Need a new coil winder

[DialtonePickups]

Good news! We've fixed the winder (for now at least) by replacing the USB cable and adjusting the traverse pot on the circuit board. We still get the random "you need firmware 1.5 error" when we already have it, but restarting the program/computer eventually got us past it. So now the machine is back to being my best friend because it allows me to do things like dishes and laundry in between winds.

We're going to buy a Mojotone winder to use as a backup, and for convenience when I don't want to get a computer all set up. I'm really looking forward to that part.

Thanks for everyone's help!

[big_teee]

Good news! We've fixed the winder (for now at least) by replacing the USB cable and adjusting the traverse pot on the circuit board. We still get the random "you need firmware 1.5 error" when we already have it, but restarting the program/computer eventually got us past it. So now the machine is back to being my best friend because it allows me to do things like dishes and laundry in between winds.

We're going to buy a Mojotone winder to use as a backup, and for convenience when I don't want to get a computer all set up. I'm really looking forward to that part.

Thanks for everyone's help!

I predict, you will be using the new red winder, and setting your coffee cup on the other one!
T

[kayakerca]

Good news! We've fixed the winder (for now at least) by replacing the USB cable and adjusting the traverse pot on the circuit board. We still get the random "you need firmware 1.5 error" when we already have it, but restarting the program/computer eventually got us past it. So now the machine is back to being my best friend because it allows me to do things like dishes and laundry in between winds.

We're going to buy a Mojotone winder to use as a backup, and for convenience when I don't want to get a computer all set up. I'm really looking forward to that part.

Thanks for everyone's help!

I predict, you will be using the new red winder, and setting your coffee cup on the other one!
T

That's only because you'll need a place to put your coffee with both hands in action when you're using the red winder.

[David King]

And stepper motors make great coffee warmers too.

[Jim Darr]

If I was winding by hand all day, I'd need something a lot stronger than coffee in my cup!!

[big_teee]

If I was winding by hand all day, I'd need something a lot stronger than coffee in my cup!!

But, do you wind all Day?
That would be a nice problem to have, that means Cha-Ching!
I do little dabs.
T

[Jim Darr]

But, do you wind all Day? That would be a nice problem to have, that means Cha-Ching!

T,

Most days I don't, but when I wind a lot I am glad I usually use mechanical auto-traverse machines. When I was much younger, I mean much younger, I really enjoyed hand guiding to the wee hours late into the night...then my cup definitely hand something a lot stronger than coffee in it.

This is a lifelong passion for me, as it is for most of us. I custom build guitars, wind pickups and really love restoring damaged broken vintage guitars. My wife thinks I am crazy when I bring home an old Gibson or Fender that is broken into multiple pieces. When I was traveling around North America a lot for my "day job", I would often stop into the used/vintage guitar stores to look for deals. Each trip usually produced one or two finds worth serious consideration. Today, I mainly use the internet. It is getting harder to find distressed vintage pieces at a price that makes it worthwhile. It seems like a lot of the "projects" you find are either priced too high for the work that needs to be done, or a neck and body only with all the parts stripped off it, or are not really what they claim to be. It is still fun, but hard to find the really great deals that were once so abundant.

Let me get back to winding. As I started acquiring the auto-traverse winders my focus turned to TPL and how changing it effects sound. I was amazed how the tonal response could be changed. Before that I was mainly focused on turn count, winding speed, my hand scatter technique and different gauges of wire. Later I got into full magnetization...then partial degaussing...then magnet type...then offset differences...then magnet wire insulation thickness... then insulation type...then alloys...then waxing techniques...and so on. All the experimentation helped shape my beliefs on how to make good sounding pickups on a consistent basis. I look forward to getting my first CNC winder as I am sure that will also change some of my current beliefs on sound shaping.

I am curious as to what variables my fellow winders think are most important to tonal response, consistency, and production efficiency. No trade secrets please, but general thoughts on the important variables and why.

Jim

[big_teee]

I mainly wind bass pickups now, and tall and bright is what I shoot for.
Lots of turns laid down fast is what I'm after.
I would like a faster machine, where I could put those turns down quicker would be nice.
Until I come up with more speed, I'll stick with the 1200rpm.
T

[Jim Darr]

Let me get back to winding. As I started acquiring the auto-traverse winders my focus turned to TPL and how changing it effects sound. I was amazed how the tonal response could be changed. Before that I was mainly focused on turn count, winding speed, my hand scatter technique and different gauges of wire. Later I got into full magnetization...then partial degaussing...then magnet type...then offset differences...then magnet wire insulation thickness... then insulation type...then alloys...then waxing techniques...and so on. All the experimentation helped shape my beliefs on how to make good sounding pickups on a consistent basis. I look forward to getting my first CNC winder as I am sure that will also change some of my current beliefs on sound shaping.

I am curious as to what variables my fellow winders think are most important to tonal response, consistency, and production efficiency. No trade secrets please, but general thoughts on the important variables and why.

Nobody other than T care to comment?

[CheopisIV]

Nobody other than T care to comment?

Missed that part

I strive for;

1) "Close" coil DC on the same sets. Some of the wire I have is spec'd differently (mostly 42PE or thereabouts) and will wind higher or lower so I try to keep the same DC even with having to up/down my turn count a little. I hand wind 6 turns each bobbin start and allow 3 extra turns at the end in case I break the wire while stripping it. I wind a bobbin to within about 7 turn of my documented numbers when doing one of my builds barring a lapse in stoppage and will unwind the few extra turns if I go over. A bit on the particular side but it's how I do it.

2) Magnets with Gauss readings within ~20-30 across the edge (ie: 760-780G end to end). I do my own charging and discharging to achieve this.. I prefer as even a charge as possible.

3) Metals (I do buckers 95% of the time) so have the same metals in each set. If my set calls for 1018 Slugs/1010 Screws, I keep them the same.

4) General Coil Shape/Speed of Winding/Tension. I wind by hand currently and do it pretty slow to try to get as consistent as possible but there's always going to be the human factor involved. I'm working on getting my new Winder with auto traverse up and running to do more testing on hand vs machine winding.

I'll be making some custom cams when I get my 3D printer working (burnt out my extruder ) and will be doing some custom cams to simulate what I try to do by hand to see how much real influence it has vs a straight heart shaped cam. I'm all for dispelling myths and hope to learn a few things in the next month or two, time permitting

[DialtonePickups]

FYI guys, I asked Mojotone about testing the winder, and here's what they said:

We test every winder for 100,000 turns in each direction before it ships so there shouldn't be any problem unless it get damaged in shipping or something weird. We also have a 1 year warranty on it and they are a newer upgraded version with a faster motor 1800 rpms, 10 programmable banks, and shielded motor cable. The old ones weren't shielded so they had electromagnetic interference with the motor if the cable was too close. It seemed to affect 1 out of every 60 machines or so intermittently until we changed to the shielded cable.

I wish I had tips on what re: winding we've found impacts tone, but with our pickups being active, winding techniques really don't make much of a difference.

I've tried winding coils with something a little stronger than coffee in my cup, and it doesn't go well.