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DIY: pickup winder

37K views 32 replies 19 participants last post by  robanomoly 
#1 ·


As with many hobbyist pickup makers, I used a sewing machine as the basis for my winder. The foot controller for this one was controlled by air pressure (little rubber bulb inside the foot pedal). However, the rubber bulb had decayed/cracked/split and was no longer useful. I followed the air line to the underside of the machine and discovered that the air pressure controlled a resistor. I figured, a resistor is a resistor, so I took a measured the resistance of the original, a swapped it with a potentiometer of a little higher value, and....now I've got speed control!



The next puzzle was how to count the number of turns. Long story short, after dismantling enough of the machine, I was left with this foot-type thing that moved up and down via a ***. So, I put a simple press-type counter underneath that...



It's pretty noisy, but it counts just fine.

Mounting the bobbins is pretty straight forward. Super glue a piece of hardboard onto the machine's end spindle...

...then use double sided tape to mount the bobbin.

To keep the wire within the bobbins, I use a couple of plastic washers with set screws on a steel rod. All of these surfaces were polished with steel wool so the wire would pass smoothly.


The last part of the puzzle was wire tension. I read where people use felt between their fingertips to provide the wire tension, but that didn't work so well for me. Instead, I use a binder clip, some scrap pieces of hardboard and a piece of felt...




...and here it is in use...
 
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#33 ·
It's a slippery slope my friend. Beware.

Considering how great you've done with guitars, I'm sure you'd come up with some amazing pickup stuff too. You had mentioned an excellent idea to me, which I have yet to see anyone else doing. Although, I'm pretty sure I'll be trying it sometime.
 
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