Removing Wax Potting ~ Heat & Centrifuge ?

[Lyrebird Steve]

Was wondering if anyone has tried removing the wax potting from a pickup by heating the pickup and spinning it to centrifuge the wax out of it ?

Was thinking of punching a hole in the bottom of an ice-cream tub and using a drill poking through the hole with a wooden block attached to to mount the pickup. Heat to about 80 Celsius with a heatgun/hairdryer from a distance and turn the drill on ?

It seems like it might be an effective way to remove even vacuum potted wax.

[Joe Gwinn]

It can work, but safety is an issue if you are spinning fast enough to remove the wax in a reasonable time.

Commercial centrifuges are built very strong, to contain the rotor when it breaks apart while at max speed. And the rotor will eventually break.

[big_teee]

Trying to figure out why You would want to remove the wax?
If I just want to unroll some wire, I use a hair dryer, or set the bobbin on top the soldering iron cage.
When the wax melts I squeeze the pickup in a paper towel.
If you're cutting the coil off the bobbin with a knife, it cuts off easier full of wax.
On humbuckers, if you tape them well with paper tape before potting, very little wax gets in the bobbin.
Covered Humbuckers, I tape the bobbins, and pot with the cover on.
Most of the Microphonics is caused by the cover and baseplate, and IMO the pickup still has good harmonics when potted taped and covered.
Too much info I know, but just some things I've Run across potting pickups.
GL,
T

[Lyrebird Steve]

Trying to figure out why You would want to remove the wax?

I'm building an automated pickup un-winder.

It will track the position of each wrap on the bobbin so I can rewind as close as possible to the original winding.

I would like to save the original wire, for use in the re-winding process wherever possible, and I think this would be easier if the pickup was un-potted.

Cheers
Steve

[Chuck H]

Why not just re pot the pickup in something like lamp oil to minimize the actual amount of wax left in the pickup. If you could heat something like a gallon of oil and agitate the pickup some to assist wax vs. oil displacement I would expect the pickup to unwind almost like it was never potted.

[big_teee]

Why not just re pot the pickup in something like lamp oil to minimize the actual amount of wax left in the pickup. If you could heat something like a gallon of oil and agitate the pickup some to assist wax vs. oil displacement I would expect the pickup to unwind almost like it was never potted.

That is a good idea, I thin my potting wax with liquid paraffin oil.
When you take it out of the oil squeeze it in the paper towel.
T