Lamp Black/Wax Ratio?

[kayakerca]

Another thing I noticed that happens, and I am certain they experienced the same thing is the lamp black will settle down into the bottom, especially if the wax gets cold and solidifies (it completely separates and sits at the bottom). If it wasn't stirred up, the amount would be lean, if freshly stirred, it could be heavy until it settled a little. This junk is a PITA. But if you are going to rewind old pickups, may as well go the extra mile.

Yes, even with the little bit I created using a candle and a small Pyrex glass bowl to catch the smoke produced some incredibly messy suet. That stuff blackens up everything it touches. Even with the small amount of wax I used with the lamp black scraped together to blacken the string, I had a hard time keeping it from separating as you were pointing out. I'll definitely toss another $10 at a small crock pot for lamp black potting going forward. I don't see many of these bridges in the shop, but the few that do come through will now get potted with the new mixture.

[Jim Shine]

Once you start experiencing the mess it makes, you realize it made its way all over the leads, not just the solder point. People associate the slightly soiled look with just age..but I am certain most of it is traces of lamp black from handling with dirty fingers in a dirty environment.