DIY guitar pickup winding machine and parts at Stew-Mac

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Flatpicker

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
1,175
Location
East TN
I just learned that Stew-Mac is now selling a guitar pickup winding machine and parts to make your own single coil and humbucker pickups: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups.html
Looks pretty cool if you are into that sort of thing.
 
Hmm....with some creative machining, an adapter could be made to turn that into a small transformer and coil winder, no? CJ?


-dave
 
I made a winding machine similar to the one that used to be shown here; http://www.lollarguitars.com/. I used an old sewing machine motor for the winder and an oscillating fan motor to bo the spread. I built a little counter to keep track of turns and set it to run at about 1200RPM. I am still gathering stuff to wind a pickup and test the quality of the winder but initial testing seems OK.
 
It would be interesting to get a document on winding pickups. I was in Kent Armstrong's place in England once and he showed me a machine he built himself with an old turntable.
 
I think the folks at www.firebottle.com/ampage have or had a pickup winding forum if anyone is starting from scratch.

I think most of the after market pickup makers out there started on their own rigged up winders from record players and such. The Stew Mac info shows how to use an electric drill - neato.

Hmm, can't they provide anything besides strat and humbucker? I am so friggin bored with those two.

Bear
 
> can't they provide anything besides strat and humbucker? I am so friggin bored with those two.

It is just a magnet, some wire, and scrap-iron. Build something new.
 
The funny thing is, almost anything seems to work. As a kid I bulit a PU using three round magnets with holes in the middle. All three together were as wide as a normal pu. So glued them between two pieces of veroboard the size of a humbucker and wound some copper wire around the magnets (by hand). The "pole pieces" were three T-shaped envelope clips that I stuck through the holes of the magnets. Not only did it work, it actually sounded quite nice. Even the output was okay although I used much thicker wire than is usual and hence had fewer windings.

A few years ago I built a little winding machine from toy stuff ("Fischer Technik" construction kit for kids) and wound a split coil PU the size of a Jazz Bass PU. Look for reed relais magnets for stuff like that. Getting the right gauge of copper wire is more difficult. For my bass PU I used wire a bit thinner than usual. It was a little difficult to handle, but it worked out fine. The PU sounds really good and is hum free. The most difficult part is not so much the winding itself but drilling the holes for the magnets. You have to be very precise.
 
[quote author="PRR"]> can't they provide anything besides strat and humbucker? I am so friggin bored with those two.

It is just a magnet, some wire, and scrap-iron. Build something new.[/quote]

I understand one wouldn't want to work the fiberboard by oneself to make the bobbins - not a hell of a lot nicer than asbestos to inhale, if I hear right. I suppose I can't fault them for going with what will actually sell, but it'd be really neat if there were some other things available.

Bear
 
I gutted an Ampex recorder for parts, got the motors, transformers, etc.

I want to make a winding machine using one of the reel motors. Does anybody know if those would be ac or dc driven?
It has four wires hanging out of it.

I am thinking dc as they need to vary the speed. Thanks.
 
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