the thinner the thread, the less pressure you can put on it. regardless of the denier or thickness of the thread you should put enough pressure on it when winding to stretch it a bit, but not break it. being new to the hobby, you probably just haven't aquired the feel yet as to how far you can streatch the thread. switching back and forth to different strength threads makes it even harder to gauge. I am heavy handed and still break 140 and 210 denier, and if ya touch the hook point when you wind the thread, well it's game over. lol