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Post subject: Wind Your Own Pickups
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:50 pm
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Anyone here wind (or rewind) their own pickups?

I did one (an old dead 1975 strat pickup) using the method at:

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Electronics/Pickup_building/i-5967.html

except I didn't have to assemble the bobbin or charge the magnets.

The pickup turned out pretty good. I hit about 5.7 K ohms and 2.2 H inductance. Not having a counter, I stopped winding every now and then to take a resistance measurement.

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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:46 am
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No one has tried?

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:11 pm
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Yes - I am in the middle of winding one. I started making a humbucker a while ago and I found I didn't have the patience to wind it with an electric drill. So I started making a coil winder out of an old sewing machine and I'm not done yet.

But it sure is fun.

Did you have to pot yours to get rid of any microphonics?


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:26 pm
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Pullman50 wrote:
Did you have to pot yours to get rid of any microphonics?


Oh, yeah, I potted it in wax. I didn't try it before I potted it, so I don't know how microphonic it would have been.

Are you going to be able to count the number of turns on your machine?

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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:17 pm
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Yes I am. I got a Red Lion counter from DigiKey for about $40 and a sensor that wires into it. Then I have a thrift store sewing machine with a foot treadle. I took the sewing machine all apart until it was just the long axle that runs the length of the top. Then I screwed a piece of wood on the inside and flipped the motor around so it was inside under the arm. The main gear that took power from the motor slid back to where the drive belt would still reach it. Then I got a sanding disk (the kind you stick the round sandpaper on) at a hardware store. The only major piece I need to make is a block of wood with a hole in it that goes from the 1/2" sewing machine axle down to the 1/4" sanding disk axle. I figure I will use double stick tape to hold the pickup on the disk.

The prox sensor picks up a piece with a notch in it on the far end of the sewing machine axle so I get a count every turn.

If you want, I can send a photo when I am done. It is going real slow since I have a lot of other stuff I am doing also.

My winder is kind of like Jason Lollar's. There is an entire forum for pickup winding hobbyists.
http://www.mimf.com/cgi-bin/WebX?14@89. ... 0@.ee6bbe1

and lots others. Best of luck to you.
-paul


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Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:05 pm
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yes, i am just about to start some experiments with winding some. I am gonna try to use some different materials in them to see what sounds i can get out of them. i was gonna try with some brass and copper pole pieces.


speaking of which, does anybody know if there is a way you can buy the Gibson Smoky Coil humbuckers? i've looked, but it appears that they are only available in the Menace guitar series. not sold separately.


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Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:07 pm
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Ben13 wrote:
i was gonna try with some brass and copper pole pieces.


I don't know if that will work. The pole pieces are usually magnetic.
Even if you use a magnet on the bottom, the pole pieces have to "route" the magnetic field through the coils.

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:11 am
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i know that brass will work. as gibson has already manufactured pickups with brass studs. i dont know about copper though. be fun to try though.


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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 1:46 pm
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You wont be able to induce a current from a pickup if you dont have a magnetic field your strings can slice thru... so copper??? nah.

I have wound some pickups myself. I have used nos formvar copper whire. Thats the same wire fender used in the old days. It sounds very sweet. I have the pickup in neck position and it also has alnico 3 magnets. It is WAAY better than the SCN pickups I have in middle and bridge! they are too trebbly and the your tone control isnt really capable of compensating that.

For those intrested I also used a power drill. and some baby powder to keep my finghers from getting sticky :wink:

I have some difficultys with microphonics though... but only with very high volumes. Anyway I should pot it sometime!

greetings to the fender community!!!


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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:10 pm
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Thanks for the post.

I used a little hunk of felt to hold the wire. My fingers didn't touch it while winding.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:00 am
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*bump*

It's been over 11 months since I first posted.

Are there any more pickup rewinders/experimenters out there now?

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:24 pm
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orvilleowner wrote:
*bump*

It's been over 11 months since I first posted.

Are there any more pickup rewinders/experimenters out there now?


I used to, years ago. I abandoned it for the most part as there were enough established manufacturers already making the same stuff in the parameters I was interested in. Once in a while I'll repair or tweak an already made one but that's about it.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 9:52 am
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Martian wrote:
I used to, years ago. I abandoned it for the most part as there were enough established manufacturers already making the same stuff in the parameters I was interested in. Once in a while I'll repair or tweak an already made one but that's about it.


Pickup parts are now available from Stew-Mac at very reasonable prices ... much more reasonable than the "boutique" pickup winders.

Repairs and tweaks can sure save a guy some money! I've found that a lot of times a "dead" pickup just has a cold solder joint at the eyelets.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:16 am
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A mate of mine winds his own on a old record player turntable.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 5:15 pm
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nikininja wrote:
A mate of mine winds his own on a old record player turntable.


Frankly, I think many a pickup maker got their start the same way.

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