Does anyone ever specify a maximum pitch that is larger or smaller than the maximum diameter of the wire being spooled?
Yes but not often. If the pitch is larger than the diameter of the wire being spooled, there will be spaces between the rows on the spool. If the pitch is less than the wire diameter, the rows will overlap on the spool. Sometimes people want spaces or overlapping but for the vast majority of Uhing users the maximum pitch is equal to the maximum width of the wire or other material being spooled.