First Attempt at Pickup Building: A Dan Armstrong

[JCrab]

This is just cool as

[whitebison66]

Progress update:

The parts are in! Bobbins, magnets, blade poles and wire.

I may need to have new blade poles made, since the stock ones aren't big enough for the job at hand. Nothing wrong with them, I just need oversized ones to match the Armstrong pickup. They'll need to be thicker (outside the bobbin) and sit much higher since they must touch the magnets on the bottom as well as protrude through the plastic cover.

Can anyone tell me what type of steel the blade poles are made of?

I tried to find a used sewing machine here, but they are not popular. I could have bought a new one, but I need that arm and leg for work.

I went with an electric fan motor instead. So I will have to build something a little more involved than I originally intended, but that's not a problem (famous last words).

And I'll need a rheostat too, which (if my reading is right) will have to be wired in after the 3-speed selector.

I'm thinking of going with an electromechanical counter and a microswitch; still doing lots of reading.

But I am looking forward to this new challenge, and I want to thank everyone for their help and encouragement. Wish me luck!

[CRU JONES]

Progress update:

The parts are in! Bobbins, magnets, blade poles and wire.

I may need to have new blade poles made, since the stock ones aren't big enough for the job at hand. Nothing wrong with them, I just need oversized ones to match the Armstrong pickup. They'll need to be thicker (outside the bobbin) and sit much higher since they must touch the magnets on the bottom as well as protrude through the plastic cover.

Can anyone tell me what type of steel the blade poles are made of?

I tried to find a used sewing machine here, but they are not popular. I could have bought a new one, but I need that arm and leg for work.

I went with an electric fan motor instead. So I will have to build something a little more involved than I originally intended, but that's not a problem (famous last words).

And I'll need a rheostat too, which (if my reading is right) will have to be wired in after the 3-speed selector.

I'm thinking of going with an electromechanical counter and a microswitch; still doing lots of reading.

But I am looking forward to this new challenge, and I want to thank everyone for their help and encouragement. Wish me luck!

Hello, You are doing well!
I made my winder out of the parts from an broken computer printer. You don't actually need much torque to wind up a coil. My whole winder uses just under 700mA for the whole thing and can still snap wire

There are lots of microswitch's and optical switch's inside old printers too! Belts, gears, metal rods, you name it!

Ethan

[whitebison66]

I'm slowly amassing the parts for the winder. I've got the fan motor and a dimmer.

I hope the dimmer is compatible with the motor:

I'm thinking to use a microswitch like this:

and position it so that the little rod that holds the blades in place, pushed slightly offset in the drive shaft, could hit the switch:

I'm hoping to be able to mount a bobbin bracket to the blade retainer knob, since that's the simplest solution I can think of.
I'm still looking for a counter, and any suggestions would be appreciated. I think this one will work, but I'm not sure:


I need to design a base for the winder, and figure out how to immobilize the motor; I'll probably just strap it down. I don't think I need to support the shaft since it's not very long, but if I'm wrong I hope someone will tell me.

It's slowly getting there...

[whitebison66]

Well, that rheostat doesn't work very well with the fan motor. It goes from stationary to too fast almost immediately and therefore is useless.

I have a line (hopefully) on a sewing machine motor, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

[whitebison66]

Here's an update (of sorts).

I got a sewing machine motor, and it is much more controllable with the dimmer.

Here's my next, uh... challenge. I need to get the microswitch and the counter to work, and I am not having any luck.





The microswitch voltage is "under AC/DC 125/250V"

It's got the standard COM, NC and NO lugs. I can't seem to find the proper wiring for it.

[big_teee]

Here's an update (of sorts).

I got a sewing machine motor, and it is much more controllable with the dimmer.

Here's my next, uh... challenge. I need to get the microswitch and the counter to work, and I am not having any luck.
The microswitch voltage is "under AC/DC 125/250V"

It's got the standard COM, NC and NO lugs. I can't seem to find the proper wiring for it.

You'll probably have better luck getting the counter working if you will post on the Tools and coil winding gear forum.
Tools and Coil Winding Gear
Sounds like your on your way!
T

[whitebison66]

Thanks and will do!

[big_teee]

Did you get your pickup done you were working on?
T

[whitebison66]

Nope, this has been the stumbling block.

Well, that and fabricating blade polepieces that incorporate the DA style curved 5mm top.

But at this point, getting the winder winding (!) will be a big step forward!

[big_teee]

Nope, this has been the stumbling block.

Well, that and fabricating blade polepieces that incorporate the DA style curved 5mm top.

But at this point, getting the winder winding (!) will be a big step forward!

OK, good luck.
All of us that hang out here, also watch the tools and winder gear forum, so we will all help if we can.
Later,
Terry

[whitebison66]

AHA!!!

I'm still kind of fascinated and amazed that it works.







I got 161 wraps into it before the wire broke, but that's better than I expected anyway. I just wanted to see if it would do it at all!

Here is video proof that it's working:

Homemade Pickup Winder - YouTube

THANK YOU to everyone for your help and encouragement.

I can't wait to get started!

[big_teee]

Winder looks good.
If your wire is breaking, several things to check.
Start winding slow at first.
You may be using too much tension.
Check bobbin edges for anything sharp.
Sand all the edges real good.
Check wire spool, and make sure it has no sharp edges on the spool rim.
Good Luck,
T

[whitebison66]

Thanks Big Tee!

I'm working out the tension, as its part of a larger process that requires constant vigilance; the speed of the motor can increase on it's own, which is where I get some other breakage.

I wound a bobbin to 5500 turns the other day (estimated since breaks meant lost turns), but that included 3 breaks I tried none too elegantly to solder together. I really didn't expect it to work, I just wanted to see what it was like to wind an entire coil.

I'm going to try again today, going very slowly and hopefully succeeding without breakage.

I still need to check my winding goal; I want the pickup to end up around 9.5k.

[whitebison66]

Well, progress... of a sort.

I drilled a little hole in the bottom of the bobbin to feed the start wire through and soldered a larger wire to it.

Wound 5,000 breakless turns.

The start wire broke in the hole when I went to check continuity.

I'm scratching that method.

I want to leave a length of the AWG42 and join it elsewhere. I'm thinking the baseplate, though at this stage its likely to be brass. But if I fill the hole with solder and the two wires, it would still make the connection, right?

At the very least, I could immobilize the bobbin y screwing it to the plate (I need all the idiot-proofing I can get) and hopefully do a better job of joining the coil wire to the leads.

I'm surprised I could get the 5k turns on only my 2nd attempt, and I'm really surprised at how accepting I am of the learning curve and its attendant 'waste' of wire.

Onward. Which includes at least a little backward.