I need to see this!! I want to wind my pickups for future builds and I haven't seen a viable option for me just yet!
Deegatron's 2019 Summer Build Challenge: Winner!!!
- Thread starter Deegatron
- Start date
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LiveOVErdrive
CNC hack
I bought a hand coil winder on ebay that I think will work just fine. It's got a hand crank that gears up so the coil spins pretty fast and a mechanical rotation counter built in. Something like 50 bucks.
Bought it a year ago and haven't used it yet....
Now is the time!
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Deegatron
Well-Known Member
Aiet,
Here's where shit gets weird and experimental for me.
I've ALWAYS wanted to do this but never had the opportunity.... this build seemed like the perfect time to go a little off the beaten path.
But before we get into that.... how about an excellent meme....
Alright, before we proceed further... it's time for me to reveal my SECRET WEAPON!!!!!
You see, while meandering through my local Windsor Plywood a few months back... I stumbled upon this magical deal.
I took a picture because I didn't think anyone would believe me... Wenge is usually about $39 per bf around here... so this made me incredibly happy. I bought enough for my current builds plus another 2 stray boards as a why the heck not, I'll use it somewhere....
Here they are....
I'm sure you can all guess where this is going.... but imna let ya simmer on that for a while as I get back to the experimental shit.....
So, I've wound a pair of single coil pickups before, but never done a humbucker.... and always wanted to do my own humbucker with wooden bobbins.....
SO HERE WE GO!!!!!!
I cut off a chunk and thicknessed to about 1/2"
I wanted the grain to match on the bobbins once they were lined up correctly so I did some inventive cutting on the band saw and brough the pieces back to the router sled....
Yeah, I got rather inventive with that... but it worked.... jointed one side, then flipped em over and thicknessed the other side....
glued on a template and started drilling....
Problem.... I want the metal pole pieces to go almost all the way thru but not all the way as to not disrupt the grain... similar to an active pickup.... this requires a flat bottomed hole.....
no problem, i'll just mess up a drill bit on the sander.....
I saw a youtube video on how to do this and it seemed too easy to be true... totally wasn't... was rather easy.....
so, a little drilling later and we had some holes.....
Next was off to the router table... I had to build a zero clearance insert and do a buch of messing around to do this safely.... but managed to retain all of my fingers in the process.... was quite lovely....
All
All I need to do now is to round the edges and they are ready for pole pieces....
some sandling likely would hurt either.... but yeah.... Im rather pleased with myself.....
Also, I got my Table saw blade back from the sharpeners.... so it's go time on the rest of this stuff as well.....
Budget for this episode.......
approx. 2-1/2" x 6" wenge @ $12.97 / bf = $1.35 CAD x 0.74 CAD to USD = $1.00 + previous installment $13.41 USD = $14.41 USD
Here's where shit gets weird and experimental for me.
I've ALWAYS wanted to do this but never had the opportunity.... this build seemed like the perfect time to go a little off the beaten path.
But before we get into that.... how about an excellent meme....
Alright, before we proceed further... it's time for me to reveal my SECRET WEAPON!!!!!
You see, while meandering through my local Windsor Plywood a few months back... I stumbled upon this magical deal.
I took a picture because I didn't think anyone would believe me... Wenge is usually about $39 per bf around here... so this made me incredibly happy. I bought enough for my current builds plus another 2 stray boards as a why the heck not, I'll use it somewhere....
Here they are....
I'm sure you can all guess where this is going.... but imna let ya simmer on that for a while as I get back to the experimental shit.....
So, I've wound a pair of single coil pickups before, but never done a humbucker.... and always wanted to do my own humbucker with wooden bobbins.....
SO HERE WE GO!!!!!!
I cut off a chunk and thicknessed to about 1/2"
I wanted the grain to match on the bobbins once they were lined up correctly so I did some inventive cutting on the band saw and brough the pieces back to the router sled....
Yeah, I got rather inventive with that... but it worked.... jointed one side, then flipped em over and thicknessed the other side....
glued on a template and started drilling....
Problem.... I want the metal pole pieces to go almost all the way thru but not all the way as to not disrupt the grain... similar to an active pickup.... this requires a flat bottomed hole.....
no problem, i'll just mess up a drill bit on the sander.....
I saw a youtube video on how to do this and it seemed too easy to be true... totally wasn't... was rather easy.....so, a little drilling later and we had some holes.....
Next was off to the router table... I had to build a zero clearance insert and do a buch of messing around to do this safely.... but managed to retain all of my fingers in the process.... was quite lovely....
All
All I need to do now is to round the edges and they are ready for pole pieces....
some sandling likely would hurt either.... but yeah.... Im rather pleased with myself.....
Also, I got my Table saw blade back from the sharpeners.... so it's go time on the rest of this stuff as well.....
Budget for this episode.......
approx. 2-1/2" x 6" wenge @ $12.97 / bf = $1.35 CAD x 0.74 CAD to USD = $1.00 + previous installment $13.41 USD = $14.41 USD
MoonJelly
a subtle stinging sensation..
That's great work so far! Fingers crossed those work as intended 
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
Aiet,
Quick update.
Ran into a quick snag. The magnet I was planning to use for the neck pickup was not in fact 1/2" wide as I expected.....
No problem. I just grabbed another pickup from that junk lot I bought. this one's got a ceramic magnet but I'm not all that upset over it. could swap it out in the future if needed....
Next step was the utra tedious job of cutting a piece of cold rolled round bar mild steel into pole pieces....
A little super glue and they're all in.
I need to grind the ends so they're all even and flat but wanted to give the super glue time to dry before I did that and I was out of time anyways... that's a tonight project I expect.....
Round bar was about $7 I think and I used less than half of it. I'll update budget in a couple days after I finish cutting round bar for both pickups....
Also, a big box came in from stewmac yesterday. so now I have wire for the pickups and a trussrod etc....
Oh, and a fret saw that's not duller than dull... so that's exciting....
YAY!!!!
Quick update.
Ran into a quick snag. The magnet I was planning to use for the neck pickup was not in fact 1/2" wide as I expected.....
No problem. I just grabbed another pickup from that junk lot I bought. this one's got a ceramic magnet but I'm not all that upset over it. could swap it out in the future if needed....
Next step was the utra tedious job of cutting a piece of cold rolled round bar mild steel into pole pieces....
A little super glue and they're all in.I need to grind the ends so they're all even and flat but wanted to give the super glue time to dry before I did that and I was out of time anyways... that's a tonight project I expect.....
Round bar was about $7 I think and I used less than half of it. I'll update budget in a couple days after I finish cutting round bar for both pickups....
Also, a big box came in from stewmac yesterday. so now I have wire for the pickups and a trussrod etc....
Oh, and a fret saw that's not duller than dull... so that's exciting....
YAY!!!!
dmlinger
PepperFox Guitars
Yep, you're screwed...big box from StewMac is ALWAYS more than $200!!!
Love watching your process on making pickups
MoonJelly
a subtle stinging sensation..
^hey man, tools don't count. In fact I'm using the challenge as an excuse to get a router table and rabbet bit set 
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
Indeed, Tools don't count! Also I bought parts for 3 seperat builds on this order.... so yeah....
I bought that Japanese fret saw as I've previously used the other one they sell... found it went dull rather quickly....... the photo's on the stewmac website make the Japanese saw look similar in size to their other fret saw.... and that's accurate for the blade itself.... but the handle.... it's grossly disproportionate.... feels like your wielding a giant samurai sword.... it's awesome.....
I bought that Japanese fret saw as I've previously used the other one they sell... found it went dull rather quickly....... the photo's on the stewmac website make the Japanese saw look similar in size to their other fret saw.... and that's accurate for the blade itself.... but the handle.... it's grossly disproportionate.... feels like your wielding a giant samurai sword.... it's awesome.....
dmlinger
PepperFox Guitars
I bought their small fine dragon rasp a month ago...that thing was worth the money!
@MoonJelly what other tools did you get from StewMac?
@MoonJelly what other tools did you get from StewMac?
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
Wasn't feeling well all weekend so I didn't manage to get a lot done.
Did manage to get the ends ground down and assemble the neck pickup.
I've got a system now so the bridge pickup should take less time.
That's all for now. I should have the Bridge pickup assembled shortly so I can move back to jointing / gluing up my body blank.
OR perhaps i'll whip out my Janky winder and get that going.... not 100% sure yet....
Did manage to get the ends ground down and assemble the neck pickup.
I've got a system now so the bridge pickup should take less time.
That's all for now. I should have the Bridge pickup assembled shortly so I can move back to jointing / gluing up my body blank.
OR perhaps i'll whip out my Janky winder and get that going.... not 100% sure yet....
dmlinger
PepperFox Guitars
Janky winder is sure to impart sabotage on your build!
Omzig
Well-Known Member
Dam,super work
MoonJelly
a subtle stinging sensation..
Haha I will clarify, I bought almost everything on eBay. I but very little from stewmac these days, but their abrasives are pretty awesome (micro mesh, fret erasers etc)
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
Felt super productive last night....
Finished up the bridge pickup. next step for these bad boys is to apply an oil finish and then to wind.
In other news I finished gluing together the bottom pieces of the body blank.
Next step is to flatten everything out to see how thick my top needs to be. hopefully it's less than about 5/16"
Quick budget update
Paid $7 for the 3/16" mild steel rod. only used maybe 2/3 of the rod. $4.66 CAD x 0.74 Exchange = $3.45
Plus previous balance $14.41 = 17.86
Finished up the bridge pickup. next step for these bad boys is to apply an oil finish and then to wind.
In other news I finished gluing together the bottom pieces of the body blank.
Next step is to flatten everything out to see how thick my top needs to be. hopefully it's less than about 5/16"
Quick budget update
Paid $7 for the 3/16" mild steel rod. only used maybe 2/3 of the rod. $4.66 CAD x 0.74 Exchange = $3.45
Plus previous balance $14.41 = 17.86
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
Alrighty,
Work on the body continues. Now, I'm working with Cedar that's 1-1/2" thick and my typical body thickness is 1-5/8". any thinner than 1-5/8" and I start running into issues with the depth of the pocket interfering with the 3 way switch I use. that means alignment for the glue up is CRITICAL! if I'm to have any hope of using a 1/4" maple top.
that's okay...
So, the body blank came out of the clamps and went into the router sled. it rocked noticeably, partly due to cupping in the wood and partly due to my poor alignment during glue up. I had used some wood dowels to hold the alignment during glue up but they weren't 1000% aligned correctly so I had a tiny little lip on one joint.....
Faced the font, then the back, only took off as much as I absolutely had to......
1.31"... and I've blown the thickness darnit... I need 1.375" to do a 1/4" maple top.....
Looks like I'm doing a slightly thicker top (which is fine as I hadn't split or thicknessed the top yet... but that being said, things are starting to get really really tight... I don't have a fancy band saw to split this top so I need to do the table saw method......
Best case scenario, I'm dealing with about 0.97" thickness on the maple, less the saw kerf (0.098"), less 1/16" or so per side to flatten everything after it's split.... that leaves 0.311" thickness per side. that's gonna be TIGHT....
Work on the body continues. Now, I'm working with Cedar that's 1-1/2" thick and my typical body thickness is 1-5/8". any thinner than 1-5/8" and I start running into issues with the depth of the pocket interfering with the 3 way switch I use. that means alignment for the glue up is CRITICAL! if I'm to have any hope of using a 1/4" maple top.
that's okay...
So, the body blank came out of the clamps and went into the router sled. it rocked noticeably, partly due to cupping in the wood and partly due to my poor alignment during glue up. I had used some wood dowels to hold the alignment during glue up but they weren't 1000% aligned correctly so I had a tiny little lip on one joint.....
Faced the font, then the back, only took off as much as I absolutely had to......
1.31"... and I've blown the thickness darnit... I need 1.375" to do a 1/4" maple top.....
Looks like I'm doing a slightly thicker top (which is fine as I hadn't split or thicknessed the top yet... but that being said, things are starting to get really really tight... I don't have a fancy band saw to split this top so I need to do the table saw method......
Best case scenario, I'm dealing with about 0.97" thickness on the maple, less the saw kerf (0.098"), less 1/16" or so per side to flatten everything after it's split.... that leaves 0.311" thickness per side. that's gonna be TIGHT....
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
I managed to split, joint and glue my top last night.
if you remember correctly, my body blank was 1.31" and my target was 1.625" finished thickness after the top. that means I need 0.315" for my top.... which is hella tight based upon my caveman tools and lack of actual woodworking prowess......
well....
Top measures at 0.320"
Jesus, I don't have the stomach for this kind of suspense any more.....
there are a few area's outside of the profile that didn't clean up on the front and the back..... and a small area that didn't clean up along the seam of one of the pieces (that will be hidden on the bottom side). but, I made it..... just need to clean up the glue squeeze out and glue on the top tonight.... what a roller coaster this has been.....
if you remember correctly, my body blank was 1.31" and my target was 1.625" finished thickness after the top. that means I need 0.315" for my top.... which is hella tight based upon my caveman tools and lack of actual woodworking prowess......
well....
Top measures at 0.320"
Jesus, I don't have the stomach for this kind of suspense any more.....
there are a few area's outside of the profile that didn't clean up on the front and the back..... and a small area that didn't clean up along the seam of one of the pieces (that will be hidden on the bottom side). but, I made it..... just need to clean up the glue squeeze out and glue on the top tonight.... what a roller coaster this has been.....
spudmunkey
Well-Known Member
Have you ever worked with thin-kerf table saw blades? I've had really good luck with them. It's only 1/32 difference, but I feel like my saw cuts easier since it's removing less material. My table saw is only a plug-in 110v saw, so cutting through thicker harder woods really strains it, and the thin kerf blades help that...in addition to the benefit of a little less waste.
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
I'm already using a Diablo blade with a smaller than std kerf. STD kerf on a table saw is 0.125. My blade is 0.098". I would be hesitant to use anything thinner as I like to use this blade for jointing where I take off say 1/2 a blades width at a time. a thinner blade might flex due to the cutting action on only 1 side of the blade. this one holds strong and gives a lovely surface finish. it also helps that the diablo blade was a screaming deal at about $40 CAD. Eventually I wan to upgrade to a nice band saw for bookmatching and such, I should be able to afford that in a few months or perhaps a year so it's not with spending the extra money on a $200 table saw blade.
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
No meme's today just solid progress.
Glued the top on....
I've tried about 10 methods for gluing on tops and had limited success with all of them. but, this one worked for me....
So I'm rather pumped about that. The screws hold the middle down and came out without issue, after everything was cut out I could find no obvious gaps or voids and the blocks on the bottom did not dent the soft cedar like I feared they would.
So, all in all. 100% win....
K, I lied again... 1 meme... only 1....
After the clamps came off I glued on my template and then couldn't help myself so I laid out the fist mock up of the build.....
Does that bridge pickup look too far away from the bridge???? it kinda does to me.... I do like a nice fat tone from the bridge, but that may be too much, especially with the longer scale and tuning I'm thinking of using..... I may need to move that a little....
THAT'S WHAT MOCK UPS ARE FOR!!!!!!
Lastly, I spend an entire evening sanding everything to the line.... I NEED TO IMPROVE MY BAND SAW SKILLS AND GET CLOSER TO THE LINE!!!!!! jesus.....
All done for now.
No expenditures for this update, so no update on budget....
Next up, I need to drill the holes for the controls and break out the mini CNC to do a couple of templates.
I know some of yall too proud to use your CNC's for the challenge... I sure as shit aint.... LOL....
Glued the top on....
I've tried about 10 methods for gluing on tops and had limited success with all of them. but, this one worked for me....
So I'm rather pumped about that. The screws hold the middle down and came out without issue, after everything was cut out I could find no obvious gaps or voids and the blocks on the bottom did not dent the soft cedar like I feared they would.
So, all in all. 100% win....
K, I lied again... 1 meme... only 1....
After the clamps came off I glued on my template and then couldn't help myself so I laid out the fist mock up of the build.....
Does that bridge pickup look too far away from the bridge???? it kinda does to me.... I do like a nice fat tone from the bridge, but that may be too much, especially with the longer scale and tuning I'm thinking of using..... I may need to move that a little....
THAT'S WHAT MOCK UPS ARE FOR!!!!!!
Lastly, I spend an entire evening sanding everything to the line.... I NEED TO IMPROVE MY BAND SAW SKILLS AND GET CLOSER TO THE LINE!!!!!! jesus.....
All done for now.
No expenditures for this update, so no update on budget....
Next up, I need to drill the holes for the controls and break out the mini CNC to do a couple of templates.
I know some of yall too proud to use your CNC's for the challenge... I sure as shit aint.... LOL....
