I can't go over 3k per coil :(

[csparks75]

I am not certain, as I lack all measuring devices at the moment.

I imagine I will get one at some point, I just do not have them now as I'm new to the pickup making game.

[Joe Gwinn]

I am from Karachi, Pakistan. We got copper wires industry here. The wires are manufacture locally from imported copper for which is further used in motor winding and transformers.
And i have updated my profile.

Thanks. Karachi? That is a first for us.

[Joe Gwinn]

I think normal college lab micro-meter screw gauge is useless for this. What do u think ?

Not necessarily. I assume that these "micro-meter screw gauges" are what we call micrometers in English. If so, they can work, but you need one that can resolve to 2.5 microns (0.0001") or so. There are many micrometers that can do this. Here is one: MSC Item Detail.

[csparks75]

I now think I'm having similar problems....I bought some wire, and went to wind it on a bobbin, and I couldn't get 3K on the bobbin! I'm running to get a micrometer now, but what I'm wondering is what the typical diameter of 42 AWG soderon is....and if it was heavy build, what would the approximate diameter be for that? EDIT: After doing some reading, the specs are here: http://www.essexgroup.com/magnetwire...rt/default.htm so, ignore this first question. :-)

If I was sold heavy build, then I want to get my money back, the product was not advertised as heavy build....I bought it on fleabay, so that's my first mistake.

I'm just a hobbyist, so where can I reliably get relatively inexpensive wire in small quantities? The StewMac stuff is expensive per lb.

ubaid, were you able to measure your wire?

Thanks!

[Joe Gwinn]

Measuring fine wire with a micrometer

When measuring the diameter of fine copper wire with a micrometer, one must be very gentle, or the wire will be crushed and you will get erroneously low diameters. However, if one is too gentle, one gets erroneously large diameters.

What I do is to form the wire into a flat zigzag so that there are five or ten parallel strands between the anvil and screw of the micrometer.

I also make multiple measurements using nearby but different sections of wire. One measures a given section of wire at most once. If the readings are consistent, one is probably getting good measurements.

Wiremakers use optical comparators to measure diameter, but these instruments are too big and too expensive to be practical for most pickup makers.

[csparks75]

When measuring the diameter of fine copper wire with a micrometer, one must be very gentle, or the wire will be crushed and you will get erroneously low diameters. However, if one is too gentle, one gets erroneously large diameters.

What I do is to form the wire into a flat zigzag so that there are five or ten parallel strands between the anvil and screw of the micrometer.

I also make multiple measurements using nearby but different sections of wire. One measures a given section of wire at most once. If the readings are consistent, one is probably getting good measurements.

Wiremakers use optical comparators to measure diameter, but these instruments are too big and too expensive to be practical for most pickup makers.

Thanks for the tip! Of course, I couldn't find anyone locally who had micrometers that would measure this small of a wire, so off to the internet I go!

[csparks75]

Well, after much debate I decided to try and wind another bobbin, and it wound up just fine...I'm thinking my novice technique is what screwed me more than the thickness of the wire....however, I have seen on this board that there are a few places that have a sometimes inconsistent product...so, I'm guessing micrometers are good to have even for hobbyists.

Ubaid, good luck! My 5K turn bobbin reads in at 3.7K Ohms, and I'm sure I had room for a few more thousand winds.

[ubaid88]

Yeah iam probably few from my country. Because people there are not intrested in diy, they just want to get on the shelf available stuff as soon as possible. Chinese guitar are very cheaper and are exellent replica of famous brands. Many of them just get them and they dont care about improving it.
csparks75, well done you are close. But i haven't reached even half. I want to reach 8k but even after 4 attempt my max result is 3.5k.

Anyway, what of wire is suitable polyurethane, enamel or polyester coated. Also there something more know as single coat or double coat.

:: Allied Groups :: Allied Copper Wire
:: Allied Groups :: Moonstar Enamelled Copper Wire

Which is the best for pickup winding ?