Casting Pickups.

[jonson]

Iv'e written this after reading several quotes from the present and past forums of guys that have walked away from casting resin pickups and wish to try it. I have no contact with Kent anymore and I am sure he will have no objections to this thread. I learn't a hell of a lot in the few times I visited him and hold him in great respect for the inginuity and quality of his work. I very rarely cast pickups anymore but the knowledge is there and I am grateful for it. I worked through memory over the years and my memory of all of Kent's procedures may be off in places but I was still able to produce the same product so the scope is there to change things around a bit and go your own way.
There are no secrets here as all of this is out there on molding and casting websites with videos and tutorials to get anybody going in this direction started.
If my grammar is bad then I beg your pardon as I was to intent on getting on the road playing as a teenager rather than learning my lessons, and my drawings would qualify me for a job as a lavatory cleaner, but I have written it in a slightly childish way as some of you guys out there in non english speaking countries need some help with it now and then. There are some guys who are casting and please come in and make any suggestions.
If anything needs clarification just ask and I will help with what I can.

[dpm]

Very informative!

[Dave Kerr]

Damn, jonson, that's some impresssive stuff.

[David Schwab]

Very cool, and very simple! I've been meaning to try this, and this is pretty much the way I thought it would be done, and it's nice to have the details spelled out. Thanks!

On his website, he has a PDF of a newspaper article and it shows a photo of him winding on his very simple winder. In the background is the pan with the wax. I thought it was very cool that he winds the coils with no bobbins, and then uses the wax to hold them together. They also show the freestanding coils on his site.

[David King]

Jonson,
Thanks for a compelling read. It's making a lot more sense to me now.
Anyone in the states who wants to get going in this should know about jgreer.com for all the resins at a reasonable price. Most towns of any size will have casting supply houses locally. Tap plastics has a good assortment and has stores in many localities.

[David Schwab]

David, thanks for the jgreer.com link! Their prices are better than what I was paying for the potting epoxy from Mouser.. and they have pumps!

[jonson]

fast cast

I'm buggering about with polyurethane fast cast resin at the moment which I think is a rebranded Polytek USA product. Difficult to do black as the natural material dries to an ivory white but all other polyurethane pigments mix well. Gets a bit hot but the blades and mag should take care of that side of it plus any filler powdrs you wish to mix in, but the demold time is about 20 mins. Great for knobs and switch tips, can knock loads out in a day.

[Evilbiker]

Do you have more pictures?

[jonson]

Sorry Biker, but I was doing this back in the days of the 35mm and box Brownie cameras, and me and cameras still don't get on. I'm busy sorting the direction of my life at mo but if I can find some time I'll do a simple pickup all over again and see if I can do a story board with it.

[Sheldon Dingwall]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge Jonson. I must have missed it, but why the plasticene/plaster of Paris step instead of just going straight to silicone? Cost?

[jonson]

That's the one Sheldon. (Cost)
Iv'e just remade a pair of molds for some Harmony style knobs and switch tips and that has taken a straight 1/2 kilo of silicone, whereas if I had used the plasticine method then 1/8 kilo would have done it. Here in the UK a good quality silicone rubber knocks on the door at about $80 a kilo, and when some molds I do take a couple of kilos or more as in 3 or 4 part molds then the saving is well worth it.

[Sheldon Dingwall]

That's the one Sheldon. (Cost)
Iv'e just remade a pair of molds for some Harmony style knobs and switch tips and that has taken a straight 1/2 kilo of silicone, whereas if I had used the plasticine method then 1/8 kilo would have done it. Here in the UK a good quality silicone rubber knocks on the door at about $80 a kilo, and when some molds I do take a couple of kilos or more as in 3 or 4 part molds then the saving is well worth it.

Thanks Jonson. You're doing 3 and 4 part molds?!!! Wow.