DIY Mini Lathe Pickup Winder | My Pickup Winding Workstation

PayPal: [e-mail]. Donations appreciated!
Design by Rob DiStefano of Cavalier Pickups, who I met on TDPRI and over 5 years ago offered to help get me started on my pickup winding journey. Using the chisel rest as a traverse limiter was my idea, but the rest is his brainchild! And I never would have gotten into pickup winding if it weren't for Rob, so huge credit to him!
Turned me on to the idea of using a PenPal lathe and told me about using a 2" or 3" faceplate and making a bobbin plate out of plywood, reflective tape, and flat black enamel paint. Told me about using a Red Lion CUB5B000 and an RRDC2000 retroreflective sensor. He also invented the Velcro Tensioner and is the author of the Fret Tech website and Cavalier Pickups. Outstanding luthier and person, and has selflessly helped me with every single question I've had with pickup winding over the past four years.
Check out Cavalier Pickups, owned by Rob, and his posts on TDPRI. You can find me there under the username kingvox.
Further credit to my friend and mentor Steve Kubica for inventing the idea of a spool holder for the magnet wire. Works brilliantly. Can wind at max speeds on the PenPal (4300 RPM) with absolutely no worries about the wire whipping around anywhere it isn't supposed to.
Main parts:
PenPal Lathe
Red Lion CUB5B000 Panel Meter
RRDC2000 Retroreflective Sensor
Drill Stops (put onto the tool rest to use as traverse limiters)
2" or 3" faceplates and DIY plywood bobbin plates
I made the bobbin plates using the Stewmac soundhole routing jig. You can see the process I used on "My Homemade Pickup Winder" thread on TDPRI.
#pickupwinding #guitar #diy #winder #wire #guitartech #luthier #bobbin

[@brianbolduc6143]

Very generous of you to upload this. Super useful. I wish you the very best! Thank you.

[@guitar_md]

You're welcome! Glad it's useful to you. Let me know if you need clarification on anything!

[@benjimenez7702]

Guitar Doctor - i just realize how cool that is you that you use a lathe for the winder - nice job Doc

[@guitar_md]

Credit to Rob DiStefano from Cavalier Pickups. I met him on TDPRI and he's 100% responsible for giving me the idea -- over 5 years ago he clued me into using a PenPal lathe as a winding machine. He's a truly brilliant guy. Same goes for my friend and mentor Steve with a lot of my guitar repair knowledge and getting me started down that path...I stand on the shoulders of giants. And thank you! For more info I have this video here as well, on my method for winding humbuckers. I've updated a little since then but the basic principle is still the same: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJ61m2qehKpnl7M

[@kennyh5083]

I have checked out lots of pickup winders and I think I like this one the best!

[@electroniceel8254]

Thanks for this video!

[@breathtimebreath4934]

I wish I had your workshop!!!

[@dooksan]

Sounds great. When I hear the store bought humbuckers, they just don't sound that good. I'm thinking about getting a Pariah pickup for a Frankenstrat. If anyone has heard them, please let me know.

[@thenextproject-info1309]

Great video. I've got the PenPal mini lathe too, and had read through Rob D's posts...probably read some of your posts too. I just haven't gotten to fleshing out the PP for pickups yet - still using an old homemade winder. The dark backdrop is working really well too. That's an issue I've been toying with, light placement and backdrop so I can see what I'm doing. I may have to breakout the PenPal and get it set up. Thanks for sharing your setup, process, and renewed inspiration.

[@guitar_md]

You're welcome! And stay tuned. I'm actually in the process of making a complete video demonstration of building a single coil pickup, from start to finish, in great detail. I'm also working on another video detailing the RRDC2000 laser sensor and CUB5B000 panel meter setup for turn counting. It isn't complicated, but the instructions are kind of confusing and it took me a while to figure out how to wire them together and navigate the panel meter menu to set it up for turn counting.

[@benjimenez7702]

thanks Dr. - i've always wound at 8,000 for all three pickups - tbis time I thought I'd try something different: 7500. The next wind, I'm going to go the "fuller - darker" route (8000( thanks again Doc

[@InTheoryApps]

Great video!

[@guitar_md]

Thanks so much!

[@edadpops1709]

Yea you have a nice setup there

[@guitar_md]

Thank you! Many years in the making, and huge thanks and credit to my friend Rob from Cavalier Pickups. Got me started on my pickup winding journey years ago and since then it's just been more fun on top of more fun :)

[@qddk9545]

Nice rig 🙂 It would have been interesting to see how you solder the wire to the bobbin. I wonder how one remove the isolation with ruining the wire.

[@guitar_md]

Thanks! Check out my complete pickup building guide here. I show how to do exactly that in great detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3PUd6J4f9dkZtEsi=T4-DAFBbhMVXpEz5 However, I forgot to show plain enamel/formvar wire in that video. The way I strip that is with a #11 Xacto blade, very carefully. And *then* I tin it with solder. I might add that to the video and re-upload it. The rig I use is the same regardless. Having a wire tensioner helps a lot to hold the wire taut, so you can be careful and accurate when stripping the insulation off. Some people use a little sandpaper. I haven't tried that but it might work even better. I just carefully scrape with that xacto blade. There is a feel for it. Having the wire taut is a must either way. 42 gauge wire is tougher than you'd think. I've worked with wire as fine as 48AWG -- I will say that even 46AWG is stronger than you'd think it is. 48 is where things really get extremely delicate and very difficult to work with, but I don't know anybody else on the market using 48AWG. With a little practice, 42, 43, and 44 gauge wire (the most common) are all very easy to work with once you get the hang of it. For poly nylon wire you just have to use a tinned iron to strip and tin it at the same time.

[@benjimenez7702]

hey thanks Doctor - yea, I totally missed that you explained you were winding a humbucker pickup - i love our idea of the little clamp and some velcro for the wire tensioner - i've been going with 7500 winds lately although i did my last set of pickups at 8000. is there much difference, do you think, in 500 more winds? ok thanks Doctor

[@guitar_md]

500 more winds will lessen the high end just a little bit. It's a subtle difference, but it will make the pickup just a little bit 'fuller' or 'darker' sounding -- just a tiny bit. I don't think I could tell the difference in a blind test. But maybe! I've been using 7,600 turns on my neck pickups for many years now and it's my favorite.

[@charleslong7782]

How did you cut lathe bed ?..thanks

[@guitar_md]

Do you mean the tailstock on the lathe itself, or the pickup bobbin mounting plate? For the lathe itself, I just used a hacksaw. It definitely took a while. I think a reciprocating saw would have been much, much faster. But it's made out of aluminum and isn't too hard so any saw that is strong enough to cut through mild steel will be plenty. Doing it by hand did take a very long time. For the bobbin mounting plate, I used a compass. Set the needle-to-pencil distance to half the diameter of the desired size circle. So in this case, I think about 3", as the bobbin plate is roughly 6" diameter. It has to be big enough so the retroreflective sensor beam can fit onto the back. The compass will make a centerpoint mark in the plywood. I usually hit that with an awl to make it very clear where the center is. And the compass will draw a pencil line in a circle exactly where you need to cut. Then I cut that out on a bandsaw as closely as possible. Then I use a Forstner bit -- say, 2" -- right at the centerpoint. You want to drill a shallow recess so a 2" faceplate will have room to press-fit into the back of the plate. Then you drill the holes for the faceplate, screw it down, and you're halfway there. Once that's all done, I remove the faceplate by chucking the bobbin plate into a vise. You remove the screws, then tap the bobbin plate (wooden part) firmly with a hammer. This will gradually knock the faceplate loose and then you can simply pull it out by hand. Then flat black enamel on the back of the bobbin plate. Whole thing. Then cover *one half* of the bobbin plate with reflective tape. Like a Pokeball. I don't know if you know Pokemon. But it will look like a pokeball. Half of it is flat (NOT gloss) black, and half is reflective tape. Then you cut out the tape with an Xacto knife, and reinstall your faceplate. Screw it down. Now you can put the bobbin plate onto the lathe itself, and use the lathe to turn the plate -- I use a file, or a block with sandpaper, and a vacuum right next to it. You can shave the bobbin plate down this way until it's perfectly round. This is why it may be a good idea to go a little OVER 6" diameter, as you may end up removing 1/4" or more during the lathe sanding/filing process. Only other thing: you may need to invest in a 3/4-16 TPI tap. For whatever reason, the faceplates I ordered would NOT fit into the lathe. They were the correct thread pitch. But I needed to chuck the 2" steel faceplate in a vise, and then run a tap through it a couple times to re-cut the threads properly. They were cut too tight. It was very bizarre. No idea why that happened. But running a tap through the threads cleaned them out, and then they fit perfectly onto the lathe. Hope this helps!

[@das250250]

Curious what RPM max you wind the coils ?

[@guitar_md]

4300 is the max RPM of the PenPal, and the maximum I wind at. I only use it at that speed when I'm doing extremely overwound coils, though. I still need to work on my setup a bit, as going over 3000 RPM or so, the wire can start to "throw." And go beyond the bounds of the traverse limiter. Rob DiStefano, who taught me how to wind pickups and told me about the PenPal Lathe, winds at 4300 RPM for everything. And he doesn't use a traverse limiter. Legend! I usually hang around 1500 to 2500 RPM. With a Whisker disk, I usually go 1500 max, as going faster can break the wire when using one of those. At least it feels like it will. I haven't tried in a long time. Around 1500 RPM is probably the most "normal" speed and gives you great control without fear of throwing the wire or breaking it. I used to use a Ryobi mini lathe that went to 2500RPM, which is plenty fast. But for doing pickups like my Super Heavyweight that uses 18,500 turns of wire (or more), the 4300 RPM setting is great for doing most of the coil. Definitely gets it done a *lot* faster.

[@fat-hand]

Great help thank you! What are the bristles at the top of the spool inside the holder? I would love to make one.

[@guitar_md]

You're welcome! They're made out of nylon and is called a Wisker Disc, which can be bought from Azonic: azonicproducts.com/wisker.html A representative from Remington Wire told me to always use a Wisker disc with new spools. I think once you're a ways into the spool you're fine, and the disc can actually add too much tension when the spool gets depleted and there isn't so much wire left. But for initial use (even the majority of the use), the disc helps prevent ballooning and other issues that can cause wire to snag on the spool. I've actually had to send back a couple 5lb spools to Remington because the wire broke on the spool and was impossible to take any more off. They claim that the Wisker disc can totally prevent this problem, so I always use them now on my spools.

[@guitar_md]

Also FYI, if you choose to buy one instead of making your own: The flange diameter on the 1lb spools from Remington is 2.5 inches, and the flange diameter on the 5lb spools is 5 inches. I just get the complete set on Azonic to cover all the bases. If you end up making your own, let me know! Would love to know how you did it!

[@fat-hand]

@@guitar_md it’s possible I may not need one. I am using a 1/2 LB. spool from tonekraft (to learn with) and a slow sewing machine motor for my diy winder which is max 1200 rpm before the cheap counter skips. I still will get one. The wisker disk site is confusing as to what is needed.

[@guitar_md]

@@fat-hand The 1lb spools are 2.5 inch diameter and the 5lb spools are 5 inch diameter -- however, I've only EVER had problems with the 5lb spools, because of the way the flange is designed. It flares out much more than the smaller spools, including the half pound. I agree the site is confusing! Definitely could benefit from a clearer layout. I've ordered from them and even I'm confused about the "complete set"....I'm pretty sure it includes everything. There's the disk, then there's a holder plate, then there's a threaded brass rod that fits into the hole in the middle of the spool. If you go with the complete set you should be okay. Just use a ruler and measure the diameter of the spool of wire on the top flange and you'll know what you need. I have a wisker disk for my 1lb spools of wire, but rarely use it. It does affect tension, increasing it significantly, which can be a good thing if you need that. But you should be fine using the smaller spools of wire without one. However, if you've already ordered one, definitely use it and see what you think! I have one wisker disk that I actually cut some of the nylon whiskers off of. To make it tension less. I found it was causing too much tension on this one spool, so clipping off some of the whiskers cured that. One reason it can be good to have a couple on hand!

[@benjimenez7702]

Hey Guitar MD - why did you wind the pickup wire on that screw?

[@guitar_md]

Since humbucker bobbins don't have eyelets, there's nowhere to secure the wire. You can either tape it to the bobbin plate, or tie it around a screw like I did here. So tying the start wire around the screw, we keep it safe and out of the way while we're winding the coil. When the coil's done, it can be removed from the machine, and then we can solder the hookup wire to *both* the start end of the coil, and the finish end. If you don't tie the start wire down, or tape it down, it will get lost, and you'll have no way to solder a hookup wire to the start of your coil. I've occasionally had the start wire break because I was careless when untying it from the screw (or removing the tape over it), and I had to rewind the entire coil as a result. Not fun! Let me know if that makes sense. It's not easy to explain without showing it directly. Think of it like this: A Strat pickup has two eyelets for tying the wire. On a Strat pickup, you tie the wire around the eyelet *first,* and then wind the pickup. Then remove it and tie the finish wire around the other eyelet. For a humbucker, you don't have those eyelets, so you need to set the start wire aside to be soldered *after* you're done winding the coil. Credit to Rob DiStefano from Cavalier Pickups for coming up with that idea for the screw. Aand effectively getting me completely started on my pickup winding journey over 5 years ago. A large percentage of what I know about winding comes from him.

[@AndrewMurphy8383]

hey can u give me the name of the pannel counter and the sencer that you used please and thank u

[@guitar_md]

Sure! Red Lion CUB5B000 panel meter and RRDC2000 retroreflective sensor

[@user-hl1yy4cx1j]

Nice video.... At 8000 turns, how many output ohms does it have?..

[@guitar_md]

Thanks! All depends on the wire gauge and bobbin type. For Strat pickups, 8,000 turns will get around 6.0k with 42AWG single build solderable polyurethane wire, it will vary slightly if using plain enamel or formvar wire due to the thicker insulation, which changes the total length of wire per turn. 43AWG on the same bobbin will get about 8k for 8,000 turns. Ohms are, however, very misleading. I generally only use them as a quality assurance measurement. The most relevant tests, which I use, are covered here in this other video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKiwaGqcotaJbdU

[@user-hl1yy4cx1j]

@@guitar_md Ok thanks, congratulations for the video, very well done explained. Greetings

[@guitar_md]

@@user-hl1yy4cx1j Thank you! Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm always working on new videos

[@baraggan4195]

what is the name of the adjustable bolts you have on the bar stock, im trying to build my own one and im after a set of those but cant find them

[@guitar_md]

Drill stops. If you're referring to the traverse limiter, that is. The unit is technically called a chisel rest or tool rest, with the drill stops attached separately. Let me know if that answers your question!

[@baraggan4195]

@@guitar_md i did manage to find them although under a different name (ADJUSTING RING COLLAR LOCK NUT) took about an hour of searching, i assume the name is different due to being in england allot of our stuff has its own name which makes searching for things fun lol, cheers

[@guitar_md]

@@baraggan4195 Glad you found them! Names for tools and parts can definitely be problematic. Even over here in the US I'm constantly running into things I don't know the name of. Makes finding things VERY difficult!

[@kennyh5083]

a major PITA I know but.. You should better use a gloved hand to add tension to the wire as it winds as this variable tension also adds to the vintage tone of the pickup.

[@guitar_md]

You can vary tension with the tensioning device by changing the position it's held in -- very much the same way you can alter tension mid-wind with your thumb and finger. By tilting it forward or back and varying the distance from the tool rest, the tension is altered. You can feel the tug of the wire through the tensioner, and by manipulating it, you can feel the wire loosening or tightening by how hard it's pulling the tensioner forward. The only other thing is I haven't seen -- and don't currently have the ability to -- test these theories on a CNC machine. Ideally you could control for Variable Tension, and Variable Scatter independently. Test them separately against a control machine-wound pickup with no variable tension and no scatter, and see what differences come up. I'd love to see that. But until then, I'm not sure what actual effect variable tension and scatter have, if any. Not saying they don't -- just that I haven't been able to conclude anything via measuring inductance, capacitance, and resonant frequency, which are the only viable measurements of a pickup coil I'm aware of. I do scatter and use variable tension on every pickup I make, regardless. It's much more fun winding that way. Rob DiStefano calls it "painting the coil onto the bobbin." I'd love to see some actual tests conducted to see what exact difference these techniques make, if any. This would require testing against a control to really establish some useful evidence.