Looking to Buy Fully Automated Winder

[LeroyB]

Hello all -

Long time lurker making his first post. I have a question and wonder if you all can offer some guidance. I'm kicking around the idea of buying a motorized coil winder for guitar pickups - 38AWG-46AWG. Standard size bobbins. Must have following features. A) I not have to build it/fix it up. B) Fully automated: auto stop, turn counter, tensioner, tailstock. Basically, a "set it and forget it" type deal. Toss on a PAF bobbin, come back in 5 minutes, pop it off, put on the next, etc.

I realize that such and item existed 60 years ago - but searching Ebay, it's mostly junk that is sold "as is", incomplete, or are prohibitively expensive to ship, etc. And usually the seller knows nothing about them as far as whether they would suit my needs.

I realize there are lots of DIY'ers here, but I want to buy one, not build one. The name of the game is ease or operation, full automation, simplicity...and CNC would be oh so sweet.

Does anyone here have one for sale, or know some models that fit my criteria? Or is there somewhere else online I could find more info?

Thanks!

[theboss]

You could try a unit from adams maxwell. The entire setup will probably set you back about $7500. I have one of their 1201-2 winders, but I made my own traverse/tensioner.

[LeroyB]

Thanks for the reply. I should've mentioned I do have a budget of around $1000 for a perfectly functioning unit, and that likely I'll be buying a vintage unit - but I have no idea which models to get. Bachi 115 seems to get mentioned. As does Coweco CS. Other than that, I'm lost.

I also was asking in case someone had something for sale that perhaps fit the bill or that they'd built themselves. I mean, I consider pickup coils very lightweight things - most of these pro machines look like they'd spin a Hi-Watt PT with no problem. I don't want to pay for that capability.

There's some Bachi 115's on Ebay - but again, I have no idea if it suits my needs as outlined above. Basically, every option seems to present a problem - I was curious if there was some benchmark standard for small pickup makers as far as a coil winder.

[Folkcafe]

I don't think you will find one in your budget range that wouldn't need work but there is a company that sells used processing equipment including coil winders in Salem MA. Their current catalog is at USED COIL-WINDING EQUIPMENT

[David King]

There's also that giant place in Ohio that sells on ebay. HCR or something like that. They have a pile of small winders at any given time.

You don't really need a tensioner or traverse for a PAF bobbin. Use a gravity tensioner (spool on floor, bobbin up near ceiling and across the room. The wire will auto traverse all by itself if you let it. The Japanese figured this out back in the 70s.

HGR industrial surplus is the name of the place. It looks like their stock of coil winding equipment has been wiped out or else I'm not using the proper search terms.

[peskywinnets]

Use a gravity tensioner (spool on floor, bobbin up near ceiling and across the room.

Probably not suitable for those living in studio apartments - unless you have a penchant for sharing your bed with a winder & retrieving snapped bits of 0.063mm wire out of your toaster.