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Reply With QuoteI found one on ebay called the Sidewinder, I think I got it for $225.. I am a new guy and I looked around and it was the best thing I found with a counter and guides and such.
Hi Guys,
What sort of winder do people recommend for a beginner looking to start winding pickups (mainly for my own custom guitars, but also just for interest)? Seems like some sort of modified sewing machine is the most common way to get started.
Cheers,
Chris
I found one on ebay called the Sidewinder, I think I got it for $225.. I am a new guy and I looked around and it was the best thing I found with a counter and guides and such.
I can't find much info about these - any links?Originally Posted by JCrab
I have no idea what happend to him. I did a google search but came up empty.. sorry about that.
He appears to have vanished. I saw he was getting into making tattoo machines. Maybe there was more money in that field.
I hope there is more money in Tattoo's.
There sure as hell Ain't much money in Pickups around here?
T
Keep Rockin!
Terry
having built a few winders, seen and used a few commercial machines, the value in a sidewinder is priceless. i've built many hundreds with mine already. mark is mia, and that's way too bad. i could sure use a sidewinder backup, and it looks like it'll be tough to find one.
I'm not sure what a sidewinder winding machine looks like. Given a picture or two, alternatives might be identified.
more pix available if requested ...
Did they go bankrupt, or just quit making them?
T
Keep Rockin!
Terry
totally unknown, so far.
I know Larry at Remington Industries.
They sell wire and some fancy winders.
I thought about confronting him, about assembling a kit, for a basic hand guided winder.
Motor, spindles, pulleys, counter, and maybe some plans for the wood box.
If he could assemble all the parts for a good quality hand winder, that would be a big start on making a winder.
I'm waiting for him to email me about some 42 SPN Red, that he has ordered.
We may discuss it then.
T
Keep Rockin!
Terry
imho, the sidewinder's price tag of approximately $280/shipped is/was the most incredible bargain in a quality coil winder for pickups. having aso used a schatten, the sidewinder blows it away - period.
sidewinder spex ...
- High Speed Photo-Optic Trigger produces spot-on turn counts no matter what speed.
- Quality 8 digit Counter w/reset button is Back-lit (Amber/Yellow) which enables you to read the numbers easily "at-a-glance" no matter your lighting situation.
- The 8 digit counter has its own internal 10 year lithium-ion battery.
- Easy Access Front mounted speed control to run the motor from 0 - 1250 RPM.
- On/Off switch is close to the speed control for emergency shutoff.
- 1/4" wide Kevlar reinforced urethane timing belt with 10 year Free Replacement.
- High Speed Stainless Steel Flanged Bearings provide smooth operation.
- Auto-Switching 15v dc - 100v-240v Power supply with either a North American or European plug provided.
- Whether you prefer to wind "Topside" or Downside", left handed or right handed, the Motor Reverse Switch on the side of machine can change winding or un-winding direction.
- Up or Down Counter switch so you can Add or Subtract from the total count.
- 1/4" thick red oak case with heavy .050” aluminum faceplate and backplate that you may have customized to your design or Logo.
- aluminum winder bars for stable mounting platform.
(Pickup Bobbins are attached to bars using double-sided tape.)
- wire guide bars are 1/4" solid polished brass and are adjustable horizontally to set your limits on a bobbin and also slide vertically to locate a position that is comfortable for your hand.
- Worktable is 14"x11 1/2"x1/2" with rubber non-skid feet.
- On/Off Deadman's Foot Control frees up both hands for great control when winding.- - - - -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
what i want in a coil winder is a quality unit with ONE arm (no need for two), reverse rotation, minimum max speed of 1300rpm, digital photo 5 digit (minimum) counter with reset, no footswitch (i run mine full bore every time, with never a problem).
if someone can make and offer such a machine or kit for under $300/shipped i'll be on it like flies on u-know-what.
r.
Seeing the specs, I see why the product is no longer offered: The price is too low for what's in the box.
This is basically the Schatten winder, only better done.
no, i don't think it was his sidewinder offering price that did mark - besides, he could always raise the price tag if need be.
personal issues aside, and despite his good marketing attempts, i think there just aren't enuf nuts like us that wanna roll our own.
I still think a company that already sells something like Remington does, could sell a kit.
part of the biggest obstacles is getting the right counter, the right collars, and all the little parts.
Once a company had the parts list together and could source the parts, the hard part for them would be done.
If they did no assembly, all the labor would be done by the kit purchaser.
I will try to do some calling and checking on this after the holiday.
Terry
Keep Rockin!
Terry
imho, a good coil winder uses quality parts, is well built, has at least a 5 digit digital counter with photo-optic tirgger, can reverse its motor direction, goes from 0 to at least 1300 rpm (1500 might be better). footswitch optional, but i never see a need to use one.
i might just have a source for this kinda coil winder at a very good price (probably $250).
If it has a double ended mandrel, why would you need it to be reversible.
Does the Sidewinder reverse?
The only thing I saw that I thought I might not like about the sidewinder. correct me if I'm wrong.
The shaft sticking through the box could be at least an inch or two longer, on each side.
That way if you wanted to attach bobbins with screws to the bar, like I do mine, you would have more room?
Your pretty much limited to using sticky tape with that unit?
T
Keep Rockin!
Terry
the sidewinder uses a double bobbin mount and also has a dc motor reverse.
in my wish list coil winder ... if single bobbin plate a reverse switch is a requirement - if not, double plate. it would have the ubiquitous dc motor so a reverse dpdt with just one spin plate would be just fine for me. bobbin attachment via tape ... though it would be nice to have a 6/32 machine screw mount.
i think i might have a lead on a locally built, very cost effective pickup coil winder that has all of my wants/needs. stay tuned ...
I've been going to build one, from this.
Maybe replace the shaft with a 1/2 stainless, with non threaded ends.
But that would be a good platform to start with!
Attachment 19076
Keep Rockin!
Terry
the next best thing to a good, affordable coil winder is someone offering a sefl powered (litium battery) 5 digit counter w/photo-optic trigger. add that counter to any decent mini lathe and yer good to go. NOT as good as a sidewinder, but dang good enuf.
Near the end I picked one of these up from him on a best offer of $200 shipped. I thought it was worth a try. I use it here and there. Been using it more lately. He even printed my company logo on the metal casing free of charge. He was buying the parts on eBay. You can find the power supply, motor, speed control and counter on eBay, so replacement will be easy. Not sure about the belt model He said I had lifetime free replacement, but is gone now, but I suspect with a little research it will be easy to find.
You can reverse the motor and you can reverse the counter. They are separate and each have their own switch. The machine has a footpedal that was supposedly optional, mine requires it. I like the small and light weight nature of it. I can go wind a pickup in the garage, den, or anywhere.
The biggest flaw I found so far in performance is if you switch the power on and off in the middle of a wind, the counter advances one digit. No big deal really.
Not as good as the side winder !!! My first winder (which I'm still using ) Can do anything that side winder can do
The mini lathe has a tail stock which you can change bobbins very quickly & with the very simple faceplate
"Pushback" wire is ,Wire with a foreskin.
I like them all, one doesn't have to be better, or make another obsolete!
Copper, did you get the wood lathe running?
I still would like to go that route, and was wondering if you got the lathe to turn top going?
Thanks for sharing.
T
Keep Rockin!
Terry
No I just been too busy ,But I want a better looking winder for my new cave so I'm going to get started on it soon
I better start gathering parts & I will have to check the motor to see if its DC to change direction
"Pushback" wire is ,Wire with a foreskin.
imo, not true - and as a personal example, the schatten is definitely inferior to the sidewinder. as always in this subjective world, ymmv.
Agreed from what I heard the Schatten is very over priced & underpoweredimo, not true - and as a personal example, the schatten is definitely inferior to the sidewinder. as always in this subjective world, ymmv.
"Pushback" wire is ,Wire with a foreskin.
this homebrew could be promising ... i'll know next week ...
Rob:
That looks interesting.
The Sidewinder guy most have had a health issue or something.
He sure fell out awful fast.
My point was liking one, doesn't make others bad.
Thus my statement, I like them all, I'm sure some more than others.
All any winder can do is wind a coil, and when you get done, however you wind it, they pretty much look the same.
Enough of that.
Good luck with the new winder.
Terry
Keep Rockin!
Terry
it's the fine points of any coil winder that make it either worthy or not. i've built more than a few and i've had more than a few that others have built. there isn't a large buying audience for pickup coil winders, which is the prime problem why schatten offers theirs for too much money and gives ya too little a product - they have no competition in a niche market. there's no doubt to me that a commercial vendor could design, tool up and build a superb pickup winder for under $200, amd still make 100% profit.
If it is a good winder, there is not a lot of repeat business.
The Schatten has the StewMac thing going for them.
I don't know how they sell many anymore, their own reviews are bad on them.
I've wound more than I care to count on a Drill.
That's why I try to be non judge mental on winders.
Some guys wind them literally by hand, some use drills, and some think you have to have a CNC machine.
Just Whatever A guy can endure.
When I get to winding, I just want to get done!
Keep Rockin!
T
Keep Rockin!
Terry
There is this one on ebay..
Coil audio Output transformer motor winding machine 2 | eBay
I haven't tried it, but it is from the same builder that made my CNC one, and the price is right. I am thinking that it might wind a bit fast though. It is hard to tell if it is reversible or not. It does have a slow start feature. I have had good luck with my CNC machine from toolsales (which is JLW) and it is built very ruggedly. The engrish manual was almost useless, but there was just enough information there for me to finally figure it out. I would like to try this one but out of cash for that kind of thing and happy enough with my homebuilt handwinder.
www.sonnywalton.com
How many guitars do you need? Just one more.
it's good to be judgemental about coil winders. it's called "discrimination" and subjective to personal ideals.
schatten is the ONLY commercially recognized pickup coil winder available - and it's not their only offering, so they don't live and die by their winder. hooking up with stew-mac was their ticket to sales. stew-mac sells a LOT of useless and overpriced stuff, NOT everything but certainly more than a few things. too many folks think too much of stew-mac and company, and i've been dealing with them for well over a decade. some of the things they've offered is just plain wrong, let alone overpriced.
let's face the facts - yes, anyone can wind a pickup coil using a v/s electric hand drill, but that's for amateurs since it will take forever to build the coil and the only wayu to verify the coil is via a dcr check 'cause there's no counter. that's for kids and not for real "hobby" or "semi-pro" pickup winders. certainly the overpriced schatten will get the job done, but it's price tag and low rpm (how the heck anyone can wind pups at a slow and laborious 750rpm is beyond my patience) makes it a toy and not a tool for folks like me (and maybe you).
that pretty much relegates making yer own winder, or buying a homebrew, which is where most of us are at - at least after the demise of the sidewinder.
IF someone can offer a proper and cost effective counter system, that can be readily added to a lathe or whatever, that would be an excellent first step.
already checked that out - 700rpm max - no thanx!
I'm really surprised that there is not a cheap machine coming from China, or somewhere that fits that market.
Just looking at that one I see several limitations.
The short shafts, the plug under the shaft.
Several things don't look too handy.
BTW the word Engrish was a nice touch!
T
Keep Rockin!
Terry
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