the Thomas Winder

[David Schwab]

What if the back light LED could be strobed in time with the winder speed and then slowly rotated to show you exactly how the wire is laying down?

That might make you dizzy if you wind too fast!

Also it's an axle not and axil in English...

It's the damn auto spell correction in OS X Lion. If I'm not careful it changes words to I don't know what! I have to look at the keys half the time, so I'm not seeing words changed to some other words. I think I'll just turn that off...

Axil is actually part of a plant.

[Chris Turner]

What if the back light LED could be strobed in time with the winder speed and then slowly rotated to show you exactly how the wire is laying down?

Also it's an axle not and axil in English...

Like the timing light for an automobile... I like the idea.

[Stratz]

What if the back light LED could be strobed in time with the winder speed and then slowly rotated to show you exactly how the wire is laying down?

Thats actually an excellent idea David. I wouldn't have to stop the winder to get a good look at the coil shape.

An optical trigger can handle the winders RPM so I wonder if there's some type of gizmo that can be used as a strobe.

Anybody have any suggestions?

[Stratz]

Not pretty, but it gets the job done!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]19252[/ATTACH]

Hey David, Whats the blue tape for on your winding arm if you don't mind me asking?

I use double sided foam tape as you do. One thing that I have to remember is to remove the tape soon after I'm done winding or it can be a real bear to get off if left on the arm for a few days.

Rob.

[David Schwab]

Hey David, Whats the blue tape for on your winding arm if you don't mind me asking?

This is why:

One thing that I have to remember is to remove the tape soon after I'm done winding or it can be a real bear to get off if left on the arm for a few days.

Makes it a breeze to remove. I get maybe 6-10 bobbins wound and then have to replace it. But still, it gets hard to take off.

[Stratz]

Makes it a breeze to remove.

How the hell does the foam tape stick to aluminum with the blue tape underneath?

[David Schwab]

How the hell does the foam tape stick to aluminum with the blue tape underneath?

It sticks to the blue tape. The blue tape is stuck to the aluminum. The foam tape is easier to remove from the blue tape than the aluminum. I got tired of having to use a single edge razor to remove the foam tape after it's been on the winder a while.

[Stratz]

It sticks to the blue tape. The blue tape is stuck to the aluminum.

Duh, I forgot that the blue masking tape had a sticky side..... total brain fade.

I'll have to give that method a try.

[big_teee]

Where do you guys get the double sided foam tape?
I have two different carpet tapes. one is real sticky in warm weather.
Hard to get the glue off the pickup.
T

[Stratz]

Where do you guys get the double sided foam tape?

I usually get it at Home Depot.
It's called 3M, Scotch indoor indoor mounting tape- 2 LBs.
1/2" inch wide x 75" long. I just bought a roll for $3 and change from HD.

You don't need to use a piece the entire length of the bobbin unless it's a heavy pickup like a Jazz bass. For humbucker bobbins I use two short pieces about 5/8" long. one on each end of the bobbin.

Since it's pretty thick it's also great for bobbins that have the rod magnets protruding from the bottom of the flat work, like a Jazz bass.
You can either use a piece on either side of the magnets if you have a round plate or cut a piece in half lengthwise if you have 1" wide (Schatten/Thomas style) aluminum winding arms like I have.
Don't pay more than $4.00. You can get it for less.

Heres a pic of a roll of Permanent but you want Indoor. You cant see it in the picture but the backing is a green/white checker pattern.
You can see a roll hanging on the pic of David's winding guide a few posts up.

Rob.

[David Schwab]

I use the same tape. I get to from CVS or Home Depot. The one I bought last time was the permanent stuff. Seems about the same to me.

I use a full length piece.

[Jim Shine]

Yeah, I use that same foam tape on Fender pickups. On humbucker bobbins I can get away with standard double sided tape. The Fender type pickups need something that fits the irregular surface for the strongest bond.

[Joe Gwinn]

What if the back light LED could be strobed in time with the winder speed and then slowly rotated to show you exactly how the wire is laying down?

I've built such a beast and it does work. Bobbin position is sensed by an Agilent optical encoder that generates a pulse per rotation in one channel and 500 pulses per rotation in two other channels (in-phase and quadrature), so one can determine axle angle to a bit less than a degree of angle.

But a LED isn't nearly bright enough when making short-enough flashes, so I built a homebrew xenon strobe light. Even so, one needs to dim the room to not wash the light from the strobe out.

[StarryNight]

I've built such a beast and it does work. Bobbin position is sensed by an Agilent optical encoder that generates a pulse per rotation in one channel and 500 pulses per rotation in two other channels (in-phase and quadrature), so one can determine axle angle to a bit less than a degree of angle.

But a LED isn't nearly bright enough when making short-enough flashes, so I built a homebrew xenon strobe light. Even so, one needs to dim the room to not wash the light from the strobe out.

Joe, around the time of your birth, were your parents part of any covert government experiments that you are aware of?

[Joe Gwinn]

Joe, around the time of your birth, were your parents part of any covert government experiments that you are aware of?

Not to my knowledge, but then when I was at age ~ zero how would I know?