Running out of wire when winding

[bmcd]

I just finished winding my last coil and noticed the wire left on the spool is very low. I was wondering what procedures other people use when running low on wire. Some possibilities come to mind:

• Put aside the old spool and use new one. Possibly the experienced eye can tell when there's not enough wire left to complete a coil.
• Continue to wind with the old spool and splice if it runs out.
• If the wire runs out, remove it from the bobbin and start over with a new spool.

Since I'm relatively new to winding, I haven't developed the "feel" for how much wire is left. My plan presently is to take the chance and wind another coil. Since the next bobbin planned is very small, it may make it. If not, I'll get the chance to see a bare spool, which will give me an idea of how much wire is left going forward.

Thanks for any shared thoughts.

Bob

[epizootics]

If you know the weight of naked spool (a lot of wire retailers use standardized spools), you can weigh yours, subtract the naked weight, and, from the original specs from the seller, work out the length of the remaining wire, give or take a few yards...It saves the trouble of having to start over if you run out too soon.

[mozz]

Measure the resistance of the leftover wire and estimate compared to a finished coil. I have spliced before with no problems. Just make sure you scrape the insulation off and solder good.

[bmcd]

Interesting, hadn't thought of working off of weight of the spool. That'll take a small bit of research to see how practical. DC resistance sounds good, if the inside end of the wire can be reached without unwinding the spool. I'm not at my shop presently, so can't inspect it for access to the end. I'll check first thing Monday. Thanks guys for the ideas!

[Jim Darr]

I just finished winding my last coil and noticed the wire left on the spool is very low. I was wondering what procedures other people use when running low on wire. Some possibilities come to mind:

• Put aside the old spool and use new one. Possibly the experienced eye can tell when there's not enough wire left to complete a coil.
• Continue to wind with the old spool and splice if it runs out.
• If the wire runs out, remove it from the bobbin and start over with a new spool.

Since I'm relatively new to winding, I haven't developed the "feel" for how much wire is left. My plan presently is to take the chance and wind another coil. Since the next bobbin planned is very small, it may make it. If not, I'll get the chance to see a bare spool, which will give me an idea of how much wire is left going forward.

Thanks for any shared thoughts.

Bob

My 2 cents. Splice, Splice, Splice...but splicing, if not done properly, can cause problems down the road with a break in continuity. If your going for A #1 quality you probably want to give notice to the buyer and sell it at a slight discount.

[David King]

See thread on low impedance pickups...

[jrdamien]

There seems to be two schools of thought on splicing. A: It's fine if done right. B: Never sell a spliced coil.

I'm in camp B.

You can weigh the wire or just do it enough that you'll know there's not enough on the spool to finish a coil. Save that spool for r&d.

[kayakerca]

There seems to be two schools of thought on splicing. A: It's fine if done right. B: Never sell a spliced coil.

I'm in camp B.

Camp "B" here as well.

[bmcd]

Thanks for everyones opinions. On my last coil I ran the wire down so the core of the spool is showing. I now can use this as a visual reference going forward. I measured the inside diameter of the spool and can compare that to others when wire is running low. I could also do a calculation to roughly determine how many turns are left on the spool and very approximate wire length left. Not an accurate number, but a ballpark figure. I was hoping the coil estimator would give wire length of a given coil, but I didn't see that feature. I'd have to do a similar calculation to determine length needed to wind the intended coil. I'll have to think on this a bit.

In the meantime, since I have an empty spool as a reference, developing a feel for how much wire is left is a good "seat of the pants" approach. I generally don't like splicing, but sometimes it can be appropriate when doing R&D, so I'd have to say I'm in Camp B as well.

[bmcd]

David, I'll take a look at the low impedance thread. Presently 8 pages long, so will take a while! Thanks for the reference.

[David King]

bmcd,

Sorry that was a joke or at least trying to be. That said the thread is fascinating but uses a different wire gauge so not really relevant.

[copperheadroads]

I make a pickup that I start out winding with 42 gauge & splice a smaller gauge on & keep winding .

[Richard]

How did the 2 wire gauges affect the sound?

[copperheadroads]

How did the 2 wire gauges affect the sound?

The same way i anticipated it would.

[rjb]

Didn't the skinnier wire choke off the sound?
I'd be afraid of electrons backing up at the splice until the whole thing exploded.