Hand Winding Pups

[Southpa]

Just finished rewinding a SD Quarter pounder by hand, no machines whatsoever with 44 AWG wire. Its my first try and I'd like to share a little bit from my experience. I've read that random hand winding (which results in true "scatterwound") will give a more unique tone to the pickup. After about 4 failed attempts I finally got it together and am about ready to pot in paraffin. The machine wound QP has a rated DC resistance of about 14.8 KΩ. Mine reads at 10KΩ (ok with me) which makes sense as NO WAY would you be able to scatterwind as much wire mass as you could a more uniform machine wind. I counted about 8500 turns, made a tick mark for every 100 turns, and it probably took me about 3 hours over a dozen winding sessions.

I tried to wind as tight as possible but those first few attempts resulted in broken wire. So after chopping it out and starting over I lightened my touch a bit. Also, my results look a bit on the lumpy side compared to a machine wind. I actually did get a full wind done but did not get a resistance reading at all. Then I realized that I didn't prep the end of the wire when I began the coil (OUCH!) I tried to disconnect and lightly sand the varnish coating but it broke off snub to the coil, yes buried wire so I had to chop it all out and start over. There you have it, if you ever want to give it a try make sure you have lots of patience and think it out right.

Edited December 31, 2007 by Southpa

[Geo]

Wow man, you've learned the hard way!

"I lightened my touch a bit. Also, my results look a bit on the lumpy side compared to a machine wind. "

That's probably why your DCR reading is lower than the stock pickup. You wound more loosely than a machine would. Also you used 44 gauge rather than 42, so that "ups" your DC resistance too I think.

"I tried to wind as tight as possible but those first few attempts resulted in broken wire. "

It takes a while to get a "feel" for how much tension the wire can take. I've wound a few pickups, and I use an electric hand drill clamped to the table. I adjust the trigger for a low setting, maybe up to 5 revs per second? (Not sure.) I guide the wire between the thumb and index finger of my right hand. I found that after a while my fingertips got moist and sweaty, so I put a little flour on them and it went very smoothly.