Am I magnetizing wrong

[windycityblues]

Earlier today I wound my first set of pickups (single coils) for a custom guitar that I built. I am thinking that I did a poor job of magnetizing them because they haave EXTREMELY low output. so I wanted to check with you guys for feedback. I have two of the rare earth magnets that I put in a vise and I slowly put each pickup through it two or three times. Stewmac recommends that you use four rare earth magnets (I didnt know this at the time that I ordered) so Im thinking I might need to double up on the magnets and re-magnetize, perhaps I also need to pass the pups through the magnetic field a few more times? Im not really sure so I hope you guys can help me out. By the way, my alnico magnet slugs and my flatwork was all purchased from addiction-fx.com if that means anything. Thanks in advance. -Alex

[Magnut]

If the two rare earth magnets came together the way they are mounted, would they repel each other or attract? They should attract. That is their polarity should all face the same direction.
It really doesn't take much to magnetize an alnico using rare earth magnets. When passing them through it is best to not let the alnico touch the rare earth magnets. Try insulating the charging magnets with a very thin piece of cardboard, like you find on the back of a legal pad. Pass the pickup through at a steady rate and try to keep an even path and stay on path until well away from the charging magnets.
Once charged be sure to keep them away from anything that may take the charge away. Any pics of your setup?

[windycityblues]

If the two rare earth magnets came together the way they are mounted, would they repel each other or attract? They should attract. That is their polarity should all face the same direction.
It really doesn't take much to magnetize an alnico using rare earth magnets. When passing them through it is best to not let the alnico touch the rare earth magnets. Try insulating the charging magnets with a very thin piece of cardboard, like you find on the back of a legal pad. Pass the pickup through at a steady rate and try to keep an even path and stay on path until well away from the charging magnets.
Once charged be sure to keep them away from anything that may take the charge away. Any pics of your setup?

They attracted to eachother (i tested this to make sure I was setting them correctly in the vise). I also used my polarity tester to verify this. When passig them through, I did have a hard time keeping the pups from touching the magnets so I covered the magnets with painters tape and put the pups through a few more times. Should I have de-magnetized the pups after they touched the magnets? What problems does that cause? Also, how many times should I pass them through the magnetic field (like I said above, I put them through two or three times). I'll post some picks of my home-made winder shortly and the guitar that I made with the pickups (gotta dig out my camera!). Thanks -Alex

[copperheadroads]

They attracted to eachother (i tested this to make sure I was setting them correctly in the vise). I also used my polarity tester to verify this. When passig them through, I did have a hard time keeping the pups from touching the magnets so I covered the magnets with painters tape and put the pups through a few more times. Should I have de-magnetized the pups after they touched the magnets? What problems does that cause? Also, how many times should I pass them through the magnetic field (like I said above, I put them through two or three times). I'll post some picks of my home-made winder shortly and the guitar that I made with the pickups (gotta dig out my camera!). Thanks -Alex

If you have the stew mac magnets i would just leave them in the plastic cases they come in & stick them to the vise in the proper orientation
STEWMAC.COM : Instructions for Pickup Kit for Strat
I have charged quite a few pickups using these

[windycityblues]

If you have the stew mac magnets i would just leave them in the plastic cases they come in & stick them to the vise in the proper orientation
STEWMAC.COM : Instructions for Pickup Kit for Strat
I have charged quite a few pickups using these

How many of the stewmac magnets do you use?

[copperheadroads]

How many of the stewmac magnets do you use?

When I was using them,I only had 2

[windycityblues]

Thanks for all the help, just one last question. How many times did you pass the pickups through the magnetic field? -Alex