my winding setup and the coil barrier

[black_labb]

i just wound a pickup last night and took a few photos of the setup including the paper funnel system i used to prevent missing the bobbin while winding.


here are a few pics.



here you can see the pickup on my metal lathe (bit overpowered for pickups maybe?). you can also see the reedswitch connected to the calculator to cound the turns. the paper funnel system is there aswell letting you see how it directs stray coils back into the bobbin. you might notice the paper behind the bed of the lathe, which i put there to make it easier to see the wire against the background.



there is the coil i just wound. i have decided i will call it the gravity coil, as it is wound 1000 times the acceleration due to gravity on earth. i was about to stop at 9800 and went the extra 10 just so i could say that.



here is the lathe itself. it works well to wind, i just put 2 milkcrates ontop of eachother and sit on them while winding, and put some music on til its done.



my spool of wire. 0.06 mm (between 42 and 43 awg, got the odd sizing as it was the smallest spook they had at 1.6kg as opposed to 4 kg ones)


one question i have, is it bad to have a group of lose wires that you can move by hand? i glued 2 pieces of paper together for the funnel system to make them mroe rigid as i want to be able to put the pieces into a walnut cover that i will make. i want to keep the unit fairly thin so i used just paper, and it will get its real stiffness in the cover. the glued piece came in a bit and funneled in a few mm from the edge of the bobbin making a line where they stopped but they would slip into the gap and loosen up. i know i will have to do some potting, but other than some light potting (dont want to fully remove microphonics) would i have to do something else? does it do anything bad?

thanks

[SkinnyWire]

Interesting. Does some of the paper stay in place? What type of pickup are you winding there - that dude looks pretty big.

Anyway, just some observations that others may disagree with - maybe food for thought though. Looks like an excessive amount of bulge in the coil to me. I like a bit of bulge, but much less than what I think I'm seeing here. If that's what you're shooting for though, no worries. However, that might account some for the loose winds, along with the amount of travel you're allowing with that funnel system. I'd recommend considering something more along the line of adjustable stops. I use something similar to what you see on the Schatten winder here:

http://www.schattendesign.com/winder.htm

By getting your travel, tension, and wire distribution set you should be able to wind most coils with no loose winds flailing about. One or two ever now and again is inevitable, but to me it's like kissing your sister. It probably won't make the coil overly microphonic by itself as long as the tension is otherwise on. You're going to tape and maybe pot it anyway.

[black_labb]

the bulge is much more pronounced on the ends (where you can see from the pics) it looks close to flat on the flats of the coil. the lose ones were because the paper had a bend in it due to the gluing, and didnt let me lay the coils right to the egde, so sometimes they would shift a bit and fill the spot as it let them be looser. it is generally a loose coil, i dont know if it will be used but im not unwinding it. the coil is similar to a p90 i guess. im making the bobbins myself so its not really any specific coil. it came to 8.7 ohms

[SkinnyWire]

It's beefy! Let us know how it sounds. Good luck!

[gilligan]

WOW!

That's one hugh winder. I think the funnel is way more trouble than is necessary. Just wind slower, and guide by hand. It's not that hard to do. Just my opinion.
Ron

[black_labb]

That's one hugh winder. I think the funnel is way more trouble than is necessary. Just wind slower, and guide by hand. It's not that hard to do. Just my opinion.
Ron

i bought the lathe a year ago to make some bike hubs. i made them and they worked perfectly, so i dont need to make any others. i use it now and again for different things. i could probably wind up to 20 coils or something like that if i got a bunch of bobbins and lined them up next to eachother and made a long guide that fed each bobbin at the same spot on the bobbin, and then moved the guide with the saddle on the lathe or something alond those lines. then i could wind a huge number of coils at once, id just need alot of spools of wire... a cheap pickup production line. maybe if i become good enough that the pickups are actually worth some money...

[black_labb]

It's beefy! Let us know how it sounds. Good luck!

thanks, it wont be for a bit as i still need to finish making the guitar for it to go into.

[Joe Gwinn]

the bulge is much more pronounced on the ends (where you can see from the pics) it looks close to flat on the flats of the coil. the loose ones were because the paper had a bend in it due to the gluing, and didn't let me lay the coils right to the edge, so sometimes they would shift a bit and fill the spot as it let them be looser. it is generally a loose coil, i dont know if it will be used but im not unwinding it. the coil is similar to a p90 i guess. im making the bobbins myself so its not really any specific coil. it came to 8.7 K ohms

It looks like you have enough of a machine shop to make flanged bobbin holders, the flanges replacing the paper in purpose.

Cut four 4" diameter disks from aluminum sheet, using material of about the same thickness as the bobbin upper and lower plates. In two of the disks, cut centered oblong holes that fit around the edges of the bobbin plates. If the bobbin plates are not identical, then the oblong holes will differ. Assemble the bobbin flanges by screwing a blank plate to each plate with an oblong hole. Use small flat-head machine screws, and ensure that nothing protrudes. Sand the inner sides of the flanges smooth, to ensure that there is nothing for wire to catch upon.

Alternately, one can mill recesses for the bobbin top and bottom plates in thicker sheets of aluminum.

One flange is attached to a faceplate on the lathe, and the other is held in place using a live center in the tailstock, with the bobbin trapped between the two flange plates.

Having the bobbin plates in recesses prevents wire hanging up on the edges of the bobbin, which is very hard to prevent while winding without also causing too much of a central bulge (as one stays well away from the bobbin plates).

[black_labb]

thats not a bad idea, i dont know if id make it from aluminium though. particle board would probably work just aswell and would be made more easily id say. nylon would be another alternative, but getting that in the right size would be a bit mroe difficult. the paper works well but it does take a bit of time to set up.

[Joe Gwinn]

that's not a bad idea, i dont know if i'd make it from aluminium though. particle board would probably work just as well and would be made more easily id say. nylon would be another alternative, but getting that in the right size would be a bit mroe difficult. the paper works well but it does take a bit of time to set up.

Particle board would catch the very fine wire and break it. MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) might work. But aluminum is very easy to work, and will last essentially forever.

[NightWinder]

Aluminum is the Way to go....

[Spence]

Interesting solution but it's a strange substitute for a bar with two stops on it as seen on the Schatten winder.

[NightWinder]

You know Spence, I was thought the same, but I did'nt like the idea of the wire dragging over or under a pole.........you have a pm too spence, from a long time ago

[Spence]

For a guide I use a piece of mild steel tubing with rubber door stops for guides. Been working beautifully for years and never caused the lacquer to wear off the wire. I do keep it smooth with 1200 grit though.






PM answered Nightie

[NightWinder]

For a guide I use a piece of mild steel tubing with rubber door stops for guides. Been working beautifully for years and never caused the lacquer to wear off the wire. I do keep it smooth with 1200 grit though.






PM answered Nightie

Hey, so its all in my head that running the wire over or under a bar would'nt cause a flat spot in the wire? Im asking cause I Don't know. It was just a thought.....so I went with shields. I am However making another winder, and am going to work with a bar and stop this time. I really like the shields though......Get the winder rippin at 1400 and really cruze on the scatter. Is there any drag? Added tension because of the wire resting on the bar? Again, I only ask because i don't know, and am a day or 2 away from completeing this winder too. Spence, where did you send that P.M.? Its not here....Checking the Smiley face box......