Anyone have a George Stevens coil winder in here?

[ken]

Hello all,

I have a 1950's George Stevens model 250? cam drive winder here I'm trying to restore. Unfortunately, I got it in a million pieces.

Would any of you who do use this winder have a good photo of the inside of their gear and cam case, so I can reassemble mine?

Thank you,
ken

[David King]

Ken I posted photos of a Geo here a year or two ago, those might be helpful or might not as I never knew what model I had but I think the 250 was close enough.

[TubeType]

Ken,

I use a Model 225 AMVP and have a lot of documentation for it. I'm not sure how it compares to your Model 250. Do you have any photos?

[Jim Darr]

Ken,

I have an early 50s Geo Stevens winder that I will be glad take some pictures of the cam mechanism and idler gears for you. Let me know if you need pics of other portions of the winder as well. Give me a few days to do this --- very busy this weekend. I know it’s not a model 250, but it still might help.

Terry,

I’d be curious to know if any portion of your documentation covers gear ratios, TPL, and the like. I have no documentation for this particular winder. Please PM me if I can get a copy of yours.

==========================================

Keep winding!!!

Jim

[TubeType]

Geo Stevens Winders

Jim,

PM sent.

[ken]

I was mistaken - my winder is a model 120M. I think mine is from around 1954.

David, your winder is somewhat like mine, but I have a chain driven electric counter and braking system instead of the clock style counter you have.

As far as I can tell I need to find a cam and followers, change gears, and the front cover. I was thinking about making a clear lexan front cover so I can watch the gears go around.

I have a photo of it when I just got it, I'll see if I can find it.

ken

[TubeType]

Here is a catalog picture of my Model 225. This is a later version of the one in David's photo. It is a cam-and-gear machine that can handle most electronic coil styles, including PUs. There are two change-gear cover plates (one front & one rear).
Also, I have included the assembly drawing and parts list. I hope you find this useful.

[ken]

Thank you for the photos.

TubeType's photo has my electric counter and control box, but I have different tensioners designed for very fine wire. I don't have the big round manual traverse? knob assembly at the bottom of my gear case either.

Does anyone know if Geo. Stevens still sells cams and change gears for their early winders? I want to set up my winder to only wind humbucker coils.

Ken

[Jim Darr]

Ken,

Here are some closeups of my Geo Stevens winder. Hopefully, along with the documentation that Tube Type posted, these will help you get your machine together.

Keep us posted on your progress.

=======================================

Keep Winding!!!

Jim

[ken]

Thank you all for your help.

I think I have enough info from the photos you all sent me to get the gearing together.

Now all I have to do is go 'gear hunting'...

ken

[TubeType]

Thank you for the photos.

TubeType's photo has my electric counter and control box, but I have different tensioners designed for very fine wire. I don't have the big round manual traverse? knob assembly at the bottom of my gear case either.

Does anyone know if Geo. Stevens still sells cams and change gears for their early winders? I want to set up my winder to only wind humbucker coils.

Ken

Hello Ken,

I'm glad to help. The contact information for the George Stevens Company is:

George Stevens Mfg.
Peter Urbanski
Division Manager
Phone(630)406-9550
www.geostevens.com

Peter was very helpful, but spare parts for the vintage machines are made to order. You can expect to Pay, Pay, Pay. I recently spent $800 for a cam shaft and its brass bushing. The gears start at around $80 for the smallest and go up from there.

[David King]

It might be worth looking over the offerings from Boston gear to see if they can be modified to work. If Mr Urbanski can tell you what the gear pitch is you might be able to take it from there.

[ken]

I did some research today...

Most Stevens winders use 48 pitch gears 1/8" thick with 1/4" ID shaft holes.
I'm told many larger RC trucks use the same pitch gears in nylon or aluminum alloy for their gearboxes.
Therefore, new gears should be as easy to find as your local hobbyshop.
You may have to open up a center hole or two, but it's way better than nothing.

I'm looking for two things right now - the 'left hand' (spring loaded) cam follower, and the schematic diagram for the original power supply/brake control box. The sucky thing is I **KNOW** I have a copy of the diagram somewhere here too, I just can't find it. Looks like I'll be calling Geo. Stevens and see what parts they still have left. Thank you TubeType for the contact info.

Thank you all for helping me... I have a .pdf copy of Querfurth's book on Geo. Stevens winders (the original manual sold with the winders from the 1950's) for any of you who PM's me and asks for one.

Thank you,
ken

[TubeType]

Geo Stevens Speed-Brake Control

Ken,

I have the schematic for the speed/brake control box. I'll scan and post it here later today.

Here it is. Enjoy!

[ken]

Thank you for the schematic! I have the original motor and gearbox for my winder but I wanted to convert it to use a modern 12VDC motor. It looks to me like this outputs about 110VDC max to power the brake as well as the motor, so I'll have to get a transformer and rectifier to use my new motor. Instead of the 150 watt rheostat, a Harbor Freight router motor speed control should
work well too.

ken