just wound my first pickups

[copperheadroads]

i just wound my first two stewmac single coil kits with 42 gauge wire, after i figured out the tension to keep it from breaking the wire, there not perfect the bottom of the windings on the first pickup was a little more wire than on top the second one was better but still not perfect .the neck pickup was wound 8000 turns and reads 5.9k the middle one was was reverse wound 8400 turns it read 6.0k ,im wondering if this is ok or is it too tight or too loose ? .one more thing i magnetized the pickups and the middle pickup was suppose to be reverse polarity so if the others are south it was supposed to be north i magnetized it south dam nooby.... how can i change the polarity to north

[ShannonH]

congrats

now you're hooked.

The problems you are experiencing are fairly common. There are some tonal advantage to those asymetric coils, but to get a straight or "swollen belly" you just need to practice. The tension thing is the same, at first it feels like you'll break the wire, but you'll gain some sensitivity with your fingers. If you wax pot those coils they will sound good, but not real high output.

If you have neo magnetizing magnets, you can force a polarity change on the A5 by pushing the neo up to the alnico. It will take the opposing polarity you apply. Make sure you have the opposing polarity on the other side of the pole.

Above all, have fun.

[copperheadroads]

thanks it worked like a charm they sound pretty good . i dont have any vintage pickups to compare them .all my strats have overwound singles oh well

[RedHouse]

thanks it worked like a charm they sound pretty good . i dont have any vintage pickups to compare them .all my strats have overwound singles oh well

P.F.S.

"Proud Father Syndrome", we all have it, it's a good thing. There is nothing like playing your own pickups.

[Mark Hammer]

I wind mine with a hand drill, using my thumb and index finger to both tension and guide the wire. I find it very useful to stick a black background in the location I happen to be looking in while winding (generally downward inmy case), so that the wire is maximally visible while the coilform spins madly around in a blur. That helps a lot in being able to guide the wire and avoid excessive bulges.

[David Schwab]

I wind mine with a hand drill, using my thumb and index finger to both tension and guide the wire. I find it very useful to stick a black background in the location I happen to be looking in while winding (generally downward inmy case), so that the wire is maximally visible while the coilform spins madly around in a blur. That helps a lot in being able to guide the wire and avoid excessive bulges.

I keep some white plastic behind mine for the same reason.

I've actually been powering my winder with a hand drill, until I get a new winder. I can wind much faster than before, but I burn my fingers! So now I hold the wire with a small piece of microfiber cloth.

[chevalij]

So now I hold the wire with a small piece of microfiber cloth.

A good piece of felt or a chunk of the "Shamwow" (I hate the weird eyed salesman) works great. It's hard to break the wire this way also. Use a good desk light and a simple single color background as others have suggested.

[copperheadroads]

thanks guys I'll give that a try ,maybe i will practice rewiring some cheap pickups i have kicking around here, anybody have any luck getting good sounds from those cheapies like epiphone humbuckers and ceramic magnet strat pickups