Pick-Up Winding for People Who Aren't Interested in Pick-Up Winding?

[Jupiter]

I don't really want to get into pick-up winding. Frankly, I don't see myself saving much money or ending up with something much better than GFS offers.

But I want to compete in the build challenge next year, and word around the Depot is you'll have to wind yer own PUs. Okay, fair enough. And I know that there's a possibility that, having made one, I'll be totally jazzed and hooked on it and I'll want to wind pick-ups for every member of my family--but I doubt it. So I want to find the simplest, cheapest, quick-and-dirty way to do a one-off (or two-off) wind, with the least possible investment in tools/jig-building. I don't even have a multi-meter at this point....

Short of screwing the bobbin to a table and jogging around it for 4 hours, what's the simplest way to wind a pick-up?

[ludashoeless]

I know nothing about it, but I think i've seen people say they use a sowing machine??

[Amadhunter]

A drill, and a multimeter are just about as bare bones as you can get. Just take a small 1"x4" piece of plywood or particle board, put a bolt through it, chuck it up in your drill, and wind to resistance. Look on youtube for some ideas. Oh, and I'm of the opinion that you can definately wind a much better sounding pu than you can get from GF, or many other outlets. :)

[Scatter Lee]

[Jupiter]

Originally Posted by Amadhunter

A drill, and a multimeter are just about as bare bones as you can get. Just take a small 1"x4" piece of plywood or particle board, put a bolt through it, chuck it up in your drill, and wind to resistance. Look on youtube for some ideas. Oh, and I'm of the opinion that you can definately wind a much better sounding pu than you can get from GF, or many other outlets. :)

Thanks. That's about my speed--except I need to buy a multimeter.

A bobbin, some magnets, 6000 wraps of wire: what can I do that's going to make it sound better than GFS?? I am actually curious about this.

[Mojotron]

Simplest, I could think of - use a drill: Get a $15 gram scale from Harbor Freight, calculate the length of the wire you will need to add to the bobbin, make something to hold the bobbin where the bobbin is double-side taped to a small piece of wood with something like a lag-bolt glued through the middle of it. Then just put the lag-bolt in the the chuck and spin away.

Take it off of the drill once in a while and weigh the bobbin, just keep spinning until you have the right weight.

[crazydave911]

Originally Posted by Jupiter

Short of screwing the bobbin to a table and jogging around it for 4 hours, what's the simplest way to wind a pick-up?

By hand? , sorry, but you asked. As for bare bones, it doesn't get more basic than the "Scatter Winder"

[Jupiter]

Scatter: I remember that gizmo from the Scattervarius thread (I think it was). It's brilliant, but just putting that together would take me more time than I want to spend on the whole PU project.

[crazydave911]

Originally Posted by Jupiter

It's brilliant, but just putting that together would take me more time than I want to spend on the whole PU project.

, sometimes I wonder about you................

[Jupiter]

Originally Posted by crazydave911

, sometimes I wonder about you................

Yeah, I live a weird life. No fishing reels, junk calculators, or bike speedometers lying around.

[crazydave911]

Originally Posted by Jupiter

Yeah, I live a weird life. No fishing reels, junk calculators, or bike speedometers lying around.

I'd guess not..................but I'd wager there's a sewing machine to be had somewhere

[Michael Allen]

Grab a sewing machine, double stick tape your bobbin to the wheel. Now you have a nice speed controlled winder. Guide the wire off the spool by hand. If you just want to give it a one off go, don't worry about counting winds since you're probably not trying to reproduce something specific. Just move your hand back and forth guiding the wire across the width of the bobbin and back, keeping it even. When the bobbin gets full, wire it up. A multimeter is pretty important, if only to make sure you didn't break the wire somewhere, or you actually soldered through the varnish when you make the connections on the eyelet. I guess you could just touch a 9v battery and an LED across the eyelets to see if the wire is in one piece.

Go for it. You are going to end up liking it

[Jupiter]

Hmm, sewing machine. I guess the main advantage over the hand drill is hands-free operation.

[macaroonie]

You can meter the wire easily if you gently scrape off a little of the enamel. No need to repair it as it is getting wound against other insulated windings anyway.

[xardoz]

Originally Posted by macaroonie

You can meter the wire easily if you gently scrape off a little of the enamel. No need to repair it as it is getting wound against other insulated windings anyway.

The mark of a great post is how quickly you find yourself thinking "Now why the Hell didn't I think of that?"

Thank you, maracroonie.

[motor_city_tele]

Cordless variable speed drill, SPN 155 42 gauge magnet wire, garolite scraps, 1018 steel rods 3/16 inch, scrap brass (maybe an old hinge), brass eyelets. bar magnet, wax.

No need to count the windings, just fill it up as much as you can for about 9k

[motor_city_tele]

Originally Posted by macaroonie

You can meter the wire easily if you gently scrape off a little of the enamel. No need to repair it as it is getting wound against other insulated windings anyway.

SPN 155 is solderable, the coating melts at 155 degree C. when you want to measure, just hit it with a soldering gun. no need to scratch anything.

soldering the wires back together when it breaks works too.

[Jupiter]

Originally Posted by motor_city_tele

Cordless variable speed drill, SPN 155 42 gauge magnet wire, garolite scraps, 1018 steel rods 3/16 inch, scrap brass (maybe an old hinge), brass eyelets. bar magnet, wax.

No need to count the windings, just fill it up as much as you can for about 9k

I was thinking more:

1. go to stewmac
2. click on PU kits
3. click on PU wire
4. input credit card #
5. ??
6. profit!

I do have DIY spirit, I swear I do, I just want to save it for building the guitar.... I'm just halfway through my first-ever scratch build, haven't even made a neck yet.

[moody]

In my Challenge thread, I used just a cordless drill, a drum sander with the outer washer taken off and a piece of carpet tape. I usually have pretty steady hands, so I didn't use a guide. I also wound to a value of close resistance, and then used the higher one for the bridge pickup. It seems a little simplistic, but even the whole process of making the bobbins out of wood, and then winding them only took a few hours time. In real terms, an afternoon to make the bobbins, and about an hour to wind and finish them both. With a little research you can find all kinds of reasons that your pickups can sound better than machine wound stuff, and even if you buy your materials at retail price, you're still not going to pay anywhere near what you will for a completed job. The nice thing is, once you have the process down, you never have to buy a replacement pickup again. If a coil goes bad, strip that baby down and wind it back up...

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home...ml#post4141653

[midget bar]

you can get a multi meter from Harbor Freight for like $5, this is probably the lest of your problems.

http://www.harborfreight.com/general...ter-98025.html