Bobbin mount (aka platen) shape

[StarryNight]

just wanted to start a new thread on a subject that was touched upon in another thread...

what would the advantage of round a platen be over a rectangular one if any?

[David Schwab]

what would the advantage of round a platen be over a rectangular one if any?

Probably not much, but I think with a round one you might be able to incorporate different mounting setups for different type bobbins, since you can rotate the bobbin.

[Stratz]

with a round one you might be able to incorporate different mounting setups for different type bobbins, since you can rotate the bobbin.

My thoughts exactly. Especially if you mill it to accept specific bobbin types.

[Magnut]

SAFETY! Trust me on this one. A circular plate offers less chance of getting ones fingers caught where they should not be. I use a rectangular mount and I am changing it to a round one just for this reason. I need my fingers....

I use a DC motor which has plenty of torque. I got my finger caught once and the motor just kept squezzing my finger until I was able to hit the kill switch. I was merely repositioning the winder at the time and bumped the on switch. Got caught between the plate and the prox switch. OUCH!

[David King]

Also a round plate will never catch your wire or generate wind to potentially suck the wire where you don't want it to go.
My plates are milled so that the inside surface of the flatwork is level with the plate. No way for the wire to hang up on the edge, no need to wire guides if you bevel the edges of your plates. I use a tailstock so each bobbin is held between two plates.

[StarryNight]

Also a round plate will never catch your wire or generate wind to potentially suck the wire where you don't want it to go.
My plates are milled so that the inside surface of the flatwork is level with the plate. No way for the wire to hang up on the edge, no need to wire guides if you bevel the edges of your plates. I use a tailstock so each bobbin is held between two plates.

I remeber seeing your plates from a previous thread and being blown away how nice they were machined. I won't have a tail stock on the winder I'm currently building so I'm going to have to stick with flat plates and some kind of wire guide (more on that later!).

I'm wonding if it's possible to attach the bobbins only with magnets imbedded in the platen. For example, I usually make strat bobbins with the same size magnets and they stick out the top about 1/16", what if little 1/8 x 1/8" neo magnets were sunk into the platen and the holes were then widened to fit the bobbin magnets. then it would be a matter of slapping the bobbin on the platen without any other mounting device! If it held, it could work for the majority of standard pickup designs. Of course you'd need a platen for each pickup style. Anyone attempt this insanity?

[Lyrebird Steve]

Made a post that might assist
Easy to make Bobbin Mounting plate from scraps you have lying around

[StarryNight]

very clever! Thanks for sharing - a great use of CDs that have no purpose otherwise!

I like your use of magnets to hold the bobbin. I've just bought some 1/4 x 1/4" neo magnet rods and I'm going to see if I can place them in the plate exactly where the screws/slugs would go. i'm hoping they are strong enough to keep the bobbin in place (and centered) without routing a cavity into the plate. I'll report back when I have time to work on it.

[StarryNight]

Some interesting developments on the pickup mounting plate have occurred. I wanted to make a plate that was as simple as possible to make as well as easy to mount bobbins without fussing with threading screws or a tailstock. Magnets in the plate was the first thing that came to mind but my first idea to bury the magnets below the surface and then sink the steel into the plate failed as the tolerances for drilling for depth as well as spacing the holes for each type of bobbin was quite exacting. This time around I decided to oversize the magnets and make them flush with the surface. The third thing was to cut a rabbet into the plate that went right through each end without having to worry about the length or radius of the bobbin. I have increased the size of the magnets to 1/4" x 1/4" rod neos and they certainly grab the steel with confidence. What's really interesting is by placing the magnets 10mm apart it also works for all humbucker bobbin sizes (both screw and slug sides) because the magnets have a self-centering quality to them. There's no aligning or fussing with the bobbin, it just snaps in and centers itself. I thought I would have to make a plate for each bobbin size and for both sides but this one plate seems to handle all six different standard humbucker bobbin types. The rabbet can even be oversized as the bobbin doesn't have to be parallel to the plate.

[Possum]

Round is just better in every way, you put all kinds of different mount holes in it, it won't cut your fingers etc. I built Lollar's winder and nothing I did would give me a totally stable round faceplate that had zero wobble, so I bit the bullet and went and had two machined out of aluminum stock, had a silicon bronze center with threaded hole for mountings. These work perfectly and ended up on my Adams Maxwell winders with the same shaft diameter. Sometimes its way less costly in time and aggravation to have a pro make something for you; I wasted so much time trying to make something that had zero wobble.....

[StarryNight]

The round plate posed many challenges and even though I have a metal lathe, parting and facing a large diameter like that in steel would push my little lathe to the limit. Having one made would be the way to go. I was surprised however with this nylon stuff. The brick I bought came predimensioned for length and width, I just have to part off for depth on a chop saw. It machines great and having the magnets and the groove as is fits all humbucker sizes both screw and slug and they just snap in place. It's almost weird how it centers itself. I'll need to make a few more for Fender guitars, basses and P90s. If I ever get a machine winder I'd probably have the plate made.

[Joe Gwinn]

The round plate posed many challenges and even though I have a metal lathe, parting and facing a large diameter like that in steel would push my little lathe to the limit.

Aluminum works just fine.

One can start off with a piece of plate cut roughly round on a bandsaw, and do the precision boring and facing on the lathe using a faceplate (versus a chuck). No need to cut a 4" diameter bar off.

To make a hub, machine it independently of the plate from a smaller bar, heat the plate up to ~400 F, insert hub (room temperature) into plate, and allow to cool. The plate will shrink onto the hub, which will be held in a death-grip. Then machine the hub+plate assembly as desired. When both are at room temperature, the hub outer diameter of the machined surface of the hub should be about 0.001" larger than the internal diameter of the bored hole in the hub. It;s useful if there is a shoulder on the hub, so when inserted into the plate it knows where to stop.

[Joe Gwinn]

The round plate posed many challenges and even though I have a metal lathe, parting and facing a large diameter like that in steel would push my little lathe to the limit.

Aluminum works just fine.

One can start off with a piece of plate cut roughly round on a bandsaw, and do the precision boring and facing on the lathe using a faceplate (versus a chuck). No need to cut a 4" diameter bar off.

To make a hub, machine it independently of the plate from a smaller bar, heat the plate up to ~400 F, insert hub (room temperature) into plate, and allow to cool. The plate will shrink onto the hub, which will be held in a death-grip. Then machine the hub+plate assembly as desired. When both are at room temperature, the hub outer diameter of the machined surface of the hub should be about 0.001" larger than the internal diameter of the bored hole in the hub. It's useful if there is a shoulder on the hub, so when inserted into the plate it knows where to stop.

Do the final facing and boring on the hub+plate assembly, not the individual pieces, to ensure that the bore is perpendicular to the machined face, for lowest wobble.

[StarryNight]

I assume you would have to replace or sharpen your bandsaw blade after cutting aluminum as its not much good for wood afterwards. The trouble I have with aluminum is the tapping for mounting screws. Having a tail stock would be ideal. But I find tapping 4/40 threads in aluminum and then using steel screws in and out over and over tends to wear the threads out pretty quick. This is probably more to do with my stellar machining skills than anything else. I also find tapping aluminum more difficult than steel as it is soft and tends to grab the tap and break it. Note: it's not me that breaks the tap, it's the aluminum!

[the great waldo]

Hi Starrynight

I'm using the straight ali with steel screws, but I must admit that it's a lot of faffing about to mount the humbucker bobbins. How good is the grab with the magnet system with tight winding ? Any problems with the bobbins moving ?
Cheers

Andrew