Wal Bass Pickups?

[Kobaia]

There's two styles of Wal pickups.

What type was the one you took from that guy on Talkbass and didn't return for ages?

I make one version with adjustable poles that's pretty close to the real thing... It's a lot of work.

I'm also doing a version with non adjustable poles.

Lol you even making pickups? It must be a lot of work given your massive backlog of pissed off customers. Its a shame to see you advertising your wares here, given your shoddy business model and massive waiting list.

[mr fab]

i have some RM inductor bobbins here for a similar project i have in mind for guitar pickups.... you can get them on ebay, or specialised electronics suppliers

RM bobbins come in a variety of sizes

[big_teee]

I would like to find a source of flat round fiber disks.
Then I could drill holes and mount rod magnets in them.
Any ideas where I could source those?

[mr fab]

i would get just get them water jet cut. its cheap to get done, and water jet cutting leaves a very clean cut, with little burring or rough edges

[big_teee]

I don't have a clue where I would get water jet cutting in my rural area?
I have some sheet forbon, I think I have figured out how to drill and make the disks.
For a Prototype I would only need 16 disks to start with.
But before I get too carried away, I Have to rout my test bass to take the larger MM style Pickup.
T

[Marko Ursin]

I make the discs out of Forbon in a drill press. I drill M5 holes to the Forbon, cut it to squares and put the squares on a 5mm bolt. Then I put the bolt on the drill press and use the drill as lathe and turn the discs round. I use a chisel mounted on a vise when turning the discs. Takes about 15 min to make discs for one pickup.

[big_teee]

Great Info Mark.
I was considering something similar, but didn't think of the last step of mounting them on a bolt for rounding the squares.
I learn something daily here!
**edit
For that matter it wouldn't hurt anything to leave the drilled disks Square.
Might not be as cosmetically Aesthetic?
They would wind on the winder, just as easy as round.
Line up all the square bobbins in a row?

[jonson]

One of the biggest uses for vulcanised fibre is fibre washers so just google that and take your pick.

[big_teee]

I did and didn't find anything.
I looked at M-Carr.
If you find anything, please post the link.

[Marko Ursin]

I find it easier to make round discs than square bobbin plates that are exactly the same size.

[jonson]

Thought it may be a Brit thing but no there is this.
Vulcanized Fibre Washers On New Process Fibre Company, Inc.
or this Flat - Custom Fiber Washers | JTD Stamping
Vulcanized Fiber Washers - New Process Fibre
May be some help. I first came across them in the car trade and still use lots now. Great insulators ie:- solder tags on certain baseplates etc. I do know fibre tubing is available as well as tufnol and plastic tubing so making bobbins is not a problem.

[David King]

I found the same links as Jonson. You can also try searching for fish paper and phenolic washers. There are lots of plastics available but most are going to be hard to glue i.e. acetal, PTFE, HDPE etc.
You could also buy these 22mm bobbins and cut them down a little http://allstarmagnetics.com/assets/bobbin.pdf
10pc 22x15mm Plastic Bobbin Wire Coil Former Fr DIY Speaker Inductor Transformer | eBay

[Chris Turner]

For the Wal-style pickups that I've made, I've used some nylon bushings that I found at Ace Hardware along with fiber washers.

However, if I were to get serious about it, there a source for pre-made bobbins like this: CosmoCorp. They have pretty much any size you'd need there. Only problem is there's a minimum order size.


EDIT: Ok, I just looked through my emails from a while back when I had requested a quote from CosmoCorp on these bobbins. The minimum order was 500 pieces, at a price of $368.29 per thousand. So, for 500 pieces, I would have been looking at about $184.15. Not too bad, really (edit: ...considering you can't them anywhere else, really)

[big_teee]

Chris:
Were yours using Rod magnets, and if so what diameter.
I'm considering making a 8 multicoil with the bobbins wound on either .195, or .250" rod magnets?
Thanks in advance,
T

[David King]

Chris, that's a great place. Part number 7074-0 seems like it would be ideal. http://www.cosmocorp.com/en/ppHandle...T=&DISP=FILTER
The price is very high. I bet it would fall by a factor of 5-10 if you were able to order enough pieces.