Best bobbin glue

[Zhangliqun]

I've been using the Stewmac thin (10) stuff and on the whole it works well, but once in a while I hear a crackle/crunch when testing the strength of the bobbin that makes me a little nervous.

[Possum]

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I find the Mojo flatwork tops are cut so slim you literally have to use an arbor press to jam them on, alot of times I have to ream them some just to get magnets into those tight holes. I always lacquer dip the Fender stuff, not for insulation but to keep moisture out of the flatwork and to glue the magnets, I do insulate the magnets as well. I don't get flaring using this method, I actually kinda wished Mojo didn't make the tops fit so tight, it can be a problem sometimes....

[jason lollar]

Anyone notice in the last couple years that forbon really shrinks and expands more than it use to?
When I bought from NVF american made stuff I never had any problems with shrinkage. now when they went out of production this other stuff- maybe toyo- I have to keep anything I cut sealed in a plastic bag. Once you lacquer it or pot it that stops the shrinkage.
I have had parts expand or contract so much the poles would no longer fit in a strat pickup cover!
Got to keep the stuff in plastic bags before I cut and after.
I keep the humidity in my shop fairly constant.
Its so bad I would be leery of buying pre made parts.

[Possum]

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I didn't realize Forbon no longer exists! The stuff Mojo uses sure isn't the same, it seems stiffer. I have some Forbon left, guess I'll have another excuse to raise prices on some NOS Forbon strat pickups, except I hate making them on the router :-)

Jason maybe alternatively you could bake the stuff in the over at low temp in your oven to dry it out before use, might save on A/C bills....

[Joe Gwinn]

Would lacquer (or shellac) dipping the ~forbon stock before machining into bobbin flanges help to stabilize against humidity changes?

[Possum]

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Probably not, those sheets are like 20x40, pretty big, plus Jason is laser cutting them and lacquer fumes would be a problem I bet.

[David Schwab]

Would lacquer (or shellac) dipping the ~forbon stock before machining into bobbin flanges help to stabilize against humidity changes?

It would after they are machined.

[Joe Gwinn]

Probably not, those sheets are like 20x40, pretty big, plus Jason is laser cutting them and lacquer fumes would be a problem I bet.

I don't know that shellac smoke is any worse than forbon smoke, or plastic smoke in general.

As for 20X40, a big cheap paintbrush may be easier than a diptank for small quantities.

[jason lollar]

They are 4 X 8 foot sheets and believe it or not I go through quite a few of them. I cut them down to 12 X 24 and bag them in trash bags. After i cut the parts and wash them I let them dry out a buit and bag them again in sealable baggies. Once they are aseembled I could dip everything in the potter and put it under vacuum for as little as 10 seconds and that will stop any moisture exchange- I tested that a few years ago but what I usually do is I just keep the assembled units in sealable baggies untill everything gets potted unless I am not going to pot it then I will pre soak the asseblies in the vaccum potter and then wind.
Most everything I make gets a minimum of 10 seconds in the potter- that will keep the outside layer of the coil from shifting if it gets bumped.
I use to just cut the forbon into 12 X 24 and stack it to keep it flat and thats all I had to do- it never shrank or expanded.
I love my laser cutter- imagine I use to make hundreds of P-90 bobbins at a time by hand with a router, table saw and drill press followed by tele, strat, P and J bass and all kinds of custom stuff. Cut all my tele baseplates by hand with tim snips- too funny!
I was pretty good at it too- it was hard to tell they were not store bought parts.