Newb in need of review

[Dr Iley]

Okay, so I tried making my own pickups for a lap steel project I'm working on. I made a pickup winder out of an old fishing spool and it seemed to work rather well. So here's the results I need some help with.

Before potting it read 5.66k ohms, but I measured it this morning and got a reading of 9.66k ohms. ???

There are a bunch of little things I need to work on, but the biggest thing that baffles me is that I can't get any volume without cranking my amp way past what I normally do for any other guitar. And I pretty much have it as close to the strings as possible.

So here is the specs on what I used so you guys can help me figure out my volume issues.

AlNiCo II bar magnetized poles on the flats

303 Stainless Steel, Hot Rolled, Annealed & Pickled-1/8 x 1/2 303 ss annealed flat rail slug

43 awg Heavy Formvar (9775 turns)

Vacuum Potted with Paraffin wax

I used black vulcanized fiberboard and mounted the slug right in the middle of the magnet.

As far as wrapping, it felt like I had a good amount of tension and was scared to add more for fear of breakage, but then again I am a newb and don't know for sure how much tension the wire can take.

I'd appreciate if you can point me in the right direction.

[copperheadroads]

Is it a single coil or a bucker ? I guessing a single & I'm assuming 303 stainless has good magnetic properties
The 9.66k is probably correct for the gauge of wire & number of turns . it might be possible that it it had a short & when you potted it ,The wax insulated the wire again
- as for the volume ,Do you have the magnet charged &,Do you have it setup close to the strings ?

[big_teee]

I did a search on 303 Stainless.
What I came up with is 303 stainless is non magnetic.
I would think this to be un-suitable for Pickup Slugs.
Good Luck,
Terry

[copperheadroads]

Well there's your problem you need ferrous metal for poles

[salvarsan]

Type 400 Stainless is magnetic, but you may be better off using low-carbon steel rod such as 1006, 1008, or 1010 if you can get them.

Every metal vendor has 1018, but the lower numbers are preferable.

[Dr Iley]

Yes I was making a single coil, sorry of not mentioning it.

I bought the magnet from AddictionFX on eBay so I'm pretty sure it was properly magnetized.

It sounds like I chose the wrong steel for the job. I must have misunderstood the description from the site I was buying from. It said it had a low magnetism, and I thought that would let the strings sustain more without being pulled to a stop. Rookie mistake I guess?

Thanks a lot for pointing me in the right direction, I'll check out those steel values for my rail slugs. BTW: Doing a rail because I'm making a 7 string lap steel and I figured that it would be easier than doing individual pole pieces. I'm pretty much just working with a hand Dremel for just about everything. Maybe Santa will bring me a drill press?

[big_teee]

AlNiCo II bar magnetized poles on the flats

I used black vulcanized fiberboard and mounted the slug right in the middle of the magnet.

A couple things I noticed above.
The Magnets should be magnetized on the long edges, not on the flats.
the slug rail should be against one long edge, not on the middle of the flat side of the magnet.
Can you give more info about the magnet and slug orientation.
Good luck,
Terry

[Dr Iley]

A couple things I noticed above.
The Magnets should be magnetized on the long edges, not on the flats.
the slug rail should be against one long edge, not on the middle of the flat side of the magnet.
Can you give more info about the magnet and slug orientation.
Good luck,
Terry

I know that is the normal arrangement for magnets, but I went back and forth with the supplier a couple of times and decided to go with this setup. Not that I'm trying for anything close to a Charlie Christian style, but their magnets were also pole oriented on the flats. It just gives it a different shaped magnet field, or so I've been told.