Humbucker Bobbin Lead Idea

[jrdamien]

I'm sure this has been done before but I wanted to put it to a new post and see what everyone thinks.

I'm unsatisfied with the various ways of doing a start lead. The hole is ideal but it always corrupts the shape of the coil (but someone please tell me how to do it in such a way as it doesn't change the coil shape!). So I cut a slot into the bobbin as pictured, stopping just short of the inside of the slug/screw hole. This leaves a nice vertical route for the lead wire to sit into. After winding it's very snug and secure. I trimmed the keeper to accommodate it.

Ideally I need to find a way to notch it without the top being cut.

[jonson]

A Dremel with a small ball end burr should do that for you. All the bobbins I use already have that groove in there and just enough to lay about an 1/8 inch of pigtail but no sleeve. The sleeve I always bury just in the bottom flat and as soon as the coil is wound that should not slip. You should get no distortion of the coil that way. Strange I have read on here a few threads about how to solder the wire to the pigtail and find most guys wrap 5 or 6 turns round the bare pigtail and solder. I only do so once as the only place it's gonna break is the point where it joins the pigtal so all those extra wraps just bulks it up.

[jrdamien]

A Dremel with a small ball end burr should do that for you. All the bobbins I use already have that groove in there and just enough to lay about an 1/8 inch of pigtail but no sleeve.

Where do you get these bobbins from?

[jonson]

You have to have them made like it and as Jon and Belwar will say it's not cheap so that's why I suggested the Dremel.

[David Schwab]

Just drill a hole. That's what I do. Drill it close to the bobbin core.

I wrap about 10 turns of magnet wire on the tinned lead and then solder it, pass it through the hole, and lay it against the bobbin wall and tape it with thin masking tape. Then I wrap about 5 turns by hand, and put it on the winder.

It makes a slight bulge, but you can't even see it when the coil it wound. Also, I tape up my bobbins after they are wound, so that hides it further... assuming you can see it, which you can't. I just run the finish lead out the end of the bobbin. Sometimes I cut a small notch for that to nest in. Depends on the style of pickup I'm doing. On most of mine you can't see the bobbins on the finished pickup.

That's how I do it anyway.

[jrdamien]

Just drill a hole. That's what I do. Drill it close to the bobbin core.

I wrap about 10 turns of magnet wire on the tinned lead and then solder it, pass it through the hole, and lay it against the bobbin wall and tape it with thin masking tape. Then I wrap about 5 turns by hand, and put it on the winder.

It makes a slight bulge, but you can't even see it when the coil it wound. Also, I tape up my bobbins after they are wound, so that hides it further... assuming you can see it, which you can't. I just run the finish lead out the end of the bobbin. Sometimes I cut a small notch for that to nest in. Depends on the style of pickup I'm doing. On most of mine you can't see the bobbins on the finished pickup.

That's how I do it anyway.

Thank David. That's how I was doing it. I was just trying to find a way not to distort the coil. The bulge I get always bugs me. But you're right - it's irrelevant after taping.

[Mystic]

I solder both the start and the end, on the outside of the coil. I just cover the coil wire where it starts, with a small piece of blue painters tape inside the bobbin.

[davos]

I tape about a half inch of the bare coil wire onto the back of the bobbin. Then wind it and solder on the hookup wires afterwards whilst taping them to the outside of the coil. If its wire like PE that needs the insulation removed before you solder then I do that before I wind the coil.

[David Schwab]

You guys that solder the leads on after you wind, you never end up breaking off the start end of the coil? I never had luck with doing it that way. That's too fiddly for me.

[big_teee]

You guys that solder the leads on after you wind, you never end up breaking off the start end of the coil? I never had luck with doing it that way. That's too fiddly for me.

I agree with David.
I always end up breaking the start lead flush, and having to start over.
I wind over the 28 Ga.
either drill a hole, or cut a thin notch with a hacksaw blade for the wire to break out of.
T

[davos]

You guys that solder the leads on after you wind, you never end up breaking off the start end of the coil? I never had luck with doing it that way. That's too fiddly for me.

Oh yeah I totally did for the first dozen or so tries. I have the hang of it now, I honestly haven't snapped the wire there once in the last couple of years. Having a fair bit of play helps

[Peter Naglitsch]

You guys that solder the leads on after you wind, you never end up breaking off the start end of the coil?

That has never ever happened (LIAR!!!) As noted, you get the feeling for it after a few tries, just like all other methods.

[David Schwab]

That has never ever happened (LIAR!!!) As noted, you get the feeling for it after a few tries, just like all other methods.

After I broke the wire more than once, I decided to use a different method. Now I don't break the wire. I really don't have time to futz with stuff like that.

[Stratz]

I cut a slot into the bobbin as pictured,

I'm not being critical but cutting the slot plus the keeper bar modification seems like a lot of extra work not to mention the slot showing if you don't cover all of your pickups. I just tape about 6 inches of the start wire to the back of my face plate.

If the wire somehow happens break while handling it or soldering it to the pig tail, or when stripping the insulation from plain enamel there's still plenty of wire left to get it right.