is reversed, you can stop.
down the coil as you keep twisting (above you can see the coil already
Zap Cables Instructional Series Old School Retractable Cable Coiling Guide

STEP 5

All Done!
Remove your cable from the clamp and voilà...you're all done.

There is no need to heat/bake these coils again. Once is all you need.

Congratulations!