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I've been playing around with this idea for a bit and so far it's working out. The idea was to have a tensioner and a gauge all on a platform that could move side to side and serve as a manual traverser. Using the dial indicator idea came by making something similar for tuning drum skins that I saw was a available on the market (I think it's called the Drum Dial). It was easy to make on the lathe and then I thought perhaps a gauge could be used to measure the wire tension between two points. The number on the dial doesn't really give you a tension reading but it does give you a relative number to use as a reference to either adjust up or down or make sure you're tension is consistent as you're winding. I'm using surgical tubing for the wire to pass through at the posts. The tension is applied at the first post by way of he screw at the top. There's a screw at the right side to serve as a stop guide. The indicator is the most expensive thing at $35. The rest is just scrap, probably just a couple of bucks.
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Have you done winds using this set up yet?Originally posted by StarryNight View Post
I would think you would need a dynamometer to give you a sense of how a certain number of grams of dead for draw tension relates to a specified travel distance on the dial indicator. As a test, I just went down to the shop and put one of my dynamometers up against my Starrett dial indicator. ~ 25 grams of direct force does move the Starrett ~ 1/4 turn of the dial in my case. I know when I am setting up tension for a wind, if I pull the wire quickly with the dynamometer, it measures a lot more tension than when I draw it slowly. You definitely could benefit from a dynamometer like below to help you gauge the travel on the dial indicator.
Dynamometer 50 GR
I like your idea of an integrated tensioner and meter, but I'm not sure that this setup will provide a usable reading when you are winding an oblong coil shape like a pickup at speed. I'm not sure how the lateral force exerted on the dial indicator will correlate with the dynamic linear force fluctuations of the wire being pulled by the oblong winding bobbin, especially at winding speeds. The travel of the dial indicator may be hopping around in an extremely irratic pattern and pace.
You may find that the wire cuts into the surgical rubber tube wire guide very quickly as well, which will dynamically increase tension as it cuts deeper.
I'm interested to see how it progresses.Take Care,
Jim. . .
VA3DEF
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In the immortal words of Dr. Johnny Fever, “When everyone is out to get you, paranoid is just good thinking.” -
Hi Jim,
that's valuable information, thanks! I didn't realize dynamometers were that inexpensive. I have the dial indicator for working on my lathe and mill so i thought i would try it as a tension gauge. Because the gauge is set between the two posts and after the tensioner, there is no lateral movement of the wire and no fluxuation in the dial when the bobbin turns. If the bobbin is centered and coplaner there shouldn't be much variation in tension as the bobbin turns. As you said, the variable that increases or decreases tension is speed and the wire is travelling at the same speed as the bobbin spins so there shouldn't be any variation in tension (there is variation in force around the bobbin but I think that has to do with the different radii of the oblong bobbin. Having said all that, there is also little change in the dial when I speed up the bobbin so something tells me it might not be giving me an acurate reading with regards to pressure. I took the plunge and bought that dynamometer you referenced. I figured having the proper tool will eliminate the guess work of knowing what tension I'm winding at. The beauty is having the gauge tell me the tension in real time as the wire passes over the needle so I'll have to set up the dynomometer in a similar way if i can.
with this rig I'm getting closer to the idea of hooking up an arduino with some kind of motor to move the traverser side to side. I don't really know much about them but they look pretty cool. I've got a DC motor on a PWM for the bobbin winder and I'm not sure if it can integrate that to the arduino as well or have to use the arduino PWM and re-jig the whole thing. I'm not even sure what kind of motor I should use for the traverser, servo, DC, stepper? Anyway, if I get the thing set up right I'll post a video.
TonyLast edited by StarryNight; 12-17-2013, 11:01 PM.Comment
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That sure looks like the little 30 gr tension meter that I picked up a couple of month ago.
I'm also curious about how the tubing works for tensioning. I can't say that I've been that impressed with felt so far.Comment
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Thank you for sharing.
What is the base made of, some type of plastic? Looks like the material cutting boards are made of.Bobby, www.TysonTone.comComment
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This is interesting!
As a novice who is still winding by hand, I'm looking for an easy way to create a tensioner.Comment
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I used a Haydon Captive Linear Actuator for my traverser (bipolar stepper motor). Works very nicely and you just mount a platform on the end of the shaft for your wire guide and tensioner.Originally posted by StarryNight View Post
Not a great shot of it, but you can get the idea.Take Care,
Jim. . .
VA3DEF
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In the immortal words of Dr. Johnny Fever, “When everyone is out to get you, paranoid is just good thinking.”Comment
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That's exactly what it's made out of (i'm not sure of the correct term for it though - nylon?). It machines really well, super cheap and slippery which works for this application. I got the steel rods from a dissected ink jet printer. The big steel rod i got from a metal scrap yard. I have a small collection for working on my lathe. Could be easily built and assembled with a drill press. The rods are just press fit into the nylon.Originally posted by Beef Coon View PostComment
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Right, I think I remember reading about this project. That's a nice looking rig! Yes, I think a stepper motor is the way to go. As much as an actuator would be the right thing to use, I'll have to try and rig up a regular old stepper motor with a hinge of somekind. Is your's noisy?Originally posted by kayakerca View PostComment
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I'm pretty sure there are veteran winders here that have been, and still are, winding by hand. After 5 years I still don't mind "going commando" as I like to call it, but my brain sometimes gets me in trouble and makes me think to try new things.
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what don't you like about the felt (i've never tried using it)? I don't have enought time on this rig to report good or bad on the tubing. so far it seems fine. I think speed and friction might have a lot to do with the success or failure of a tensioner. At high speeds that wire gets hot on the fingers! I suppose any material might suffer early failure from the same kinds of conditions.Originally posted by David King View Post
I had the tubing for building strat and tele pickups of course but I was also thinking the high density foam for supporting bass pickups etc. might also work. Plumbing O ring gaskets and shoe rubber were another materials i thought might work (shoe rubber comes in different densities).Comment
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Noisy? Not at all.Originally posted by StarryNight View PostTake Care,
Jim. . .
VA3DEF
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In the immortal words of Dr. Johnny Fever, “When everyone is out to get you, paranoid is just good thinking.”Comment
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Thanks for sharing that. Nice old school winder he's got there. The tensioner wasn't too clear to see. I wonder if the tension is set for all three pickups or if each is set independently?Originally posted by Achiles View PostComment
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