Nosmo's PU Winder

I was in the shower the other day and I said to myself, "Self" I said, "with all the talk about maybe having to wind your own pickup for the 2013 challenge, I wonder why nobody has done a winder build thread?” I mean really, I know there are guys here that could do it. I know Scatterlee had a good thread a while ago, but come on...surely there has been some technological advancement since the invention of the spinning reel! Motor City Tele had a nice bit on his sewing machine winder, but that was 2010. (I think the sewing machine was circa 1890) I bet there are lots of sewing machine winder threads, but I don't have a sewing machine.

Well, if nobody else will do it I guess I will. Maybe this will give someone an idea of how to build a PU winder. (Not that I know how)

First you need a plan. I had a plan. I had 18 different plans. See, this is where it would really have helped me if someone else had done this first. One of the early plans involved using an o-ring as a belt drive. I just wanted to slow down the 1800rpm cheapy motor I had laying around by using different size wheels. Now if somebody, like maybe Barncaster, had done a thread and said all that crap would take up too much room in the container, I would have thrown out that idea sooner.

Then there’s the problem of a counter. If Herb (adirondak5) had suggested a Red Lion CUB digital counter, it would have saved me days & days of research. Then there’s speed control. I bet I could have learned lots about that from R Stratenstein or jimdkc, but NOOOooo, where are you guys when I need you? So after painstaking research, I decided to go with Pulse Width Modulation. :shock: Sounds high tech doesn’t it? You can buy PWM DC motor controllers on eBay pretty cheap if you don’t mind waiting for it to get here from China. I found a dimmer at Amazon that I hope will work (it worked in my pre-assembly tests, but it may melt by the time a pickup is completely wound).

My best plans usually start by wasting a great deal of time drawing stuff on the computer. I think this is rev. 28 or so.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file.jpg

Looks good on paper, but I’ll need some parts.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-1.jpg

Gear Motor (10-1) 600rpm 12VDC 62mA - 17.95 Jameco
Wall Transformer 120/12VDC 1000mA - 09.95 Jameco
PWM Dimming Controller 12VDC 8A - 09.38 Amazon
Red Lion CUB3LR Miniature Digital Counter - 15.00 eBay (not shown)
Pushbutton Switch SPST momentary - 02.00 Radio Shack
Toggle Switch DPDT - 03.99 Radio Shack
Magnetic Reed Switch SPST NO - 00.99 Jameco
Size M (2.1mm x 5.5mm) DC Plug - 03.19 Radio Shack

I had to design a box for the winder. I would have thought someone would have come up with a cool container for a winder, like...I don't know...maybe an ammo can or something. You guys are letting me down. I had drawings and everything for the box, but it transformed several times and in the end, I just kind of threw it together. As a matter of fact – I’m still throwing it together.

:wink:

I really struggled to figure out a way to mount the motor. But then I thought, “What would Barncaster do?” Well, I bet he would have made a bracket type thingy out of a block of wood and clamped it together with a bolt. Well heck, I can do that! Now the only bolts I could find that were long enough & skinny enough were wall anchors.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-2.jpg

They’re not really that big. That’s a close up. :roll:

I mounted the mount to one of the sides. I’m not really sure which side because it wasn’t put together when I mounted the mount. I could have said I attached the mount, but that doesn’t sound as cool. Oh yeah, before I did that I drilled a big hole in the side that kind of lined up with where the motor would go.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-3.jpg

And another hole pretty much at random because I had the drill press going and I had all these drill bits…

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-4.jpg

I guess I’ll fill that little hole with this 1/4” bolt. Maybe I can use it for something later.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-19.jpg

That might be the PU mount too. We’ll just have to see how straight it spins. The stupid shaft on the motor is 6mm and wouldn’t you know it – I don’t own any metric bits. Now if anybody had bothered to write a thread, and mgdesigns had replied saying that you can buy 6mm bits at Woodcraft, I probably would have ordered one. Since that didn’t happed I did a quick search of all the tool & hardware places around here and found that Sears carries metric bits. Who knew? I wonder if I can take it back after I wear it out. So far I’ve only drilled 1 hole, so it will most likely last quite a while. By the way mg, I hope your shoulder recovers quickly. (I’m just guessing that you had surgery – I didn’t read that anywhere.)

Oh yeah, that little magnet in the PU mount is part of the counter system. Now if Herb had told Barncaster about a certain reed switch for the counter, and I had actually caught it, I wouldn’t have bought this 99 cent switch.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-11.jpg

But since I have it, I guess I have to figure out how to use it.

I soldered some wire to each end. Seemed like a good place to start.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-12.jpg

Then I put some heat shrink over it because it’s glass. And fragile. And tiny.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-13.jpg

And out of focus.

Drilled some more holes & threaded it through.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-14.jpg

Is that neat or what? This is going to be great!

Connected it to the counter, put the PU mount on and spun it by hand. Counts great! As a matter of fact, it counts so well that it counts 2 turns for every rotation. :shock: Talk about an overachiever. Turns out you have to mount the switch 90 degrees to the magnet. I guess it makes contact at each end of the switch as the magnet passes. No big deal – I like drilling holes. Maybe I can use one of the ones I already drilled if I make it bigger. Or maybe I’ll just leave them for ventilation. On the other hand, if I leave it the way it is, I should be able to put 8 or 9 thousand wraps on a pickup in half the time. Hummmm…

I hope someone makes a pickup winder out of 10 speed bicycle parts....

or one hooked up to a stationary exercise bike.... with the counter on the bars....

wind PU's and get fit at the same time... ;)... genuine leg wound PU's...

Time to do some electrickery.

I think I’ll start with the speed control for the motor. The PWM dimmer that I bought will take up quite a bit of real estate in my box the way it is. A little dismantling and Bob’s your uncle, all the important parts will fit in the palm of your hand. Well, the whole thing could fit in the palm of your hand, but you know what I mean.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-6.jpg

Can’t just slap it in there. Gonna have to make some stand-offs.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-7.jpg

They look pretty good considering they are made out of cut off coax insulation.

And here it is mounted.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-9.jpg

The switch in the upper right is a momentary SPST pushbutton for the reset on the counter. The counter I bought is a Red Lion Controls CUB3LR. The ‘L’ is for lithium battery. The ‘R’ is for remote reset. I have no idea what CUB stands for. The switch in the middle right is a DTDP toggle to reverse the motor direction. The little plug in the lower right is a DC connector for power from the transformer.

I wired everything (almost) on the front plate of the box. Here’s most of the wiring harness, removed from the front plate.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-18.jpg

Still need to connect the motor leads to the toggle switch and the reed switch to the counter.

Nothing to do now but finish the box.

I hate finishing!

I hope someone makes a pickup winder out of 10 speed bicycle parts....

or one hooked up to a stationary exercise bike.... with the counter on the bars....

wind PU's and get fit at the same time... ;)... genuine leg wound PU's...

I like that idea. All except the peddling the bike part. On second thought - I hate that idea.

Great, another tutorial! You know I am counting on you Nosmo.:lol:

Hey Nosmo,

It's looking great! The whole PWM thing has me intrigued. How do you come up with such brilliant ideas? Hook that puppy up! If the PWM works well the whole mess just may fit in the first gen Star Trek lunch box after all.... Hmmmmmmm.

Rob

Hey, if you're gonna build a pickup winder, you should at least make a thread about it so some other guys could learn how.

Come on, admit it. This is all a delaying tactic to get out of refinishing Nosmo 2.

The redlion cub sellers on ebay are probably wondering what has happened to spur sales. Nice thread.

Hey nosmo , since you hate finishing work when you are done with the winder send it along with the bass to me , I'll give it a finish :D
But really , yea , umm , send it.
Nice thread , love seeing all the different winder versions.

Nice work! Thank you for posting this.

Great, another tutorial! You know I am counting on you Nosmo.:lol:
Lots of ways to skin a cat.

Hey Nosmo,

It's looking great! The whole PWM thing has me intrigued. How do you come up with such brilliant ideas? Hook that puppy up! If the PWM works well the whole mess just may fit in the first gen Star Trek lunch box after all.... Hmmmmmmm.

Rob
And I'm thinkin' you really need another winder :roll:

Hey, if you're gonna build a pickup winder, you should at least make a thread about it so some other guys could learn how.
That's what I said. You just can't count on some of the people around here.

Come on, admit it. This is all a delaying tactic to get out of refinishing Nosmo 2.
No - I'm still finishing, it's just taking forever! (and I'm easily distracted)

The redlion cub sellers on ebay are probably wondering what has happened to spur sales. Nice thread.
I'm glad I got mine before the prices go up.

Hey nosmo , since you hate finishing work when you are done with the winder send it along with the bass to me , I'll give it a finish :D
But really , yea , umm , send it.
Nice thread , love seeing all the different winder versions.
I actually thought about sending my builds to someone like you that could put on an awesome finish, but I have this feeling that would be the last time I saw them. What different winder versions? I'm only building one!


Nice work! Thank you for posting this.
Somebody had too :grin:

I actually thought about sending my builds to someone like you that could put on an awesome finish, but I have this feeling that would be the last time I saw them.

What kind of guy do you think I am , I promise I would post pictures :D

I'm sure you would Herb.

Speaking of pictures...

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-15.jpg

See, I really am building a box.

Can you tell I'm kind of into the wood binding thing. I'm sure it's just another fad that will wear off pretty soon.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-16.jpg

I actually used glue. I thought the tape would look tacky if I left it on.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-17.jpg

Looks like I should maybe clean off my work bench. Don't even have room for the whole box. Too many projects - not enough focus :cool:

Hey Nosmo,

I like the tape. It's kind of got that mummy thing going on....

Rob

Hey Nosmo,

I like the tape. It's kind of got that mummy thing going on....

Rob
That's my anti-idiot tape. One of the best tools in my shop :oops:

Man can you send a few rolls of that to me? I've got an infestation here......

Man can you send a few rolls of that to me? I've got an infestation here......

Ha , first the bass , then the winder , now the tape , nosmo's not gonna have anything left :D

I want his camera! Great shots of the project, nosmo. And great project, too. You ended up with what I think is a newer version of the counter I got. Does it bother you that is just sits there, showing 0 all the time and you can't turn it off?

Loving the innovations here. Maybe having the boat sink with my motor on it, coming from China is not all bad. By the time I get a motor, I'll have scarfed up so many good ideas I can go into business selling bulletproof pickup winders. For instance, I like the bolt-with-collars for the wire guide. Great idea, N. !:cool:

I think that box would look outstanding with a Caribburst!!

Man can you send a few rolls of that to me? I've got an infestation here......
I wish there was a cure for that!

Ha , first the bass , then the winder , now the tape , nosmo's not gonna have anything left :D
But as you may have noticed - I'm the slowest shipper in the world :grin:

I want his camera! Great shots of the project, nosmo. And great project, too. You ended up with what I think is a newer version of the counter I got. Does it bother you that is just sits there, showing 0 all the time and you can't turn it off?
Bugs me to death! I just hope the battery lasts until next May. If not, there's going to be a bunch of threads showing how to tear a counter apart to replace them.

Loving the innovations here. Maybe having the boat sink with my motor on it, coming from China is not all bad. By the time I get a motor, I'll have scarfed up so many good ideas I can go into business selling bulletproof pickup winders. For instance, I like the bolt-with-collars for the wire guide. Great idea, N. !:cool:
I think everybody & their dog uses those stop collars. I might have stolen that from Barncaster, but he would have had to have a thread for me to do that.

I think that box would look outstanding with a Caribburst!!
It would probably look great! But it's going to have to live with a couple coats of sanding sealer. I really did slap it together - didn't even sand much. Have I mentioned how much I hate finishing?

I have absolutely no patience for finishing. I sure as hello there am not going to spend a bunch of time on a tool I'm pretty sure I'm going to beat up. So take that!

Here it is in all it's sanding sealer glory.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-10.jpg

Looks like quite a bit of room in there. Should be when it's assembled too. Not really a whole bunch to go in there.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-22.jpg

That's all the wiring. You have a 50/50 chance of wiring the switch right for the CW/CCW since the connections on the motor aren't marked. Guess which way I went first. How come whenever I have a 50/50 chance I go the wrong way 90% of the time?

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-21.jpg

I think I can cram some winding wire & the transformer in there.

And here it is, spinning it's little butt off.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-20.jpg

Well, it didn't start smoking, so I guess that's a good thing. I have no idea how fast it goes or how much torque it has. I have a couple P-90 kits from StewMac, but I don't really need the PU's yet. I suppose when I get bored I'll wind them. Maybe I can video the winder in action. Don't even ask for a video of me playing. I'll spit in your general direction if you do.

Excellent job nosmo , nice and neat , and the finish looks good :)

Just noticed the edging on the box. Looks great!

Excellent job nosmo , nice and neat , and the finish looks good :)
It's all in the photography :wink:

Just noticed the edging on the box. Looks great!
I actually started to make a nice looking box, but then I just wanted to finish the winder. It could have been a lot better. It'll do :grin:

Hey Nosmo,

Can you comment on the controllability of the PWM? Can you slow the spindle to a crawl, stop and gently start rotation again? I'm really interested in seeing what it can do. And if you really hate finishing, just roller on some ceiling texturing and Bob's your uncle!

Rob

I just realized that I never showed how I got the reed switch to work. When I mounted it horizontal (the magnet passing the side of the switch), it would register 2 counts for each revolution. I tested it perpendicular (the magnet passing the end of the switch) and it worked fine.

So here's what I had to do. I bent one lead (have to be very careful with this, the switch is glass!), soldered the wires on, covered the solder joints with heat shrink and then covered the whole shebang with a larger piece of heat shrink. Kind of like this.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-25.jpg

Then I drilled a new hole and stuck it in there.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-23.jpg

Again, you have to be careful. You can't force the switch in the hole. I got lucky with the hole size. The heat shrink holds the switch in place and I can move it closer to or farther from the magnet if I have to.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-24.jpg

In hindsight, the switch Barncaster used, that Herb suggested is probably a much better choice. I just wish somebody had put that in a thread somewhere! If you go with the switch I used - buy several. I didn't even get the 50/50 shot at that. Don't ask :oops:

Hey Nosmo,

Can you comment on the controllability of the PWM? Can you slow the spindle to a crawl, stop and gently start rotation again? I'm really interested in seeing what it can do. And if you really hate finishing, just roller on some ceiling texturing and Bob's your uncle!

Rob
I may have to use that finish on my next guitar :grin:

The PWM works really well. I have complete control from a stop to full speed. I am a little worried about the dimmer I bought. If you look at the pictures of it you'll see that there is no heat sink on the board. The DC motor controllers I looked at all had heat sinks. I think Herb posted a link in your thread. They cost about the same, but they come from China or Hong Kong and I didn't want to wait (and I didn't find them until after I bought mine). It may be that you only need the heat sink if your motor is drawing some amps. I think mine only draws 60 something milliamps so I might be OK. If it burns up I can always buy a motor controller and swap them out.

Nosmo,

Really Sweet! I think we may just have a new low cost DC winder champion here. Give us a complete tally if you get a chance. Now if were only in a 1st gen Star Trek lunchbox, it would be perfect!

Rob

Oh, and by the way, you have to make a video with an Arthur Brown sound track. Gives the wind that special Mojo.......

Rob - Thanks for the nice comments. It doesn't take much space. I think it would easily fit in your lunch box.

Here's the parts list:

Gear Motor (10-1) 600rpm 12VDC 62mA - 17.95 Jameco
Wall Transformer 120/12VDC 1000mA - 9.95 Jameco
PWM Dimming Controller 12VDC 8A - 9.38 Amazon
Red Lion CUB3LR Miniature Digital Counter - 15.00 eBay
Pushbutton Switch SPST momentary - 2.00 Radio Shack
Toggle Switch DPDT - 3.99 Radio Shack
Magnetic Reed Switch SPST NO - .99 Jameco
Size M (2.1mm x 5.5mm) DC Plug - 3.19 Radio Shack
1/4" Stop Collar x2 - 3.00 ?
1x6x6' Poplar - 10.00 Lowes
1/2" Magnet (pkg of 5) - 2.00 ?

TOTAL $77.45

Of course you can subtract ten bucks if you have a lunch box or an ammo can.

Misc. stuff I had laying around: wire, solder, heat shrink, walnut, sanding sealer, connectors, etc.

I have no idea what CUB stands for.

It's pretty simple, really...

When Red Lion Controls started making small meters and counters in the 1970's, they were among the smallest that could be found. I was in the electronics industry back then and I bought and used quite a few of their digital panel meters.

A small (baby) lion is a CUB...

They have kind of jumped in price on Ebay, haven't they? Not finding $10 ones any more!

The beauty of a PWM controller is its efficiency. Essentially the output device in the controller (probably a transistor or MOSFET) is being operated as a switch... it's either fully on or fully off. The motor speed is determined by how much time it is on vs. off.

When it's fully on, it has close to zero volts across it (the voltage is all across the motor) and it's passing 60 milliamps. Ohm's law tells us that the power a device is dissipating is equal to voltage times current. Zero volts x 60 milliamps = zero watts!

When it's fully off, it has 12 volts across it, and it's passing zero milliamps. 12 volts x zero milliamps = zero watts!

Now, of course, the switching action of the output device is not perfect. It is never really fully on or fully off. But, when voltage is high, current is low, and vice-versa. Thus power dissipation of the controller is very low.

That's why you don't really need a big heatsink.

The output transistor of your controller is the black rectangular box with 3 silver tabs on one side and 1 larger silver tab on the other. The large silver tab is probably soldered to a pretty good sized copper pad on the circuit board... that acts as your heatsink.

Thanks Jim - I was hoping you'd chime in. You are a wealth of information. I feel better now about my controller. It's a good thing you didn't post that controller schematic (in Barncaster's thread) earlier. I might have tried to make the board.

I figured CUB was for Counting Unusual Bits or Cajun Ultimate Bait counter or something like that.

Hey Nosmo,

Great info! So now let it be known that the current reigning low cost DC winder champ is Nosmo. I have a feeling Jim may be hot on his trail however!

Rob

Hey Nosmo,

Great info! So now let it be known that the current reigning low cost DC winder champ is Nosmo. I have a feeling Jim may be hot on his trail however!

Rob

That would be me - the King of Cheap :grin:

I bet somebody will build one for 12.95 and make us all look stupid.

Hey Nosmo,

Great info! So now let it be known that the current reigning low cost DC winder champ is Nosmo. I have a feeling Jim may be hot on his trail however!

Rob

I'm quite enjoying watching the pioneers take the early arrows...

:lol:

I'm quite enjoying watching the pioneers take the early arrows...

:lol:

C'mon Jim,

Let's see whatcha got! I bet you have a Star Trek, Green Acres or F-Troop lunch box there somewhere just waiting to become a winder!

Rob

I'm quite enjoying watching the pioneers take the early arrows...

:lol:

All my sarcasm aside, there are probably 187 winder threads here somewhere. I think we may just be reinventing the wheel - but it's fun! I'm sure that you, being a true master of electrickery can come at it from a different angle.

And now for something completely different.....as long as you're checking this thread from time to time, I have a stupid question for you. I kind of understand the 250k - 500k pot thing for tone (as in humbuckers vs single coils), but if I wanted to put a pickup (just for arguments sake say a piezo with a preamp) in a guitar, in addition to 2 magnetic pickups, and I just want a volume control for it, what kind of pot would you use?

I just thought I'd ask you here instead of hijacking someone else's thread.

but if I wanted to put a pickup (just for arguments sake say a piezo with a preamp) in a guitar, in addition to 2 magnetic pickups, and I just want a volume control for it, what kind of pot would you use?


Well I'm not Jim and won't pretend to answer for him, but most piezos I've seen (being very high impedance devices) don't have a volume control at all. They're volume is usually built into the pre-amp (try the Artec from ebay seller Bezdez and Eden Mart). That usually means the standard pickups have their volume pot and the preamp has it's own, usually with a mixer pot controlling the standard pups and the preamp and exiting the guitar thru a stereo jack. There's probably an easier way to do it, but this way you get the best of each.............just sayin' :smile:

Thanks Dave - I guess I'll have to do a little more research.

Hey Nosmo,

Great info! So now let it be known that the current reigning low cost DC winder champ is Nosmo. I have a feeling Jim may be hot on his trail however!

Rob

Well done, Nosmo!

I'd be tempted to use a commercial product for this...

For example: Google "Fishman Powerchip"... Kinda pricy ($80-90 range) but it's made to mix the piezo with your existing pickup system.

They make electric guitar bridges with embedded piezo pickups, too. They run $200-300 each...

I'm sure that you, being a true master of electrickery can come at it from a different angle.

Actually... I'm planning to come at it from pretty much the same angle that you did!

:lol:

Hey All,

I just went to eBay as a goof to check out vintage lunch boxes as potental winder housings. Thought it might be a cheap way to get a housing with handle on it. Some of these are like $400!!!!! They had some from "Lost in Space", "Hee Haw" and even one from "The Flying Nun"! Funny......

So Jim, what kind of twist are you going to put on it? You could even fit this whole mess in coffee can if you wanted a cheap housing. Inquisitive minds are impatient ones....:wink:

Rob

How about this (http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-1955-Davy-Crockett-At-the-Alamo-Lunch-Box-Thermos-Holy-Grail-Lunch-Pail-/160849194544?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25735bee30#ht_2888wt_836)?

I can't believe after paying that price, they're still gonna soak you for $10.95 for shipping!

Seriously... when I do build my winder (will probably start looking for major components after payday next Friday... already blew this pay periods expendable income on neck and fretboard blanks!) it's probably going to be very similar to nosmo's... only the enclosure won't be quite as nice!

Still haven't decided whether to buy or build the PWM controller.

Well done, Nosmo!
Thanks Rick

I'd be tempted to use a commercial product for this...

For example: Google "Fishman Powerchip"... Kinda pricy ($80-90 range) but it's made to mix the piezo with your existing pickup system.

They make electric guitar bridges with embedded piezo pickups, too. They run $200-300 each...
...And the last sentence is kind of why I disagree with the first sentence. I mean does the phrase 'King of Cheap' mean ANYTHING to you? I don't suppose you have a schematic for the Fishman?

Actually... I'm planning to come at it from pretty much the same angle that you did!

:lol:
I would think people would learn from my mistakes :grin:

Hey All,

I just went to eBay as a goof to check out vintage lunch boxes as potental winder housings. Thought it might be a cheap way to get a housing with handle on it. Some of these are like $400!!!!! They had some from "Lost in Space", "Hee Haw" and even one from "The Flying Nun"! Funny......

So Jim, what kind of twist are you going to put on it? You could even fit this whole mess in coffee can if you wanted a cheap housing. Inquisitive minds are impatient ones....:wink:

Rob

How about this (http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-1955-Davy-Crockett-At-the-Alamo-Lunch-Box-Thermos-Holy-Grail-Lunch-Pail-/160849194544?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25735bee30#ht_2888wt_836)?

I can't believe after paying that price, they're still gonna soak you for $10.95 for shipping!
But think of the mojo you'd get :shock: You want a twangy country PU, use the Roy Rogers lunch box. You want a pickup to do Yes covers, use the Star Wars lunch box. Like CCR? Use the Swamp People lunch box (I'm sure they make one).

Seriously... when I do build my winder (will probably start looking for major components after payday next Friday... already blew this pay periods expendable income on neck and fretboard blanks!) it's probably going to be very similar to nosmo's... only the enclosure won't be quite as nice!

Still haven't decided whether to buy or build the PWM controller.
Now that's what I'm talking about :grin: 4 or 5 hours should save you 20 bucks or so :wink: I think it is fun to try to do as much as you can.

Oh yeah - here's a little update on the speed control.

I was playing with the winder last night, showing it to a friend, and I noticed that when you start from a complete stop you have to crank it up a bit to get the motor to start turning (or kick start it with your finger). I guess you have to overcome the weight of the mount. Once it's turning, you have pretty good control.

Still don't know how it will act pulling wire.

Hmmmmm,

I guess the jury is still out on the PWM. The only way to find out if it's the cat's pajamas is to wind one ! Come on Nosmo, throw on some crazy loud Arthur Brown and wind one of those P-90s!

If torque is an issue, try going with a higher voltage geared motor. I can source you a 24v if you'd like. Mine has lots of torque. It can rotate smoothly from a dead stop at a super slow rate.

Rob

Cheaper than star wars:
http://www.joann.com/tin-storage-box-green/zprd_10450088a/


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-dvd-The-DERBY-STALLION-Lunch-Box-Tin-Zac-Efron-Bonus-Black-Stallion-/400310435505?pt=US_DVD_HD_DVD_Blu_ray&hash=item5d345c7eb1

Cheaper than star wars:
http://www.joann.com/tin-storage-box-green/zprd_10450088a/


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-dvd-The-DERBY-STALLION-Lunch-Box-Tin-Zac-Efron-Bonus-Black-Stallion-/400310435505?pt=US_DVD_HD_DVD_Blu_ray&hash=item5d345c7eb1

Sorry GB,

Zac Efron creeps me out. I don't want anyone staring at me with bedroom eyes while I wind... well maybe my wife. :shock:

Rob

For coil winders only.

The motor does seem to have some torque. I let it slap my finger a few times to check :lol: Since I don't plan on winding at 3rpm I think it'll be OK.

I was thinking the Swamp People lunch box is not vintage correct for CCR. Sorry about that. I sure hope nobody tried it. I don't think you could pay me to use that Zac Efron box :shock:

No time to wind today. Busy, busy, busy. I got nuttin' to do (if you know what I mean)

For coil winders only.

That's what my finger thought for a few seconds :lol:

That's what my finger thought for a few seconds :lol:

Come on and wind something already! String, spaghetti, playdoh, whatever.

Lookin' good! I may need to make me a nosmo winder - that AC/sewing machine motor thing is so last month! :smile:

Lookin' good! I may need to make me a nosmo winder - that AC/sewing machine motor thing is so last month! :smile:

Ha , yea , Mojo , I think DC is the way to go , although AC works fine , just that DC is a bit smoother/quieter and better low speed control . Between nosmo's and Rob's DC winders there's some great ideas :)

OK, I was going to build a winder with sewing machine motor, shafts, bearings, collars etc. the heck with that I'm ordering one of these motors and building one of these.

Thanks for the info nosmo

Come on and wind something already! String, spaghetti, playdoh, whatever.
May have to wait - Just got the call to go to work for a month :sad:

Lookin' good! I may need to make me a nosmo winder - that AC/sewing machine motor thing is so last month! :smile:
If it aint broke....

Ha , yea , Mojo , I think DC is the way to go , although AC works fine , just that DC is a bit smoother/quieter and better low speed control . Between nosmo's and Rob's DC winders there's some great ideas :)
I think, unless you get a pretty big DC motor, the torque is low enough to not break the wire as easily. We'll see.

OK, I was going to build a winder with sewing machine motor, shafts, bearings, collars etc. the heck with that I'm ordering one of these motors and building one of these.

Thanks for the info nosmo
Everything I know I stole...eh...learned here.

Don't ya just hate the way work gets on the way of this stuff :D

Hey Nosmo,

No worries, we'll be here when you get home.

Rob

Don't ya just hate the way work gets on the way of this stuff :D
I figure I'm building maybe 2 or 3 a year. Now if I could just sell them for around $50,000.00 each, I'd quit that stupid job!

I hope that didn't violate the forum rules. On the other hand, if 50 large sounds reasonable to anyone, you can kick me out :grin:

Hey Nosmo,

No worries, we'll be here when you get home.

Rob
I hope I'll have internet access. At least I can keep up with what's going on here.

Get the job done and hurry back.

WORK
The other four letter word

I found a dimmer that looked just like Nosmo's and bought it. Tried with a 12 volt supply and a cordless drill motor. Well, it run very fast - and eventually burned the dimmer. When I opened the thing, a capacitor had exploded.. I replaced it with similar (100 microfarads, 35 volts) and it didn't work, so something else was broken too. Then I realized that Nosmo's one is 12-24 volts, mine was only 12V. The circuit board looked different too. The motor still works.
I'm waiting to see this Nosmo-winder in action. I'm still considering a sewing machine approach. Better get the counter first, and when I get that to work I can install it in any winder I'm ever going to build.

Thanks for all the winder threads!

That would be me - the King of Cheap :grin:

I bet somebody will build one for 12.95 and make us all look stupid.

Well actually as it turns out, I built one for $12.95ish and guess who looked stupid :mad:

I'm headed the $80 route now. Thanks for the thread.

Nosmo, you back from your toils yet?

I think once a get to a standstill on my guitar build, while waiting for parts, I'll sty and make a pickup winder. I have an idea for one already, but idk..Seems tricky.

Nosmo, you back from your toils yet?
Unfortunately no. Got about a week to go. But when I get home I should have a couple pieces of figured Maple and my PU covers.

Now if I can just remember where I left off...

I think once a get to a standstill on my guitar build, while waiting for parts, I'll sty and make a pickup winder. I have an idea for one already, but idk..Seems tricky.

Not tricky at all. I think there might be 1 or 2 winder threads somewhere to give you ideas. It does appear though that if you want an optical counter you have to learn a new language. Use a reed switch. Much less to learn! :wink:

Oh Nosmoooooooo. Your winder thread is lonely. Tap, tap, tap.

Oh Nosmoooooooo. Your winder thread is lonely. Tap, tap, tap.

^^^^^^^^In high falsetto^^^^^^^^^

You're right Rob. I reread the thread, and I see my earlier inquiry was premature. He said 1 month on July 23. One month ago exactly.

I'm sure he'd want to come sliding in the driveway sideways, push aside the lonely wife and kids, kick the dog outta the way, and hustle to his bench to catch us up on his winding, right? I mean, what else would make sense?:confused::confused::?:

Hey Rick,

He got home yesterday. I just have to give him grief :-)

Rob

^^^^^^^^In high falsetto^^^^^^^^^

You're right Rob. I reread the thread, and I see my earlier inquiry was premature. He said 1 month on July 23. One month ago exactly.

I'm sure he'd want to come sliding in the driveway sideways, push aside the lonely wife and kids, kick the dog outta the way, and hustle to his bench to catch us up on his winding, right? I mean, what else would make sense?:confused::confused::?:

OK OK I got home yesterday. Had to play with my Zirikote guitar. I have been thinking about winding thought. But first - no wife, tried that once - didn't take. Actually, I gave her everything we owned. Best deal I ever made! I'd love to have a dog, but I'd have to buy a new one every other month unless I could teach it to feed itself.

So anyway, back to winding. I have these SM P-90 kits and some extremely cheap Chinese covers. I've got wire. I've got an untested winder. I have solder, screwdrivers, superglue, beer...I think I'm about ready to try this. I don't have wax or tape. Or a mule to test them on.

I was going to wind them tonight, and still might, but right now I'm waiting for my pizza. Had a tough night of bowling & beer.

Gotta go...pizza's here.

Priorities are right! Bowling, Pizza, Beer, Pickup Winding. Sounds like a complete life.

Mmm.. Pizza... I could go for a whole pizza right now.

The pepperoni grease helps with the finger tension........ Anyway, what are you planning for winds Nosmo? Got a spec in mind? Lindy says his low winds are especially sweet. I tend to believe him on winding. On potting, that's another matter.

Priorities are right! Bowling, Pizza, Beer, Pickup Winding. Sounds like a complete life.
It's tough, but somebody has to do it :grin:

Mmm.. Pizza... I could go for a whole pizza right now.
Just did that. Now I'm feeling a little slow.

Obviously the pizza grease on my fingers didn't help much with the winding. I put the bobbins together and only broke one small screw off inside one of them. That kind of sucked. Fortunately, it was sticking out enough to grab it with some miniature vise-grips and remove it. Next step is to wrap the invisible wire through the TINY grommet a few times. That only took 3 tries after I busted out the magnifying visor. Alrighty then, attach the bobbin to the winder with carpet tape and......drop the spool of wire :roll: Start over. Visor, wire, bobbin, tape. Start winding by hand to set the stop collars. One wrap. Two wraps. Three...snap! What the *&^%$@#. The spool was all messed up on one end. Don't know if that was me or the way it came, but it's overlapping itself and tying knots. After picking at it with tweezers and magnifying glass, I finally got it to come off pretty smooth. There are still a few loops hanging off the far end of the spool that I pretty much guarantee will snag about half way through the first wind.

Giving up for the night. I'm starting to think this would be easier to do sober.

The pepperoni grease helps with the finger tension........ Anyway, what are you planning for winds Nosmo? Got a spec in mind? Lindy says his low winds are especially sweet. I tend to believe him on winding. On potting, that's another matter.

I don't have a clue. I bought P-90 kits. The instructions say CCW 10,000 winds low 8k range. I plan to wind one CW and one CCW with the magnets reversed (S up on one and N up on the other). That should be easy, since I don't know which side is South I'll just make one of each.

Hmmmmmmm,

One micro screw mishap, one dropped spool and wire breakage on the third revolution. I think I'd turn off the light, shut down the shop and go to bed. Sounds like the Muse is a little ticked that you split for a month. It's best to make amends in the AM and do an underwear wind with a cup of coffee. There are certain things you can do when single and they're the same things you can't when your married....... I still want to see that winder in action but I will defer to the Muse. What's another day... Wah!

Rob

and......drop the spool of wire Start over. Visor, wire, bobbin, tape. Start winding by hand to set the stop collars. One wrap. Two wraps. Three...snap! What the *&^%$@#.

:lol::lol::lol::lol: Except it probably wasn't that funny at the time.

Hey nosmo , just remember , a bad day at winding is still better than a good day at work :D , growing pains , we all have them , you'll get there , endeavor to persevere . BTW , the bass still didn't get here ?? :D

I will get it done eventually. I'm at the lake this weekend but I brought all the fixins for a PU. Problem is I didn't bring the cord for my laptop. So no pics until I get home.


Actually, dropping the spool was kind of funny. If I had kept going last night I probably would have wrapped a hundred turns or so around myself. On the bright side I'm already making copper wool and I haven't even started the winder yet :)

You could name your winder the "Orange Sheep" or "OS-1". You could take those initials a few places.......... especially when dropping spools :-)

I think i could have you all beat on the cheapest wind. I'll just wind it by hand! If I can get 1000 turns in a day it will only take like 8 days!

I think i could have you all beat on the cheapest wind. I'll just wind it by hand! If I can get 1000 turns in a day it will only take like 8 days!

I double dog dare ya!

If the build challenge demands you wind your own, I think I'll just build an esquire.. Or does it have to be a tele? Never really looked into the rules.

It would give a whole new dimension to the term "hand wound".............

If the build challenge demands you wind your own, I think I'll just build an esquire.. Or does it have to be a tele? Never really looked into the rules.

As I recall, there were a couple of 1-pup builds. Esquire is family, has Tele-shcped body which was one of the rules, you're good to go, B. I'd recommend you start winding about. . .now. :mrgreen: Scatter Lee did it with an old fishing reel, which is about as close to hand wound as I think you could reasonably get. But--he's Scatter Lee. None of the rest of us are.

wait... how'd that work! I have a couple reels.... hmmmmm

Edit:found the thread!

Hey B,

Even Scatter complained on how slow his fishing reel winder was do don't get too excited on that concept. Check out Moody's 2012 Challenge thread for a more doable but still dead cheap way of winding.

Rob

I know what you're thinking - 'Sure has been a long time since that lazy nosmo posted any pictures.'

I was thinking the same thing so here you go.

Here are the parts you need to build a P-90. well, at least all the parts S/M thinks you need
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-26.jpg

Now I've done some research around here, and one thing you see quite a bit is making sure the eyelets wont snag the wire during winding. I think I saw someone else do this, but it looked like a good idea so I recessed the holes with a 1/8" brad point bit
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-30.jpg

To set the eyelets I made a tool ala Mr Freddy (thanks). Took a piece of 1/4" steel rod and cut it down with a hack saw
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-27.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-28.jpg

Finished it off with a file so it kind of looked like this
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-29.jpg

And to my surprise, it actually worked
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-31.jpg

Sanded everything smooth & glued them up as per the instructions
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-32.jpg

...aaannnndd busted off a screw
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-33.jpg

I did get that out, and it turns out that was the least of my problems. If you've been following along, you now how the first attempt at winding went. Along the way, I discovered a tip you might want to try. Those eyelets are pretty small. And the wire is so small it's invisible. Here's an easy way to get the wire through the eyelet. Use a needle threader thingy.
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-34.jpg

I'm still fighting the backlash in my spool (at least when I'm trying to wind) but this weekend is all about shooting cute little innocent birds.

Opening day for Dove :grin::grin: No winding this weekend.

Soooooo you're wondering what the compass is for?

Or maybe you're not, but here it is anyway
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-35.jpg

I figured it was the best way to find out which side of the magnets were North & South.

So, you just dropped in to tease us, eh?

Hey, Nosmo. Birds ain't gonna be flyin, haven't you noticed the hurricane outside? Also, I once cracked a tooth on a quail I shot. Was tasty up to that point. One lousy little pellet. Cost me $400 to get the tooth fixed. Quail's revenge. Safer to stay in and wind somethin, willya!

Great idea about the needle threader, BTW!

So, you just dropped in to tease us, eh?
Well, uhm, OK - you caught me.

Hey, Nosmo. Birds ain't gonna be flyin, haven't you noticed the hurricane outside? Also, I once cracked a tooth on a quail I shot. Was tasty up to that point. One lousy little pellet. Cost me $400 to get the tooth fixed. Quail's revenge. Safer to stay in and wind somethin, willya!

Great idea about the needle threader, BTW!
Big wind just means they fly 70 mph instead of 60. The way I shoot, the birds are pretty safe anyway. You just have to chew slooooowly.

Hey Nosmo,

Did you ever see the movie "The Birds"? Or, They're all cute till you shoot the black ops drone that looked like a pigeon and then all bets are off. Have fun buddy.

Rob

I have little quail raising a family in the bush at the end of our driveway. Those things are truly stupid. Doesn't seem logical to stay in the path of a car, but they do it anyway.

I have little quail raising a family in the bush at the end of our driveway. Those things are truly stupid. Doesn't seem logical to stay in the path of a car, but they do it anyway.

They are aspiring to play chicken.........:roll:

Boy, this thread sure did slip back in the pack! This is just a quick, gratuitous bump so you won't think I gave up on it.

Actually, I did give up on it. The spool that is. I ordered a new spool of wire yesterday from Remington Industries. On the bright side - the winder seems to work fine (for me). The wraps are tight & even. The speed control does it's job. The counter appears to work correctly at my speeds. The only thing I would like to improve is the bobbin holder. I may make a new one...or I may not. The speed is good enough for me as well. I don't plan to wind lots of PUs, so I don't really need the high speed set-up or the optical, dual-redundant calibrated 3 phase counter circuit. And I don't have time to get the Ph.D that's required to install it.

There sure is a lot of great information on PU winding in the current threads. Thanks Rob D, Rob (Barncaster), Rick & everyone else that's adding to my understanding of pickups.

Now if could just figure out how to get my foot untangled from that backlash in my current spool...

Guess what I did?

Rather than just stripping the wire off my first wind, I decided to stop where I was and see how it would work. Definitely gave up on the original spool.

I ended up with just over 6200 wraps. (With about 6 splices) There is still lots of room on the bobbin so I don't see any problem getting 10,000 or more. The winder wrapped it nice & tight.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-36.jpg

Put the Al 5 magnets in South to the pole screws, Soldered all the wires as per the instructions and put it together. It LOOKS like a P-90. :grin:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-37.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-38.jpg

And to my shock & surprise, it actually had some resistance :shock:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-39.jpg

Yeah, I know, kind of weak but this stuff could actually work! It may only be that high due to all the splices.

I marked it 'cause I don't have any short term memory left.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-40.jpg

I'l try it out as soon as I get a chance to pull a PU out of my old counterfeit SG.

Woo Hoo!

We want to hear that puppy! I love SGs. When you get your new spool you have to take some winder action footage. ;-)

Rob

Yummy P-90. I like those very much.

Looks good! I am also fiddling around with an optical switch instead of using the reed-switch. I also found the reed switch a bit unreliable at higher speeds!

It seems like you've just got it all figured out, so maybe you can help me with the wiring - I've just bought this photointerrupter (http://elektronik-lavpris.dk/product_info.php?products_id=92383). My thought is to wire the signal to a USB mouse's left click, and count with my computer, but I can't figure out the wiring - would you maybe have a suggestion? :smile:

As I understand, it needs some kind of power to work - is it possible to just forward and use the power from the USB mouse?

Looks good! I am also fiddling around with an optical switch instead of using the reed-switch. I also found the reed switch a bit unreliable at higher speeds!

It seems like you've just got it all figured out, so maybe you can help me with the wiring - I've just bought this photointerrupter (http://elektronik-lavpris.dk/product_info.php?products_id=92383). My thought is to wire the signal to a USB mouse's left click, and count with my computer, but I can't figure out the wiring - would you maybe have a suggestion? :smile:

As I understand, it needs some kind of power to work - is it possible to just forward and use the power from the USB mouse?

Well, I think you need to hook up the Henway wire from the photowhatsit's cable to pin 13 on the DB-9 serial port. Then you're going to need a goat & 2 chickens and 7 or 8 candles.........:shock::?:

But seriously...I think you stumbled into the wrong thread (unless Rob or Rick or Jim want to pitch in here). I'm pretty sure somewhere in here I said something about needing a Ph.D to install one of those. And that's a degree I don't have at this time.

You need to check out R.Stratenstein's or Barncaster's winder threads for more info about that.

Nosmo: heh, allright! :smile: I'll try to just make a new thread on it. I've tried looking at the other winder-threads, but I can't really find anything specific wirings, that would look like my solution.

Nosmo: heh, allright! :smile: I'll try to just make a new thread on it. I've tried looking at the other winder-threads, but I can't really find anything specific wirings, that would look like my solution.

Yeah, I think they hooked the optical sensor to a Red Lion counter not a computer. The Red Lion is awesome by the way. I have seen someone use a calculator (Scatter Lee). There might have been some replies that suggested a computer. He was using a reed switch but that's just the trigger so it should be similar.

New thread is a good idea. Can't have too much information around here :grin:

A little video. Really...there's not much there.

APLKVi7A5cA

See - it really does work!

It took about 15 minutes to wind 10,000 wraps. I used a wire holder similar to Rob D's. Put the spool on the floor under the winder.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-42.jpg

I didn't have any problems with the new spool. Cranked it up, went to speed and stopped at 9999. (I put the last wrap on it by hand :roll:)

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-43.jpg

There is still plenty of room on the bobbin

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-44.jpg

Checked it with the meter and got 8.2k. That's what the SM instructions said I should get "low 8's", so I guess I did something right :grin:

There it is folks, proof positive that the mystical Nosmo winder is not only beautiful but can kick out the P-90s. Well done sir!

Rob

Sweet. Remember how everyone's been bugging you to send them your guitars? Remember when I didn't do that? Well, I'll just take one of those winders :razz:

Sweet. Remember how everyone's been bugging you to send them your guitars? Remember when I didn't do that? Well, I'll just take one of those winders :razz:

Hey Roger , 1st come first served , ya gotta wait till I get the bass :lol:

Nice winder nosmo , and nice p-90 :wink:

There it is folks, proof positive that the mystical Nosmo winder is not only beautiful but can kick out the P-90s. Well done sir!

Rob
It's SO much easier when the spool is not backlashed! Thank you Rob. You & Rick were the inspiration.

Sweet. Remember how everyone's been bugging you to send them your guitars? Remember when I didn't do that? Well, I'll just take one of those winders :razz:
You know, if I get enough of these requests I could almost quit my day job!

Hey Roger , 1st come first served , ya gotta wait till I get the bass :lol:

Nice winder nosmo , and nice p-90 :wink:
Thanks Herb - for the comments & for running interference for me. Nobody ain't gettin' nothin' till you get that bass! :grin:

Welcome back, Nosmo, and you did it in style. I love the Mojo Dove. Pronounced, no doubt, "Mo-hoh" "Dough-Vay", right?:lol:

Man, those soapbars really look great! I gotta do me some. Jeez, I've gotten to where I'm saying that about every new wind I see. :shock:

Did I miss something, or did you wind a whole new P-90 with 10,000 winds, or just add it to the other one?

If it's the two, I'd like to hear them both. It would be a cool contrast to see just how underwinding affects tone.

If I may be forgiven a little hijack, MAXB, I think your optical interrupter is just a different configuration of the reflective type optical sensors we've been playing with here. I clicked on the data sheet, but unfortunately, my Danish is a bit rusty, haven't conjugated a Danish verb in, oh, say 62 years, so I can't read it. It looks like your English is just fine, tho, so I'm going to direct you to some of the blather on opto-sensors. I guess with yours, you'd need either a disk with a wedge cut out of it, or a disk with only a wedge in it, to trigger a pulse that your counter (A cub?) would pick up. Depending on the voltage requirement of your optical interrupter, no doubt 5V DC power from your USB would power it. If you want to use your computer as the counter, though, that's something I unfortunately know nothing about.

Here's a link to the parts of my earlier thread that discuss using and powering the opto-sensor:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/338763-simple-cheap-pickup-winder-3.html#post4357688

FWIW, I'm finding that I like a Hall effect (non-mechanical magnetic sensor) better than either a reed switch or the opto-electric sensor.

Sweet. Remember how everyone's been bugging you to send them your guitars? Remember when I didn't do that? Well, I'll just take one of those winders :razz:

Hey, Roger, where ya been keeping yourself?

And don't go looting Nosmo's stuff, we've already got dibbs on it all. Anyway, the world is ripe for a concrete pickup winder! Get going, bub!:mrgreen:

:lol: Hey Rick, I've been around, just not working on anything. Been really busy with work, etc. I've still been peeking in now and then to keep an eye on everyone though.

:lol: Hey Rick, I've been around, just not working on anything. Been really busy with work, etc. I've still been peeking in now and then to keep an eye on everyone though.

Yeah, I think you stirred up the latest Epic thread with your casual mention of the beeswax thing a couple of months ago! :lol::twisted::twisted::lol:

:twisted: who, me? :mrgreen:

Hey Rick,

Out of protest, I have reformulated my potting mixture to 50/50. The sonic benefits are rapturous. Almost need a cigarette afterwards. Birds and bees you know. An angle Lindy never thought of.....

Rob

Rick - I wound the second P-90 to 10,000. Still have the first one. I wanted to hear the difference too. I really was surprised that the first one read anything on the meter with all those splices in it. At least I know I can solder invisible wire now.

Oh yeah, the second one is AlNiCo 2 magnets, the first one has AlNiCo 5's. I wanted to see how they differed with full wraps, but now I'll just have to wait to re-wrap the first one.

This is right off the SM site (without permission):
"Alnico 2 magnets give a warmer tone and low end response with smooth, singing highs. Many builders use them in the bridge pickups of solidbodies.
Alnico 5 produces a brighter tone with a tighter low end and stinging highs. They're great for neck position pickups, to help keep the tone clear without getting muddy."

Wow, now that I read it again it seems I lucked out again and under-wrapped the neck PU.

That's what you get for clean living :lol:

PS: Obviously they're not potted. May never be since the originals weren't.

Rick - I wound the second P-90 to 10,000. Still have the first one. I wanted to hear the difference too. I really was surprised that the first one read anything on the meter with all those splices in it. At least I know I can solder invisible wire now.

Oh yeah, the second one is AlNiCo 2 magnets, the first one has AlNiCo 5's. I wanted to see how they differed with full wraps, but now I'll just have to wait to re-wrap the first one.

This is right off the SM site (without permission):
"Alnico 2 magnets give a warmer tone and low end response with smooth, singing highs. Many builders use them in the bridge pickups of solidbodies.
Alnico 5 produces a brighter tone with a tighter low end and stinging highs. They're great for neck position pickups, to help keep the tone clear without getting muddy."

Wow, now that I read it again it seems I lucked out again and under-wrapped the neck PU.

That's what you get for clean living :lol:

PS: Obviously they're not potted. May never be since the originals weren't.

Hey Nosmo,

Gonna do that SG soon? I can't wait t hear the pups! Better hurry up before that darned phone rings again! Understand however, if thay send you to the coast of Africa, we are going to bug you for really good ebony... the jet black greasy stuff...sweeeet!

Concerning potting, well, uh, just about everything is potted up here in Northern California...:roll:

Rob

Rob - I'm going to try to put them both in the SG today. Then I'll have to figure out how to post a sound clip.

As far as the phone call, I'm thinking about turning my phones off. I told them before I was hired that Africa was out. Been there, done that, didn't like it. Besides, haven't you heard that the streaky Ebony is all the rage now? Come on man, get with it :grin:

Here's the victim...uhm, I mean patient.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-45.jpg

This is the first guitar I ever really worked on. It's kind of a long story, but what the hell - it's my thread. :twisted: This guitar started out as an Ovation (I warned you). I bought an Ovation in a pawn shop years ago, but it never played very easily and I started buying other guitars. I got a great deal on an Adamas on theBay so I stopped playing the Ovation. A friend of mine was looking for a guitar for his daughter and offered to buy the Ovation. I started feeling guilty knowing that the guitar was hard to play & if that was the case, his daughter probably wouldn't enjoy it and would never learn to play. So, I adjusted the neck for better action, changed the strings and just kind of set it up as well as I could. Holy Moly! After that it was truly a joy to play. Now instead of guilty, I'm feeling stupid for letting it go. But a deal's a deal. Actually it worked out pretty well because the guilt feeling shifted to my buddy. One day he came over & brought me TWO guitars that he found in his parents attic. One is a 3/4 size nylon string acoustic that is pretty much falling apart. One day I'll do something with that. The other one is this SG.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-46.jpg

It looked like it had been in the attic a loooooong time. It also looked like before they put it away, somebody poured a Coke over it. It had 1/8" of crud on it, no output jack, all the hardware was oxidized, strings (that were there) were rusty, no control cover. It was a basket case.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-50.jpg

This was my first foray into guitar tech land. I took it as far apart as I could. I think the only things left together were the tuners & the headstock.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-48.jpg

Speaking of headstocks, this one looks familiar to me.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-47.jpg

This guitar does not say Gibson anywhere on it. It does say Made in Japan.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-49.jpg

So, does anybody know what it is? I'm thinking it's a 70's knock off. Did Gibson ever have SG's made in Japan?

The reason I ask, besides really wanting to know what I have here, is because I would have to modify the PU routs a little to fit the P-90's.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-52.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-53.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-54.jpg

I'm thinking that even if it is a knock off, it's old and therefore may have some value. I would hate to do anything stupid that would change the history of this thing. All the parts, except the jack & the caps, are original. What would you do?

And just to encourage some responses, I'm not doing anything to it until I hear from the experts :grin:

I do have another option, but I'm really hesitant to use this one for several reasons.

Reason number one - This one DOES say Gibson.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-56.jpg

If I slipped with a screwdriver, I'd have to kill myself :shock:

Reason number two - It's a BluesHawk and it has that Veritone circuit that enables you to get twenty eleven different sounds out of the original Blues 90's.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-55.jpg

I'm not sure I would get the pure sound of the hand-wound PU's. (I read this again and just now stopped laughing - I can't get 'Pure sound' out of ANY PU. But I digress) :roll:


Of course there's always option three - Build another guitar :grin:

Hey Nosmo,

I have the same Gibson. A cool and unusual little beast. I don't think the Japanese SG knockoff is a big dollar item. I suppose you might be able to find someone in your area to whip you up some nice pickup surrounds for those P90s after routing the body........

Rob

Hey Nosmo,

I have the same Gibson. A cool and unusual little beast. I don't think the Japanese SG knockoff is a big dollar item. I suppose you might be able to find someone in your area to whip you up some nice pickup surrounds for those P90s after routing the body........

Rob

Yeah, I kind of figured. The SG probably needs new PU's anyway, although the rust on the old ones adds a little mojo. I was surprised they worked.

However........

I do need a mule to test the PU's I wind as well as some other secret squirrel stuff that might show up in next year's challenge.

And I just happened to have this junky piece of Maple laying around. :wink:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-57.jpg

Should get one out of that. And one to mess up.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-58.jpg

And... a little bit of Cedar. It's the only thick wood I can find without going to Houston. But it's a mule right?

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-59.jpg

This ought to keep me off the streets for awhile.


:lol::lol::lol::roll:

Maybe look here to see if you can identify your lawsuit era japanese SG clone.

http://www.guitarsjapan.com/Gibson_Style_Guitar_Archive.html

Although I think this link only shows the "nicer" ones that actually have value. Yes I'm loosely implying so as not to offend :mrgreen:, yours isn't one of the "nicer" ones that has value, any SG clone worth it's pickguard doesn't have rounded corners at the heel of the neck. I've been wrong before so...

The key to identifying yours is likely finding the one with those rounded corners, unique inlays and flat bottom truss rod cover. The neck plate will be a tie-breaker if you find more than one that matches those other items.

And since you asked what I would do. Well I wouldn't do anything, only because if I had had it for as long as you, I would have already modded/routed/refinished/madeover that lawsuit era clone.

So about those p90's, you really gonna make us wait til the mule is done :mad:

Maybe look here to see if you can identify your lawsuit era japanese SG clone.

http://www.guitarsjapan.com/Gibson_Style_Guitar_Archive.html

Although I think this link only shows the "nicer" ones that actually have value. Yes I'm loosely implying so as not to offend :mrgreen:, yours isn't one of the "nicer" ones that has value, any SG clone worth it's pickguard doesn't have rounded corners at the heel of the neck. I've been wrong before so...

The key to identifying yours is likely finding the one with those rounded corners, unique inlays and flat bottom truss rod cover. The neck plate will be a tie-breaker if you find more than one that matches those other items.

And since you asked what I would do. Well I wouldn't do anything, only because if I had had it for as long as you, I would have already modded/routed/refinished/madeover that lawsuit era clone.

So about those p90's, you really gonna make us wait til the mule is done :mad:

Thanks for the info. Never really thought it had much value. It cost me $0.00 so I'm not insulted at all. I'm working as fast as I can on the mule, but I'll see if I can mod the SG at the same time. The old rings will cover the little bit I have to take out. If I like th P90s, I'll make some new rings.

Is it going to be a Tele mule?

Is it going to be a Tele mule?

This is the only forum I belong to. Don't want to get yelled at. Already have templates. Already have a Tele bridge. Already have Tele tuners. Already have other Tele bits & pieces.

So to answer your question, I'm not sure yet. :confused:

I'm likin' this--somebody else having to build a new axe to test his pups. Thought I was the only idiot who wound myself into that corner. Not that I'm enjoying your "misery". It was worth the price of admission to see your Blueshawk. She's a beauty, but certainly not a pup test bed. Not even if you wind the killerest pups ever. Well, maybe then, but only then.

My guess is that your SG, with the bolt on neck and Japan plate isn't especially valuable, but then again, if I'm so smart, why ain't I rich? But I think I'd still wait until I could get a definitive answer on it.

Could be your retirement. . . .with a whole ebony forest thrown in. . .and some mahogany and a grove of figured maple trees. . .and a big ole shop full of whatever tools you wanna put in there--. Or not.

After looking at the link Muzikp sent, it looks like a decent Japanese SG style is worth around a grand. Even at half of that, I wouldn't exactly call it a beater.

Question: I've never been much of an SG guy--do the originals have the 1st fret marker like Nosmos?

I'm likin' this--somebody else having to build a new axe to test his pups. Thought I was the only idiot who wound myself into that corner. Not that I'm enjoying your "misery". It was worth the price of admission to see your Blueshawk. She's a beauty, but certainly not a pup test bed. Not even if you wind the killerest pups ever. Well, maybe then, but only then.
Any excuse to get a new guitar (or gun) :grin:

My guess is that your SG, with the bolt on neck and Japan plate isn't especially valuable, but then again, if I'm so smart, why ain't I rich? But I think I'd still wait until I could get a definitive answer on it.

Could be your retirement. . . .with a whole ebony forest thrown in. . .and some mahogany and a grove of figured maple trees. . .and a big ole shop full of whatever tools you wanna put in there--. Or not.
Don't tease me like that. There is nothing I would like better than to retire. And I probably could...if I knew I was going to die in a year or two.

After looking at the link Muzikp sent, it looks like a decent Japanese SG style is worth around a grand. Even at half of that, I wouldn't exactly call it a beater.

Question: I've never been much of an SG guy--do the originals have the 1st fret marker like Nosmos?
I don't even know much about Tele's. :shock: That's why I don't care too much about the specs when I'm building. I just want it to look good, sound good and play well.

OK - We're having fun now!

I bought a new router bit a couple months ago and I haven't tried it yet. Until today :grin: If you don't have one of these, you really, really, really need to get one. If you can't afford one, sell one of your children or rent out your dog. I'm serious here. Well, OK, not really serious about the dog thing, but you HAVE to get one of these!

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-60.jpg

It doesn't hardly even make dust. It makes all those cool little curly shavings :lol:

This thing is magic. Look - It took that plane old piece of Maple I had and put flames in it!

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-61.jpg

:grin::grin::grin::grin:

Not a bit of tear-out anywhere

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-62.jpg

Not even here

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-63.jpg

I really figured one of these would be scrap by now

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-64.jpg

Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of steps where I can screw up, but so far - so good.

Worked pretty well on the Cedar body too

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-65.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-66.jpg

This thing is going to save me it's weight in sandpaper in no time. :grin: I bet it would even work on that splintery Hickory....but I'm not going to push my luck.







Whew...that was great, I need a cigarette. :cool:

Yea , those spiral bits are time savers and money savers , I will never be without one .
Hey , did you raid my maple stash , those necks look great .

Yea , those spiral bits are time savers and money savers , I will never be without one .
Hey , did you raid my maple stash , those necks look great .

Well, I sure didn't get it from Lowe's! I was getting pretty tired of seeing all that great figured Maple in a bunch of other people's builds.

After I chumped a nice piece of my flamey maple neck wood with a standard pattern bit, I decided I'd take a chance on this bit that Colt and some others were raving about. It was painfully expensive (cost a little more than Roger's new bandsaw, come to think of it)

But without qualification, it's the best tool purchase I've made in 2 years or more. Lives up to everybody's high expectations, as your photos so dramatically show.

Just don't try to feed it backwards. It will NOT climb cut, it will grab, chip, and throw the hell out of your workpiece. The good news is that it cuts so darn well the right way, you'll never even consider climb cutting, unless from habit.

It's fun to see somebody experience that ecstasy that is their first experience with the ole spiral upcut bit. You don't even need to ask, "was it good for you, too?":mrgreen:

That is a pretty piece of flamed maple, and the cedar's looking very good, too.

Hey Nosmo,

Is your shop done in pink shag? You're stirring up trouble on this end cuz Pinky's really diggin it and Smokey won't have anything to do with it........ You should hear the two of them goin at it...... Someone's gonna get chipped!

Rob

Hey Nosmo,

Is your shop done in pink shag? You're stirring up trouble on this end cuz Pinky's really diggin it and Smokey won't have anything to do with it........ You should hear the two of them goin at it...... Someone's gonna get chipped!

Rob

No, no, that's just a towel on the table on the back porch. Cedar dents if you look at it wrong. Sounds like Pinky has good taste & Smokey needs a Wah pedal. :grin:

Edit: I'm not really a guitar psychologist, but is it possible Smokey has been on the Wah pedal too long?

I made a little progress on the mule today.

Had to do a bunch of figurin'. Spent quite awhile trying to sort out what kind of access I need. In the end, I pretty much just used the template I made for my bass and then just routed big PU holes.

The PU routs & the control rout go all the way through, so I hogged them out with a BA drill bit.
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-67.jpg

I just blocked them in with scrap MDF and routed with a top bearing 1/2" pattern bit. Of course I didn't take any pictures of that, but I did get one after.
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-68.jpg
All nice & straight.

Slapped on the template & routed the area for the controls and a terminal strip. Once I had that, I routed different areas to different depths. Just thought it looked cool :cool:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-69.jpg

Actually, I have a plan :grin: One level (near the horn) is for a terminal strip so it will be easy to change not only the pickups, but pots & caps (and maybe some of that secret squirrel stuff I was talking about). The big hole behind the bridge is secret squirrel stuff too. If I told you, I'd have to kill you. :twisted:

I planed some Cedar to about 1/4" for the top
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-70.jpg

And glued it on
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-71.jpg

Somewhere under all that is the body. This Cedar is pretty light. With all that wood removed from the back, it's incredibly light. And soft! I'll weigh it once its trimmed and routed for the neck, but I bet it doesn't weigh 3lbs! :shock:

What the heck happened? I thought this was a thread about a pickup WINDER! :confused: :mrgreen:

What the heck happened? I thought this was a thread about a pickup WINDER! :confused: :mrgreen:

Yeah, I probably should have started a "mule" thread, but I need something to test the pickups. :grin:

Hey Nosmo,

Don't listen to Roger, he's just upset because the mule wasn't done in concrete..........

Rob

No, no, that's just a towel on the table on the back porch. Cedar dents if you look at it wrong. Sounds like Pinky has good taste & Smokey needs a Wah pedal. :grin:

Edit: I'm not really a guitar psychologist, but is it possible Smokey has been on the Wah pedal too long?

LOL!

Hey Nosmo,

Don't listen to Roger, he's just upset because the mule wasn't done in concrete..........

Rob

:lol: He does have a point though. Some of these threads get so long it's hard to find the information you need in them.

I'm going to use the mule to test the pickups I wind, but I'm also going to use it to learn some new skills that have nothing to do with a winder thread. Stuff a bunch of you already know. Things like binding, inlay, finishing, cutting a beer gut holder in the back, etc.

I'll try not to fill this thread up with mule building pictures.

Hey Nosmo,

I personally see it as a logical extension of the winder odyssey. I think it's just fine. From a higher perspective, it gives folks one stop shopping on the topic of winding prior to the next challenge. It will also show them how to construct a specially configured guitar to evaluate new pickups. You can title your entries to allow the search function to work. You are providing a deep service. Well done sir.

Rob

Yes please carry on in this here thread. My issue is I can never remember what thread I saw whatever in, but for some reason I always remember who did it. So the less threads you people have helps me track down your brilliant ideas later. Of course I'm probably one of the few with that sort of messed up memory...but there's my $.01

Hey Nosmo,

I personally see it as a logical extension of the winder odyssey. I think it's just fine. From a higher perspective, it gives folks one stop shopping on the topic of winding prior to the next challenge. It will also show them how to construct a specially configured guitar to evaluate new pickups. You can title your entries to allow the search function to work. You are providing a deep service. Well done sir.

Rob
Well thank you - Although, sometimes I do feel sorry for the folks that follow my lead. I'll say it again, everything I know about building guitars, I learned right here.

Yes please carry on in this here thread. My issue is I can never remember what thread I saw whatever in, but for some reason I always remember who did it. So the less threads you people have helps me track down your brilliant ideas later. Of course I'm probably one of the few with that sort of messed up memory...but there's my $.01
OK so what part of having no short term memory do you not understand? I think I made that comment about myself somewhere in here. But I don't remember :roll:

I have the same problem finding things I've seen in threads. The worst part is, I can't give proper credit to the people that came up with the great ideas.

Well thank you - . . .. I'll say it again, everything I know about building guitars, I learned right here. . . .


The worst part is, I can't give proper credit to the people that came up with the great ideas.



Amen, brother.

I'm still working on the mule & having a great time with it. Building new jigs and such since I never seem to do things the same way twice :grin:

Meanwhile, I chiseled out the corners of the PU routs on my semi-SG and wired in the P-90s. The PU routs are so deep, the closest I can get the P-90s to the strings is about 1/2". I'll put some shims under them when I get a chance. Here's a shot of the guitar kicking back in my favorite chair. I really try to keep them off the furniture, but they have this pack mentality and tend to do whatever they want. :roll:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-72.jpg

So, even with that big gap between the PUs and the strings, these things sound great! The under wound neck is very clear. The bridge is a little darker, but has some twangy highs when you turn up the tone. There doesn't seem to be much difference in volume between them. I thought the bridge PU with 10,000 wraps (8.2k) would be louder than the neck PU with 6,200 wraps (4.7k). Maybe the different magnets have something to do with it. The neck has AlNiCo 5's and the bridge has 2's. Of course the SG has dual volume & tone pots (all 500k by the way). A better test would be to wind them both the same and try them on the mule under more controlled conditions.

I'm off to beat the mule into shape.

You old mule skinner :D

Beating the mule into shape........ Is that what you call it these days?

I didn't mean to come across as complaining earlier. Sorry if I did. I just thought it was funny how the thread progressed. With all the things we see you working on, I picture you kind of as a frantic scientist with a lab full of boiling beakers and spinning centrifuges. We never know which way you're going to go next :wink:

You old mule skinner :D
:lol:

Beating the mule into shape........ Is that what you call it these days?
:shock:

I didn't mean to come across as complaining earlier. Sorry if I did. I just thought it was funny how the thread progressed.
No problem - Like I said, you kind of had a point.

With all the things we see you working on, I picture you kind of as a frantic scientist with a lab full of boiling beakers and spinning centrifuges. We never know which way you're going to go next :wink:
I am easily distracted. And I have the same attention span as small shrubbery :roll:

I'm still working on the mule & having a great time with it. Building new jigs and such since I never seem to do things the same way twice :grin:

Meanwhile, I chiseled out the corners of the PU routs on my semi-SG and wired in the P-90s. The PU routs are so deep, the closest I can get the P-90s to the strings is about 1/2". I'll put some shims under them when I get a chance. Here's a shot of the guitar kicking back in my favorite chair. I really try to keep them off the furniture, but they have this pack mentality and tend to do whatever they want. :roll:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-72.jpg

So, even with that big gap between the PUs and the strings, these things sound great! The under wound neck is very clear. The bridge is a little darker, but has some twangy highs when you turn up the tone. There doesn't seem to be much difference in volume between them. I thought the bridge PU with 10,000 wraps (8.2k) would be louder than the neck PU with 6,200 wraps (4.7k). Maybe the different magnets have something to do with it. The neck has AlNiCo 5's and the bridge has 2's. Of course the SG has dual volume & tone pots (all 500k by the way). A better test would be to wind them both the same and try them on the mule under more controlled conditions.

I'm off to beat the mule into shape.

Oh, wait, I just found an obscure listing of someone who's looking for a Japanese SG knockoff with a dark burst finish and a bolt on neck. It has to have an unlabeled headstock, and they'll pay $500 large, but it has to be in unaltered condition. . . . .

Oh, wait, I just found an obscure listing of someone who's looking for a Japanese SG knockoff with a dark burst finish and a bolt on neck. It has to have an unlabeled headstock, and they'll pay $500 large, but it has to be in unaltered condition. . . . .

That figures :cry:

And I have the same attention span as small shrubbery :roll:

Ha :lol: , reminds me of this tom foolery from years ago

http://i832.photobucket.com/albums/zz246/adirondak50/mahogany%20build/url.jpg?t=1349214927

Sorry--just funnin with you. Looking forward to hearing how those soap bars sound when they're properly set up under the strings.

Ha :lol: , reminds me of this tom foolery from years ago...]
I used to watch Monty Python all the time. Love 'em.

Sorry--just funnin with you...
Jeez, I hope so!

. . . just a scratch...

"Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."



Oh Lord, don't get me started. We'll be here all night :mrgreen:

She turned me into a newt :shock:

:shock:.... must....resist....completing....quote....urge....t oo....strong....GAHHHH


:mrgreen::mrgreen:

She turned me into a newt :shock:

:shock:.... must....resist....completing....quote....urge....t oo....strong....GAHHHH


:mrgreen::mrgreen:

LOL :mrgreen::mrgreen:

He's NOT the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

Stwike him, Centuwion. Stwike him vewy wuffly




You see, nosmo?! Do you see?! See what happens to your threads? :lol::lol:

I was just browsing around, minding my own business and I happened upon this thread today. I have enjoyed the trials of your winding but then, without warning, BAM! You start building a guitar to test your pups. Wicked awesome.

When I thought it couldn't get better, the Monty Python references cropped up.

<pulling up a chair>

What's next? This is gonna be fun. :grin:

Watch it David, you have tuned in to a very weird bunch.:lol:

Watch it David, you have tuned in to a very weird bunch.:lol:

Well David, there you go then. You've been warned! :twisted:

Edit: Wait a minute...What did you just call me Glen?

I just called you "bunch", the other guys are weird.

Well alrighty then. :grin:

Well Alrighty Then,


Now that we have safely docked at Weird a Island and Uncle Nosmo is serving up the mojitos, how is that cypress beauty with the "unusual talents" coming along?

Rob

Well Alrighty Then,


Now that we have safely docked at Weird a Island and Uncle Nosmo is serving up the mojitos, how is that cypress beauty with the "unusual talents" coming along?

Rob

Ah, cypress beauty with unusual talents make you very happy ending! You buy now?

And we're not weird, we're wired. 42 gauge, mostly.

And welcome, David, here on Weird Island we have a rule that the new arrivals get to buy the first round at the Tiki Bar! :mrgreen:

Stwike him, Centuwion. Stwike him vewy wuffly




You see, nosmo?! Do you see?! See what happens to your threads? :lol::lol:


D@mn you, Woger, I waffed so hard it woke my wife up and I got in twouble. :sad:

Wow, I go away for a couple hours to draw a picture and the whole thread goes to s......well, let's just say there's a small boat circling Weird Island. I'm pretty sure that's because it only has one ore in the water. :lol:


And now for something completely different.




Pickup stuff :shock:

I'm trying to figure out how to wire the mule and this is what I came up with. Is there any chance in hell this might work?

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-73.jpg

One switch switches between 250k & 500k pots. The caps can be changed out pretty quickly on the terminal strip. The other switch would be used for coil tapping or splitting (the green wires). The red wires are hot and the black wires are grounds (Duh). Is there any problem with putting all the grounds together like that? I mean, nothing's gonna explode is it?

I think I'll just go ahead and put in an order for some canned smoke. I know I'll need some when I let it out of the back of the guitar. :roll:

I guess all you guys are consulting your electronics text books so when you get back to me on that it'll be the correct information :roll:





While I'm waiting, I guess I'll venture out to the shop. Or the back porch since that's where I do my fret slot cutting.

Had this piece of Bubinga, so I laid out the frets using jpbturbo's drawing.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-74.jpg

I don't have a miter box, so I do this by hand. The anti-idiot tape is so I won't cut that line. It's the end - not a fret. One trick is to start with a notch on the edge to make sure I'm lined up. Another trick is to hold my square at a little angle so I don't take the set out of the teeth on the fret saw.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-75.jpg

Not bad so far. Now we can go to the shop.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-76.jpg

Next, I take it to the drill press where I proceed to drill a bunch of random holes like so

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-77.jpg

OK, that might have been too many holes. Guess I have to plug them with Bamboo skewers.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-78.jpg

Man, I hope nobody notices when this is all done :oops:

While that's drying, I routed the truss rod slot. If I was smarter, I would have done this when the edges were still straight, but noooooooo.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-79.jpg

One benefit of being a pack rat is there's always something laying around that you can use.

Once the fretboard plugs were dry, I radiused it with my FB jig. Same as always - 12" at the nut & 16" at the heel. Then I glued it to the neck at set it aside to dry. No pictures of all that. I was moving like the wind and didn't have time for no steenkin pictures.

Besides, while I was doing that, I was thinking about this. Yeah, hang on Dave. We're about to go a completely different direction. I think the rest of these Mooyucks are used to it by now.

I want to cut a beer belly....I mean tummy cut on this body. I've never done that before so I need to spend at least half a day making a jig that may or may not work.

I start by guessing at the angle and calculating the clearance of my band saw. It was really hard to measure the angle of my belly. The damn thing kept moving. So, after all that, I pretty much just grabbed my 30-60-90 square and used 30 degrees. Hey, where's the little circle key on this stupid computer? What a pain to have to type out d e g r e e instead of just hitting 1 key. I could be doing other things you know.

Excuse me while I read back a little to see what I was talking about.



Oh yeah, the tummy cut jig. I guessed again at the radius. Kind of eye-balled everything till I came up with about 11".

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-80.jpg

Cut that line on the band saw. See the cut off from the body? That should just about fit the body. Again, the pack rat strikes.

So, I cut a couple pieces of scrap at 30.....damn it! :mad: Screwed them to the plywood, screwed the body cut off to the scrap, clamped the convex (isn't that a confused criminal?) piece to the BS table and made a test cut. Had to make a bunch to get the blade where it would track correctly. Finally, I cut the body

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-81.jpg

You can almost see the notch for the blade in the clamped piece. That's so you can move it around until it cuts right.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-83.jpg

Nothing a little sandpaper can't fix.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-84.jpg

Well, that could have gone better. Then again it could have gone a lot worse. The best thing about it is, by the time I finished messing around with that, the neck was dry. Well, dry enough.

So I trimmed it, thinned the headstock, sanded the transition, drilled the tuner holes, ate a sandwich, drank 2 beers, checked the forum to see if anybody had any advise for my wiring, drilled a couple holes in the body for extra pots, raised the grain on the FB with water & sanded some more, sanded the body some more, set the body on something tiny that left a big dent in it, test the neck fit again cause I really like the way it fit and there you go.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-86.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-88.jpg

Thank goodness I remembered to put the truss rod in!

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-87.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-89.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-90.jpg

It's very close to being a mule. :grin::grin:








Just as soon as I install the multi-layered binding, the 4 color burst and the mirror finished lacquer. :shock: Right! :roll:

That is going to end up looking too good for a mule!

That is going to end up looking too good for a mule!

Well thank you. The neck can always be used somewhere else. I am surprised at how good that $6.00 worth of Cedar is turning out. :grin:

You do good work, Nosmo. That is very nice looking horseflesh.

I think the wiring plan will work, although I've been tripped up before by the differing 3-way switch terminal configurations. As I read the diagram, you will only be able to test one coil of each humbucker, and not the whole pup as a humbucker, right? You might be able to get more configurations out of it if you used a rotary switch. Not a criticism, just an idea for consideration.

Thanks Rick. I don't know too much about humbuckers. The plan was to use one wire for the full effect and the other for a single coil or maybe a coil tap. Do you need to hook up 2 wires to make a hummer work? I mean besides the ground :roll:

I'm open to suggestion. About the wiring that is.

Thanks Rick. I don't know too much about humbuckers. The plan was to use one wire for the full effect and the other for a single coil or maybe a coil tap. Do you need to hook up 2 wires to make a hummer work? I mean besides the ground :roll:

I'm open to suggestion. About the wiring that is.

As you were. I overlooked that the green wire is a tap I'm wrong. :oops: You'll be able to switch between the tapped and full coils.

Now you're making me nervous. You're telling me my wiring diagram will work? :shock:

Well Nosmo,

If it works you'll have music and if not you amp will start smoking. If it does, just kick it overboard at the dock. That will put the flames out and the high voltage shock will probably bring dinner to the surface. Two for one, Weird Island style. ;-)

Rob

Well Nosmo,

If it works you'll have music and if not you amp will start smoking. If it does, just kick it overboard at the dock. That will put the flames out and the high voltage shock will probably bring dinner to the surface. Two for one, Weird Island style. ;-)

Rob

:lol: Now that is a dilemma. I can build a new guitar, but an amp...:?:

At least the fish will be cooked when I pick them up :wink:

Hey Nosmo,

You better get Herb to crew your boat as he knows how to build amps now. Totally a win win but yes it's an expensive way to fish for dinner.....

Rob

FWIW, there's a tube-amp building forum that's every bit as beginner-friendly as this one. If you're interested in amp building, this is definitely a great place to start looking.

http://www.ax84.com

Sorry for the hijack. Please resume the fishing stories. :smile:

-----------------
Dave

lovin that fretboard

Nosmo, that's so cool. I mean, one night before sleep I had an idea of a pickup mule that would have all those features you've planned, but then I instantly thought that it would be way too much work and difficult and unnecessary etc... and there you go, actually building it from scratch.

I'll build a simple one too, sooner or later. It will have a very roughly made body and a Strat neck I just got for 30 euros, needs some work though.

Hey Nosmo,

You better get Herb to crew your boat as he knows how to build amps now. Totally a win win but yes it's an expensive way to fish for dinner.....

Rob
If Herb got close enough to crew my boat I wouldn't have any guitars left! So far I've been able to keep him at bay with the old "the bass is on the truck" line. Don't tell him, but it's still hanging on my wall :cool:

FWIW, there's a tube-amp building forum that's every bit as beginner-friendly as this one. If you're interested in amp building, this is definitely a great place to start looking.

http://www.ax84.com

Sorry for the hijack. Please resume the fishing stories. :smile:

-----------------
Dave
Now that's just what I need. Another thing to spend money on :roll: But seriously, I have too many amps now....although, I could use a good acoustic amp....:twisted:

Thanks for the info.

lovin that fretboard
Thanks. This is only my third neck, but so far, I really like it. I like the random marker dots but I hope they show up better when it's finished. The flame is outrageous. Sure hope I don't mess it up shaping the back.

Nosmo, that's so cool. I mean, one night before sleep I had an idea of a pickup mule that would have all those features you've planned, but then I instantly thought that it would be way too much work and difficult and unnecessary etc... and there you go, actually building it from scratch.

I'll build a simple one too, sooner or later. It will have a very roughly made body and a Strat neck I just got for 30 euros, needs some work though.

Yeah, what can I say? Most people would have just gone to a pawn shop and picked up a cheap old beater guitar for a mule. Not me. I'll save some money and use this cheap Cedar and this not so cheap Maple and about 400 hours of labor......

The worst part is, I didn't really plan to wind that many pickups. Now I have to wind some just for the mule :roll: It's a vicious circle.

If Herb got close enough to crew my boat I wouldn't have any guitars left! So far I've been able to keep him at bay with the old "the bass is on the truck" line. Don't tell him, but it's still hanging on my wall :cool:


I knew it , even pony express would have gotten it delivered by now , oh well , guess I'll have to build one :D
As for running the boat , yea , let's do it , it'll only be a 3 hour tour , just call me Skipper , hmm , sounds like a song :D

Herb - just make sure you bring Mary Ann

Herb - just make sure you bring Mary Ann

Ha , sure little buddy :D

No Ginger? Surely you jest!

No Ginger? Surely you jest!

Everybody knows Mary Ann was the hot one. Ginger's too high maintenance. Come on man - get with it!

On the wiring... Haven't traced it all out, but I'd use the other side of your DPDT pot switch to switch from the outputs of your Volume pots to the output jack. Otherwise, your 250K and 500K Volume pots will interact with each other.

Ha , sure little buddy :D

:lol::lol::lol:

On the wiring... Haven't traced it all out, but I'd use the other side of your DPDT pot switch to switch from the outputs of your Volume pots to the output jack. Otherwise, your 250K and 500K Volume pots will interact with each other.

That's what I'm talkin' about! :grin: Input. Coordination. The sharing of ideas. Helping the stupider among us.

Is this what you mean? Make sense to me. You da man! :lol:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-91.jpg

Wait a minute...what do you mean you haven't traced it all out? :neutral:

Hi Dave - thanks for stopping by.

:roll:Hoboy, here we go. Have to get Security to check Barncaster and Nosmo at the door of the Tiki lounge for brass knuckles, slapjacks, and shivs. Sooner or later, with this bunch, the eternal "Who's hotter, Mary Ann or Ginger" dispute had to arise, and you got two drunks rolling around on the floor trying to spill each other's blood.:shock:



I think your revised drawing does the trick, Nosmo, I was looking more at the top end, cuz I don't like soldering on pots. But I think the way you got 'em wired will exclude the others so there will be no interaction. Me, I'd just wire everything all together, and put in diodes with the arrow pointing in the direction I want the electrons to flow. Sometimes I think it works!

Well Rick,

At least Nosmo and I aren't fighting over Mrs. Howell........ A man has to know his limitations.....

On of my favorite Hollywood bar room fights was in Donovan's Reef with John Wayne and Lee Marvin where they are just wrecking the joint and Lee Marvin picks up a bottle of bourbon to throw and John Wayne says "Not the bourbon you dope!" And with that Lee Marvin puts it down and picks up something else to throw. Those guys were the best.

Rob

Well Rick,

At least Nosmo and I aren't fighting over Mrs. Howell........ A man has to know his limitations.....

On of my favorite Hollywood bar room fights was in Donovan's Reef with John Wayne and Lee Marvin where they are just wrecking the joint and Lee Marvin picks up a bottle of bourbon to throw and John Wayne says "Not the bourbon you dope!" And with that Lee Marvin puts it down and picks up something else to throw. Those guys were the best.

Rob

A classic! :lol: Lee Marvin and booze seemed to be a natural partnership. The scene in Cat Ballou that I think was used in posters when he's mounted on his horse, dead-drunk, and both Lee and the horse were leaning against the side of the building--what an image!

What's a diode? :shock:




Actually, there might be a few of them in the secret squirrel stuff :cool:

I tried to limit the amount of wires soldered to the pots, just one each instead of the normal 27.

A classic! :lol: Lee Marvin and booze seemed to be a natural partnership. The scene in Cat Ballou that I think was used in posters when he's mounted on his horse, dead-drunk, and both Lee and the horse were leaning against the side of the building--what an image!

That may well be one of the greatest pictures ever taken.

Are you sure they were leaning? hic...looked straight to me!

Are you sure they were leaning? hic...looked straight to me!
:lol::lol::lol:

What's a diode? :shock:




Actually, there might be a few of them in the secret squirrel stuff :cool:

I tried to limit the amount of wires soldered to the pots, just one each instead of the normal 27.


You askin me? What secret squirrel stuff? Are there components in your mule that you ain't admittin to? I know what you mean about the 27 wires. I like diagrams where the grounds show up as those little triangle-stripey things, and not a bunch of lines running all over the place, but of course, when you go to build that diagram, you end up with the 27 wires runnin all over the place, so--Hmm I forgot where I was going with this. I think it's beddy-bye time for Bonzo. Or maybe I'll go down and do some thin binding rips on the table saw while I've got the guard off. . . . see ya later!

Are you sure they were leaning? hic...looked straight to me!

Actually it was a Hollywood trick photography stunt. They dug under the building so it leaned. Lee and his horse were perfectly straight!

Or maybe I'll go down and do some thin binding rips on the table saw while I've got the guard off. . . . see ya later!

Over/under for number of fingers still attached in the morning is 8. :cool:

Is this what you mean? Make sense to me. You da man! :lol:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-91.jpg

Yep! That's exactly what I meant!

Wait a minute...what do you mean you haven't traced it all out? :neutral:

That was the obvious thing that jumped out at me with just a cursory glance! :mrgreen:

Yep! That's exactly what I meant!



That was the obvious thing that jumped out at me with just a cursory glance! :mrgreen:

Thank you very much!

I put my frets in. This might be the best I've done with that. Of course that's not saying much, this is the third neck I've made.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-93.jpg

Almost didn't cut the slots deep enough

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-94.jpg
Almost. Didn't have to file off half a fret this time. Hardly filed at all to get them level.

Here's the 12th fret marker (before polishing the frets :oops:)

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-92.jpg

Different, but that's just me :grin: I love the grain in that Bamboo. You just have to get really close to see it.

I cut some blocks for the PU routs. Something to mount the PU's to.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-99.jpg

Just unscrew them from the back

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-100.jpg

And they come right out

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-101.jpg

Sorry, little fuzzy there.

Then I moved on to something shiny. I need a control cover. A big one. Bigger than normal. Normal doesn't fit my style :grin: So, the hardware store just happened to have this aluminum laying around :wink:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-95.jpg

It didn't have all that stuff drawn on it (that would have been too easy) and it wasn't cut out. I did that with the band saw.

The slot for the switch is the only tricky part. Did that with the Dremel

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-96.jpg

That wheel was a lot bigger when I started.

Figured I should make a jack plate too

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-97.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-102.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-103.jpg

Looks like I'm gonna have to make some knobs. I LOVE knobs!


:grin::grin::grin:

Sheesh, no jewel lamp! Cheap!!

Sigh.. We all know about Nosmo and his knobs. :roll:

Well.....

Seeing that she's going to have four knobs we should probably call her the cow and not the mule............ I have dropped anchor. :razz:

Rob

. . .so, like, we could name it the Mary-Ginger-Ann, right? :twisted:

And people say I call the distant planets with my pickup winder! Hell, you could launch space shuttles with your mule, Nosmo. But I'm impressed with the aluminum plate work. Actually the drop-out pickup mounting plates, too.

Sheesh, no jewel lamp! Cheap!!
I might have to put one in when I install the battery. Oh, did I say battery? :cool:

Sigh.. We all know about Nosmo and his knobs. :roll:
There's nothing quite like a good knob or two. :grin:

Well.....

Seeing that she's going to have four knobs we should probably call her the cow and not the mule............ I have dropped anchor. :razz:

Rob
Perhaps a black & white color scheme?

. . .so, like, we could name it the Mary-Ginger-Ann, right? :twisted:

And people say I call the distant planets with my pickup winder! Hell, you could launch space shuttles with your mule, Nosmo. But I'm impressed with the aluminum plate work. Actually the drop-out pickup mounting plates, too.
If only I had the right electronics. All the pots are 500k. I'm out of 250's. The whole thing was staged, but don't tell anybody :wink: The aluminum is pretty easy to work. Cut great on the band saw & the ROSS made short work of the rest. The drop out PU plates were the whole point of the mule-cow.

Say, about those PU plates, wouldn't they be prime candidates for tiny neodymium magnets instead of screws? Or would they be too close to the PUs?

Climbing Mt. Stupid since 1962

Nice work nosmo , love the metal work , I think its too classy to call a "mule" or "cow " , I think you should call it nosmo's pickup "alpaca" :razz::lol:

Say, about those PU plates, wouldn't they be prime candidates for tiny neodymium magnets instead of screws? Or would they be too close to the PUs?

Climbing Mt. Stupid since 1962

Oh sure - Now you tell me. :roll: To be honest, I didn't even think about magnets. That might be a great idea, or they might be too close to the pickups. So...did that answer your question?

Nice work nosmo , love the metal work , I think its too classy to call a "mule" or "cow " , I think you should call it nosmo's pickup "alpaca" :razz::lol:

I suppose if it doesn't work out, I could make a sweater out of it :lol:

Do alpacas have four knobs?

Do alpacas have four knobs?

Hmmm , I think that info is only available on a need to know basis , and I am not sure I need to know :shock::lol:

Oh sure - Now you tell me. :roll: To be honest, I didn't even think about magnets. That might be a great idea, or they might be too close to the pickups. So...did that answer your question?

As luck would have it, I'm working on a mule as well. And I've already pilfered some ideas from you Nosmo. I was thinking though, for the drop out pickup mounts to use self-adjusting compression latches like this

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/industry/img/self-adjusting-compression-latches-000051264-4.jpg

Recess them into the body so they don't stick out maybe. Also I was thinking instead of 2 drop out plates to just make one big one that's the entire center of the guitar.

Also I was thinking about building this little orange drop cap tester (like in this video) into the back of the body.

92G-jw4TqS4

That way every cap is in there already and you just hook the leads to whichever one you want. I don't know it's all still a jumbled mess in my head and probably won't get sorted out until I grab the router. But in the meantime I'll sit tight and watch yours develop.

Do alpacas have four knobs?

Hmmm , I think that info is only available on a need to know basis , and I am not sure I need to know :shock::lol:

Not sure she looks like she would like to be checked! :shock:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-110.jpg

As luck would have it, I'm working on a mule as well. And I've already pilfered some ideas from you Nosmo. I was thinking though, for the drop out pickup mounts to use self-adjusting compression latches like this...

Recess them into the body so they don't stick out maybe. Also I was thinking instead of 2 drop out plates to just make one big one that's the entire center of the guitar.
Show off! :mrgreen:

A little planning would have gone a long way. I'm kind of making this up as I go.

Also I was thinking about building this little orange drop cap tester (like in this video) into the back of the body.

Video

That way every cap is in there already and you just hook the leads to whichever one you want. I don't know it's all still a jumbled mess in my head and probably won't get sorted out until I grab the router. But in the meantime I'll sit tight and watch yours develop.
Is it just me or was there absolutely no difference in sound between the different types of caps? I guess the values have more effect (didn't watch that video yet). I can switch caps, but I have to do it on the terminal strip instead of with a switch. Kind of running out of room for switches. :grin:

Made a plate for the strings. It's not so much a tone block as it is a way to ground the strings. I don't have a half bridge (yet) so I may put an acoustice bridge on it.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-104.jpg

I have to stop adding stuff. I just keep messing it up more & more. The end block shifted when I routed for the plate, so I had to put a little piece in. I'm sure you already noticed that I blew out the side of the control cavity when I put in the PU blocks. Good thing this is a mule...uh cow...uh alpaca, whatever.

Since I haven't messed up anything on the neck yet, I thought maybe I'd work on it.

I like to taper the back first

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-105.jpg

Made a mark at the first & 12 frets. About .85" at the first and 1" at the 12th and connected them with a line. I used the string plate as a spacer at the heel. That gave me the taper from the first fret to the 12th.

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-106.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-107.jpg

After a couple passes, it's just shy of the line

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-108.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-109.jpg

Shaped the back for awhile, but had to give it up. Football's on :grin:

Oh sure - Now you tell me. :roll: To be honest, I didn't even think about magnets. That might be a great idea, or they might be too close to the pickups. So...did that answer your question?

Since it's a test alpaca, I'd not want to potentially alter the sound of pups with extraneous magnetic fields, and even tiny neo magnets have big pull, I'd use Musikp's latch thingys or the screws you already got.



. I'm sure you already noticed that I blew out the side of the control cavity when I put in the PU blocks.

Actually, I had not noticed, and had to go back and study the photos. I thought you did it on purpose. :roll:



Shaped the back for awhile, but had to give it up. Football's on :grin:

Well, maybe some places, certainly football is NOT on at the University of Georgia. If anybody finds our defense, please give them a bus ticket back to Athens, please! :cry:

...
Well, maybe some places, certainly football is NOT on at the University of Georgia. If anybody finds our defense, please give them a bus ticket back to Athens, please! :cry:

They must be hanging out with LSU's offense.

Show off! :mrgreen:

A little planning would have gone a long way. I'm kind of making this up as I go.


Is it just me or was there absolutely no difference in sound between the different types of caps? I guess the values have more effect (didn't watch that video yet). I can switch caps, but I have to do it on the terminal strip instead of with a switch. Kind of running out of room for switches. :grin:

yep the different types had no affect to my ears, nada, zippo, zilch. But the different values sure did. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate all the value caps into the mule still.

yep the different types had no affect to my ears, nada, zippo, zilch. But the different values sure did. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate all the value caps into the mule still.

Try this

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&sub_attr_name=Number+of+Positions&position=1&productId=576421&catalogId=10001&refineType=2&refineValue=5+%3C%3D++%3C+10&storeId=10001&refine=1&history=trvmuee7%7CfreeText%7Eswitch%5Esearch_type %7Ejamecoall%5EprodPage%7E15%5Epage%7ESEARCH%252BN AV%40iuydty89%7CrefineValue%7ESwitch%2BRotary%5Ere fineType%7E1%5Eposition%7E1%5Esub_attr_name%7EProd uct%2BType%5Erefine%7E1%5EprodPage%7E15%5Epage%7ES EARCH%252BNAV&ddkey=http:StoreCatalogDrillDownView

6 Position double pole rotary switch - should be able to wire in 6 different value caps. I think.

Hey Nosmo,

I thought the tone cap exercise was interesting. My ears liked the Mallory and Tropical Fish cap fairly consistently in his presentations. I've never used either but some of the others yes. Just waiting for Rob D. to weigh in like an atom bomb on this video........

Rob

Hey Rob, I've been buying Orange Drop caps 'cause they're relatively expensive so they must be better right? I could not tell any difference between the types. I think I might just save some money and start buying them at Radio Shack once I run out.

Hey Nosmo,

Ears are funny things. A coworker had a frequency generator on this cell phone and was seeing who could hear these dog whistle frequencies he was generating. We sat in the R&D lab and he let go with this thing and nobody flinched in the room and I was yelling at him to shut it off.

In the end, everyones ears are different. To me I consistently liked the Mallory and the Tropical Fish best. There were however no clinkers although the ceramics seemed harshest. The stock cap sounded fine and you can get those chicklets at Radio Shack. If you build for you, buy what pleases your ears I say.

Rob

I agree 100%. If you're building for yourself, use whatever you want. If you're building for someone else, use whatever they want.

It must be pretty annoying having dog ears like that. Gonna have to start calling you P90! :grin:

Try this

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&sub_attr_name=Number+of+Positions&position=1&productId=576421&catalogId=10001&refineType=2&refineValue=5+%3C%3D++%3C+10&storeId=10001&refine=1&history=trvmuee7%7CfreeText%7Eswitch%5Esearch_type %7Ejamecoall%5EprodPage%7E15%5Epage%7ESEARCH%252BN AV%40iuydty89%7CrefineValue%7ESwitch%2BRotary%5Ere fineType%7E1%5Eposition%7E1%5Esub_attr_name%7EProd uct%2BType%5Erefine%7E1%5EprodPage%7E15%5Epage%7ES EARCH%252BNAV&ddkey=http:StoreCatalogDrillDownView

6 Position double pole rotary switch - should be able to wire in 6 different value caps. I think.
Yes, definitely 6. Or go to a 12-position rotary switch and test 12 cap values.

I agree 100%. If you're building for yourself, use whatever you want. If you're building for someone else, use whatever they want.

It must be pretty annoying having dog ears like that. Gonna have to start calling you P90! :grin:

K-9 is what came to my mind. . .

whilst the imagination and efforts are truly noble, and having been there in spades decades ago, today things such as these make me cringe as an invasion on my minimalist approach philosophy to just shut up and play my simple one pickup, one knobby guitar (as it, too, gently weeps) ... :mrgreen:

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-91.jpg

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/Nosmos%20PU%20Winder/file-103.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/on.jpg

whilst the imagination and efforts are truly noble, and having been there in spades decades ago, today things such as these make me cringe as an invasion on my minimalist approach philosophy to just shut up and play my simple one pickup, one knobby guitar (as it, too, gently weeps) ... :mrgreen:



Um, Rob, um, er,

Your guitar looks kind if male.

Rob

Um, Rob, um, er,

Your guitar looks kind if male.

Rob

exactly! that's the idea. :cool:

Rob D. - I prefer simple myself. I wouldn't build a guitar like this to play. It's really just to test different pickup/pot/tone cap combinations so when I build a guitar I can make it with one knob (or maybe two) :grin:

Of course, I don't have the dog ears that some others have. It's hard for me to tell much difference sometimes.

Hope I didn't hurt you guitar's feelings :wink:

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Woof!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Woof!

Down boy.



No really - get off the couch!

NO! NOT ON THE RUG! Bad! Bad!

http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg535/nosmospics/file-25.jpg

That thing looks like the Sister Betrille of the dog world.......

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/on.jpg

so when I build a guitar I can make it with one knob (or maybe two) :grin:

If you use two knobs I think you should use one like Rob's and make the other knob say yes :mrgreen:. Where do you get "NO" knobs anyway?

Same place you get the "710" cap the blonde found on her engine.

True story, I interrupted a lady at the gas station while she was filling her 710 cap with water. She asked if the car would still be ok. She had filled the entire block with water. Shes lucky I got to her before she drove it. The gas station actually had a garage so we pushed it over to the lift and let the mechanics drain it.

True story, I interrupted a lady at the gas station while she was filling her 710 cap with water. She asked if the car would still be ok. She had filled the entire block with water. Shes lucky I got to her before she drove it. The gas station actually had a garage so we pushed it over to the lift and let the mechanics drain it.

Wholly Cow!! What did she think she was doing? With some older cars, or hot-running engines, she could easily have cracked something hot by pouring hot water on it!! I guess she was trying to take care of her car, but--that just boggles the mind, especially if you hadn't been the Good Samaritan and stopped her!

710 is a great code word......or two for that matter. I have a feeling it will get heavy usage. ;-)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/rfdee/on.jpg



If you use two knobs I think you should use one like Rob's and make the other knob say yes :mrgreen:. Where do you get "NO" knobs anyway?

it's a modified strat tONe knob. :cool: