How much money do I need to invest?

[Stratz]

one quite famous hand winder doesn't scatter much either.

Damn, for a minute there I thought you were talking about me

[jonson]

Perhaps I've just worn my right hand out doing other things plus I do tend to flicker at both left and right sides to do just that, keep the fill level. I do hear differences it's there for me.

[GalenBrown]

Heavy Duty Winder

In 2011 I was given a very old and dusty sewing machine by a good friend who knew I wanted to build a pickup winder. After building a box-like enclosure to house the bearings I'd purchased from an online dealer I secured them in place by allen screws and a machinist friend turned a shaft to close tolerance to slide into place. He also milled two aluminum pickup holders that I use small bolts and screws to secure the bobbins in place and he had the shaft stops for the .500" shaft. I built a "T" bracket to hold the motor that can be easily removed and re-installed for reverse rotation of the shaft to allow for reverse winding of the bobbins.
After all these pieces were assembled I felt I needed two saucer shaped pieces to secure to both side of the bobbins to prevent the wire from falling off the side so made them from a hardwood I had.
All said, I had a total of $200 invested and I've re-wound many Fender and Gibson pickups that had "open-coils". This winder is very heavy-duty, the motor is powerful. I secured the winder's framework to a 3X2 ft. rectangle of 3/4" plywood that is clamped to a wooden desk when in use. I had previously owned a commercial built winder (Sidewinder Brand) that was under-powered and the counter broke in a week. That's why I built my own and would do it again.
The magnet wire, magnets and forbon are an expense that probably had my initial investment in the $400 range for the parts. So total for the machine and parts was around $600. I've never regretted building the winder and beginning the journey of knowledge for wire, insulation, magnets, tension, width of bobbins, length of bobbins and on-and-on that's the defining factors for the tone.

[GalenBrown]

I agree to the above post about inconsistent pickups by hand-winding? Really? I feel I match the winding from pickup-to-pickup. I use a bright light to shine upon the magnet wire so I can see the glint off the wire as it's layed-down. And I have to say the pickups all sound consistently the same. I don't scatter wind as it never was consistent in tone from pick to pickup.

[Mick Bailey]

Just noticed you're replying to a 5 year old thread - maybe better to start a new one.

[GalenBrown]

Just noticed you're replying to a 5 year old thread - maybe better to start a new one.

Yeah, I noticed that after posting.

[BorisSutherland]

You'll need more than 1K dollars. I think you should look for additional work on the Internet so that you have enough money to live. Personally, I play my music on the street and I don't always have enough money to live on. In my free time from music, I earn on https://themoneymix.com/side-hustle-ideas/ by taking simple surveys, it helps me survive in this world and give my all to music. You can also find high-quality parts on the Internet and assemble all the hardware yourself, it'll be much cheaper.