Abstract: In a machine for coiling a filament-wire for incandescent lamps or gas discharge tubes, a support-wire is continuously fed through an axial bore of a high-speed spindle. A reel supplying the filament-wire is integral with the spindle near the outlet end of the bore where the filament-wire is helically wound on the support-wire after having passed over a guiding edge of an arm protruding from a rotor mounted for free rotation on the spindle. The guiding edge extends along a parabola having its focal point on a rim of the reel adjacent to the coiling location. A braking device acting on the rotor is automatically controlled for maintaining a constant tension on the filament-wire as a function of the decrease in the radius of supply of filament-wire on the reel.