New Mojo winder

[Jim Darr]

T

Did your new winder arrive yet?

[big_teee]

There are a few issues I'm working out with Mojo.
I hope to have a full review next week.
T

[big_teee]

Initial Review of the new Mojo winder.
To Start with I'm very picky and usually find something wrong with Everything.
However This new Mojo machine is a Bright Ray of Sunshine!
It has a Powerfull 24 volt Variable Speed Motor, and the Machine uses a planatary gear system, so there is no belts.
It runs in Both directions, and is programmable to any amount of turns.
The power supply is a 24 volt 5 amp supply, and so far has not even got warm.
The Faceplate is easily removeable and has an attachment bar that goes through the center of fender flatwork.
To run it you program the number of Turns, and program the direction.
For example: I programmed 8000 turns.
It will start counting down as I wind, and when it gets to zero it cuts off.
You can repeat the last programmed pickup wound.
I wound a pickup this morning I was needing to ship, in just a few minutes.
A fraction of the time I would have spent with old methods.
The real Icing on the Cake is the built in Gauss meter, it works great, which is probably Worth $70-$100 range for a stand alone unit.
So to recap, it is small and Compact, Takes up very little bench room, and is a very powerful versatile machine.
I wished I had jumped sooner!
Terry

[rhgwynn]

Initial Review of the new Mojo winder.
To Start with I'm very picky and usually find something wrong with Everything.
However This new Mojo machine is a Bright Ray of Sunshine!
It has a Powerfull 24 volt Variable Speed Motor, and the Machine uses a planatary gear system, so there is no belts.
It runs in Both directions, and is programmable to any amount of turns.
The power supply is a 24 volt 5 amp supply, and so far has not even got warm.
The Faceplate is easily removeable and has an attachment bar that goes through the center of fender flatwork.
To run it you program the number of Turns, and program the direction.
For example: I programmed 8000 turns.
It will start counting down as I wind, and when it gets to zero it cuts off.
You can repeat the last programmed pickup wound.
I wound a pickup this morning I was needing to ship, in just a few minutes.
A fraction of the time I would have spent with old methods.
The real Icing on the Cake is the built in Gauss meter, it works great, which is probably Worth $70-$100 range for a stand alone unit.
So to recap, it is small and Compact, Takes up very little bench room, and is a very powerful versatile machine.
I wished I had jumped sooner!
Terry

Do you have to program it for each pickup?

Or does it have a memory bank to store the counts of different common pickups?

[big_teee]

It is very basic.
You turn it on and with the 3 buttons program the direction and turns count.
After winding the pickup when it hits zero it stops.
To make another you hit program and you have 2 choices, use last, or make new.
If you are making several pickups alike, you just keep answering yes to make like the last pickup.
When you turn it off and back on it zeros everything and you start over.
Machines that have memory functions usually require a computer.
It is really easy to use, and has sped me up grately.
If you already have a good manual winder, probably no need for this one.
For a planatary gear rig, it really is not that noisy, and I've yet to break a wire with it.
I've not wound any 44 with it yet though.
T

[John_H]

Cool, I'm happy it worked out for you. It looks small in the pictures. Is it necessary to screw it to your workbench? I see it has tabs.

Could you post some close-up pictures of the bobbin mounting system please?

[big_teee]

Cool, I'm happy it worked out for you. It looks small in the pictures. Is it necessary to screw it to your workbench? I see it has tabs.

Could you post some close-up pictures of the bobbin mounting system please?

I'll try to get some pics, my camera setup is pretty poor, I need a new one.
I did use the tabs, and screwed it to a board.
I used a 2x4 to get it up a little higher, I may try another one.
I then C-Clamp the board to the edge of my desk.
I feed the wire the old way from behind me.
I have a rolling cart that my wire is mounted to and I roll it around behind me.
It works good for me, but doing that I prefer the machine mounted a little higher on the desk.
On the mounting system, the only hitch is going to be winding a Strat Blade coil.
I will have to use a different bar, and mount the small bobbins with double tape.
T

[zparts]

Hi folks,

Here are some close up shots of the mounting jig... Keep in mind I designed this to work with "most" standard pickup designs but obviously there are too many variables for a one size fits all. That said this can be removed so the end user can make their own mounting jigs for anything special. Also there seems to be a lot of question on how to mount a humbucker bobbin. We just move over to the next hole and mount it off center. Sometimes it requires a quick pass with a drill bit to enlarge the hole ever so slightly for the threaded post to go through. This just depends on the variances from one bobbin to the next. Considering the bobbin is oblong anyway, there is no adverse affect at all doing this.

[John_H]

Hi folks,

Here are some close up shots of the mounting jig... Keep in mind I designed this to work with "most" standard pickup designs but obviously there are too many variables for a one size fits all. That said this can be removed so the end user can make their own mounting jigs for anything special. Also there seems to be a lot of question on how to mount a humbucker bobbin. We just move over to the next hole and mount it off center. Sometimes it requires a quick pass with a drill bit to enlarge the hole ever so slightly for the threaded post to go through. This just depends on the variances from one bobbin to the next. Considering the bobbin is oblong anyway, there is no adverse affect at all doing this.

Mounting the bobbins off center looks a little lame from my viewpoint. It would for sure throw things way out of balance.

The only things that will fit on there are Fender style coil forms.

Have you actually wound like that? I find it hard to believe.

Thanks for the pictures.

[kayakerca]

Hi folks,

We just move over to the next hole and mount it off center. . . . Considering the bobbin is oblong anyway, there is no adverse affect at all doing this.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]28255[/ATTACH]

I would tend to agree with John H on this one, off centre is probably a bad plan as it will be out of balance and wear on the bearing and vibrate. But I think as importantly, the tension of the wire may be different at each end of the bobbin if you are using a static friction device to control tension (like fingers or felt pads). The radius of the ends of the bobbin is different which makes the wire travel faster around the long end than the short end (relative to centre). I find the faster I draw the wire when I set tension, the higher the tension I read on the tension gauge. Well I notice a variance anyway.

That said, this one is a very easy fix. Drill mounting holes to correspond to a couple of the holes in the HB that are equidistant from the centre mount plate in both top and bottom mount plates. Drill and tap the inner plate and drill a clearance holes in the outer plate.

I still like the look of this winder.

[big_teee]

Mounting the bobbins off center looks a little lame from my viewpoint. It would for sure throw things way out of balance.

The only things that will fit on there are Fender style coil forms.

Have you actually wound like that? I find it hard to believe.

Thanks for the pictures.

So far I've only wound fender type bobbins.
I think the off center will work ok, but I'm with you on wanting things centered.
There are two fixes.
1. Make a second bar with two #4 tapped holes for humbuckers.
2. or take the existing screw out of the existing bar, which is easy to do, and drill 2 more holes for humbuckers.
I plan on doing #2.
Also with the screw out, you can use the existing bar with 2 sided tape, for smaller bobbins, and for micro blade bobbins.
All of This I can do.
Making a complete winder and fighting an accurate counter, and rounding up all the parts is more than I wanted to do!
T

[John_H]

..I think the off center will work ok, but I'm with you on wanting things centered...

It's a nice looking machine. They did a good job designing, but I'd never try to mount a bobbin off center like that, and I'd definitely not sell a machine for $500 and recommend such a solution. That's a weak effort at best. They could have done better. I don't mean to sound too critical, or derogatory, but 500 bucks is a lot of money for such a simple device. A little more thought could have gone into it.

Making a complete winder and fighting an accurate counter, and rounding up all the parts is more than I wanted to do!

I understand completely. Most people don't want to deal with it.

[big_teee]

I kind of analyzed it before I bit.
I suspected that additional mounting bars would have to be made.
Not taking up for anyone, but the deluxe Schattan is about the same price, no gauss meter, and you still use double sided tape to mount everything.
STEWMAC.COM : Schatten Pro Pickup Winder
I really don't see the money in that.
I looked through all the old TeleComm junk I still have in the shop, and came up with some nice thick plexi bars.
I can make a couple of mounting bars for buckers.
I also took the screw out of the fender mounting bar.
I can put it in or take it out.
In you can do fender stuff, out I can do my micro blade bobbins with 2 side tape.
Then I will have bolt on bars for buckers, that are centered, and that should do most of what I do.
And, I'm Still Happy as a Pig in Sh__
T
BTW: Where can I buy some more 5/16" collars?
I want to make about two or three more traverse rods, that way I can leave them set for what I do.
That will make changing bobbin types much faster to have them pre adjusted.

[zparts]

Thanks for the replies. In regards to the offset bobbin, it's not an issue with balance or stressing the motor. I've wound a bunch of humbucker bobbins this way. This machine is really solid and stable. I went overkill on the motor to the point of programing a brake mode to make ramp up smooth. The mandrel was almost the most costly part of the machine before I decided to go with the current mounting jig. I had originally designed one with multiple threaded holes spaced for nearly all pickups. The cost to have them made would have raised the price of each unit by at least $100. I figured best to go with the more basic mounting jig that would work for most allowing the user to make their own jigs for anything else.

[zparts]

Maybe if there was enough interest and everyone thought it was worth the money, I could have these multiple mount mandrel discs custom made and offer them as an upgrade to the basic one that comes with the machine.