black vulcanized fiber... what's the point?

[SJE]

Did someone say wooden pickups . . . my latest prototype - Black & White Ebony:



Still needing potting and taping up but I can't wait to try this out.

Or how about Laos Rosewood:



This is the Alnico 8 one from the blindtest . . .

[David Schwab]

Nice looking pickups.

I did wooden covers once.

[SJE]

Nice looking pickups.

I did wooden covers once.

Cheers! The 8 string version in particular will become better looking once I've got the drilling and routing templates made from steel at a precision machine shop . . . I'd love a CNC but that just won't happen!

They are some fine looking covers also - what wood is that? It reminds me of a figured rosewood grain but looks a bit too light in colour.

[the great waldo]

looks like cocobolo or zebrano stained.

Cheers

Andrew

[David Schwab]

The tops were indeed cocobolo, and the base was bloodwood.

[jason lollar]

I made pickups out of everything you can imagine- circuit board, cassete tape cases, credit cards, acetate, celluloid, PVC, Ivory, acrylic, casting resin, wood.
Fiberboard is super easy to machine and- well dont cut it with a band saw unless you have a fine blade- that has alot to do with the thiness of the material/ teeth per inch ratio. It routes very well, dont bother sanding it- scrape it or file it.

i made alot of wood pickups in the 70's and found alot of reasons not to use it- plywood would be better than solid wood but aside from mechanical reasons- it looks like 70's design IMO, remember laminated bodies that look like surfboards? Purple heart and zebra wood- stripes of purple heart running along the lenth of the body lets see....http://www.flyingvintage.com/gcmag/g...2002may2-1.jpg
and

http://www.gbase.com/files/store_ima...wrrvlf0_so.jpg

I remember lamination being prevalent but I cant find many photos- maybe most of them wound up as firewood Purple heart just winds up brown in a few years!
Serious, every material has a set of problems, fiberboard is a breeze to work with compared to others and its reasonably stable if you treat it the right way. circuit board is super hard on tools but it could be the best if you could easily machine it.

[David Schwab]

I remember lamination being prevalent but I cant find many photos

Hippy sandwiches?

Purple heart just winds up brown in a few years!

Yes, and no. Depends on how you finish it. But it does get darker. See above photo. That's after 15 years.

Serious, every material has a set of problems, fiberboard is a breeze to work with compared to others and its reasonably stable if you treat it the right way. circuit board is super hard on tools but it could be the best if you could easily machine it.

I agree. I have some bobbin parts laser cut in wood. The first batch split a lot, so I had to have them made thicker. I also had some made in acrylic, and those were the best. But I got the wood ones cheaper.

I made a lot of bobbins from circuit board material. Now a use Lexan for most of them.

a prototype stacked tele pickup made from copper clad board.

[GuitarmanUK]

after working with this stuff I've decided I really don't like it! It doesn't cut well or sand well,

Basically, if someone here had to talk me into using the stuff, what would you say?

I would say vulcanized fiberboard is probably the ideal material for strat/tele type pickups.
I suppose Fender used it because it is well suited to production methods using blanking dies in a press to cut the flat-ware, including the holes for the magnets etc.
They wouldn't want to drill the holes if they could punch them out in one go - vulcanized fiberboard is a good choice for that.

But, like Possum said, it should sand and drill fine ...

[ken]

David, ya gotta love those 'hippy sandwiches'... just watch out for them 'shrooms.

Actually, there are lots of reasons to use Forbon, and not just because 'Leo said so'.

It was one of the first good high voltage insulators and it won't melt or deform if it gets hot, so it is still used today in high voltage AC transformers.

It is indeed easy to machine, so you don't need fancy machinery to make a good looking bobbin. Sanding it is a waste of time, because scraping with a razor blade is easier and faster.

It is actually stronger than the same thickness of wood, so it won't split or crack.

Also, it's actually a 'green' material because it can be made from just about any recyclable cellulose material like old cardboard boxes or newspapers.

Best of all, it just looks right in my Esquire, where to me a plastic bobbined pickup looks kind of strange. However, I am considering maybe a flamed maple bobbin top for my next Tele.

Ken

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

Maybe I'm a little jaded - the project I'm working on involves cutting pieces like a jig-saw puzzle and it just isn't really workable for me, I'm just too used to other materials.

Has anyone done CNC work with it? It has a natural curve to it, it seems like if it doesn't want to lie flat you'd have issues. I can see a punch working okay, that definitely makes sense.

[Magnut]

I have CNC lasered it. It does like to curl especially in large sheets. It needs to be weighted down or held down until ready to cut that area.

Punches are ok but it leaves rougher edges. Many of the ones you can buy pre-made are punched.

[soundmasterg]

One big advantage of vulcanized fiberboard when used for Fender style pickups is when you go to solder the leads into the eyelets, it won't melt like plastic does. That right there is worth it for me.......

Greg

[Joe Gwinn]

One big advantage of vulcanized fiberboard when used for Fender style pickups is when you go to solder the leads into the eyelets, it won't melt like plastic does. That right there is worth it for me.

Soldering to eyelets in thermoplastic is easy, but counterintuitive. Try using a bigger hotter soldering iron, so it's all over in one second at most.

[ken]

Joe is right. The best way is to use a large, clean iron, clean eyelets, lots of flux, and the 'kamikaze method' - done in a second or less. I also keep a can of freeze spray at my area in case I take too long and the plastic melts.

ken

[David Schwab]

I also keep a can of freeze spray at my area in case I take too long and the plastic melts.

Good idea! I haven't used that stuff in years.