nerosrevenge

Those are interesting David. How does the one with the neo sound? They look like really skinny humbuckers is that right? Do they fit in place of a standard single coil? Mine are a P90 style, using a single magnet I don't imagine I will be able to achieve reverse polarity vs the other pickup I have made. Is that right? Thanks, STV. EDIT - Regarding polarity...what is the orientation of the polarity of that bar neo you posted? The small 1/8"x1/8" neo bar magnets that I have are north/south on the flat part or "ends". Is your bar magnet the same?

[quote name='Setch' post='355053' date='Nov 3 2007, 06:42 PM']Not boar oil, as in, oil made from, or to be applied to, boars.[/quote] I was gonna ask. LOL

That's great! Thanks so much for the info. STV.

I have a similar concern. I have fabricated to "bars" which hold the magnets in their correct orientation relative to the pole screws. I have test assembled the pickup and I am barely getting anything at the head of the screws (meaning that I held a screw against the poles and they are barely magnetic, especially compared to the P-90 I wound using the proper A5 bar magnets). So the magnets I have are too weak. I guess my options are to order some A5's or go with a single pickup on this build. I'll keep you posted! STV.

Quick update...finished winding the first pickup for this build. Have a look! STV.

Yeah the coil isn't as even as I would have liked. I had intended to wind the coil to 10k winds, but as a result of the coil being uneven I was concerned that it would run off the bobbin. I will be potting both pickups but I will do that once the next one is finished. I suspect that this one will be a bit thin sounding as a result of the coil so I will likely use it in the neck position to help balance that out a bit. I tested it for resistance and continuity but I have not tried it in a guitar yet. Thanks for the positive comments! STV

DONE!! I have finished my first pickup! Here are the specs: P90 Style Wooden bobbin Brass baseplate 44 AWG wire Alnico 5 bar magnets (special thanks to Swedish Luthier) Zinc coated steel pole screws 7000 winds 10k ohm resistance Pics: Rear view... Side view... As always comments are welcome. This was my first go at it. I was an enjoyable learning experience, now, I have to finish the second one and make up a set of covers! Cheers, STV.

I have been curious about this very thing since I started on making my own pickups for my current build. I made the bobbins out of Mahogany, and I am making Cocobola covers for them. They look pretty wicked with just the pole screws in against the wood. So I started thinking about all of the different options one might have using this idea. I am anxious to see how these would turn out. I like your "lozenge" reference, that is what I think of as well. I have also been considering using a wooden cover and carving a design into the top or a combination of wood and another material like leather perhaps. Let us know how you are getting on with this idea! STV.

I am sure the counter could keep up. I think the problem is the magnet on the shaft pulley. It's not strong enough to trip the switch on a faster pass. I ditched the foot switch from the sewing machine and I am now using a sliding dimmer switch. This give me allot more accuracy over the speed so now I am up to 220 rpm (so 45 mins for 10k winds). I think I will leave it for now, since I am new to this whole winding thing. Once I am more comfortable with it, then I'll likely want to speed things up. sb - I will get working on those plans for you as soon as I can. What format would you like? I can do them in Autocad or Sketchup. Thanks, STV.

Cost was low. I already had the wood laying around. Motor - Free (sewing machine) Shaft - $1.00 Bearings - ($2.50 scooter wheel included) Counter - $3.00 Reed switch - $1.00 Wire - $1.00 Time to build - 2 hours I thought of drawing up plans but there didn't seem to be much point, unless someone wants them of course. Just ask I'd be happy to provide them. Cheers! STV.

I did look at those but if I was going to order from the US I'd just get a box of 100 from ampge.com for $5. I am trying to find some more local. Thanks though. Hey have you made you pu's yet? I'd like to see pics. What are you using for a winder? STV

Well, I have just nearly finished construction of my winder for the pickups that I am making for my current build. So I will start with the pics, and then the parts list: Additional images: Right side... Left side... Bearing detail... Reed switch... Ok so the parts: Motor - old sewing machine motor. Shaft - 8mm (lucky find at Active Surplus, in Toronto) Bearings - 8mm (recycled from a kids scooter wheel) Counter - From an old photocopier (also from Active) Most of you will get how it works but explain for those who don't. The motor is controlled via the foot switch that came with the sewing machine. The shaft pulley is over sized to help slow down the rpm (that little motor sure can go!). There is a magnet mounted on the shaft pully which activates a reed switch mounted on the back of the unit. This supplies the counter with power on each revolution which in turn causes it to...um...count. Thusfar I can get about 120-140 rpm out of it without the reed switch failing, which means I am looking at about 1 hour and 11 minutes to wind a 10k pickup, which I can live with. That's it! I intend to hock a rheostat out of a stove and replace the foot switch with that for more accurate control. Bye for now! STV

I am trying to source Pole screws for the P90's that I am building. What material is best suited for this use? I can get 6-32 Fillister head screws in stainless (18-8) which seems to be about the only option, however that alloy is non-magnetic. Which in my mind poses an obvious issue in using them for pickups. I can't seem to find the same screws in 440 anywhere (at least here in Ontario) I even checked Ebay. I am curious to know if this is indeed a factor, and what other's use for pole screws? Thanks! STV.

Looking good so far! What hardware are you planning to use with this? STV.

From what I understand (I am winding my first set of pickups now, so I am by no means and expert) by reversing the wires on one of the pickups, in addition to the reversed polarity, you will achieve hum canceling when both pickups are in use. I don't think you have received any responses to this because of the wealth of information that exists on the forum already about it. Perhaps next time a quick search before posting Good luck! STV.

I have used Jatoba in the neck on my current build (not the whole neck but laminated with birch). It is a very hard wood which made shaping the neck more challenging, but I don't think it is harder that Rosewood and that has been used for necks by quite a few people, PRS even uses it on some of their models. I have been kicking around the idea of using Jatoba for a chambered body, I am still researching this. I have read comments people have made regarding using Maple (which is also quite hard) for a body and they seem to indicate that the tone would be "brighter" than a more traditional tonewood such as Mahogany. As I said I am still researching this. I agree with WezV though, if you can get go with it! Good luck with the build, can't wait to see it! STV.

If it is silver, then I would do a darker silver. Still silver but perhaps a neat effect. STV.

According to Lee Valley's website, Deft is longer available. The Richeleau site lists a "classic instrument lacquer" but it doesn't say if it's nitro. I am considering this also so if anyone has any luck fiding it in Ontario (I will check Walmart this week) please let us know. STV.

Well I am glad this came up because I am in a similar boat with my current build. I have Analine Dye which is supposed to be mixed with water (hot water to be specific) I had intended to try mixing it with denatured alcohol but I am not sure if the alcohol would need to be heated first (carefully of course...BOOM!) I will try it without heating the alcohol first and see how it turns out. Anyway, I intend to do a test (on figured Maple) as follows: Orange dye. Sand back. Yellow dye. Shellac. Sand. Orange burst (this is where I was unsure about using the alcohol vs. the water base) Shellac. Sand A bit of red on the edges of the burst. Shellac. Sand. Finish coat (haven't decided on that yet) has anyone used polyurethane for this?? Sand, sand, sand. Polish. Any comments? Thanks! STV.

Sorry I haven't posted pics yet. I will endeavor to do that soon provided I don't decide to BURN THE DAMN THING!! I attempted to route the neck pocket tonight, the template moved while I was in the process, now I have a problem. The pocket is oversized by about 1/16 total, and I have a gouge out of one side where the router bit cut in when the template moved. So now I can't decide if is worth trying to fix, of if I should just start the body over. Currently I have 2 shims of veneer gluing into the hole, that has tightened it up considerably so I guess it will depend on whether or not that works. We'll see. STV. EDIT - Ok well, seems that worked. I was able to finish routing the neck pocket and... There it is! Additional pics: Left side Body close up left side Body close up right side Top shot You can see the gouge on the left side of the neck pocket, I am hoping to fill that with dust and glue and sand it. I just hope it's not too visible when I finish the top. That's all for now! STV.

Sure thing. I don't know if you can tell form the pics but they are made of Mahogany (I didn't have any fiberboard but you could order it from Stew Mac if you wanted. I cut the top and bottom plates on the table saw (top is 1/16" thick and the bottom is 1/32") the core is Mahogany as well. I printed scale drawings off and glued them to the wood as a pattern, then sanded them to shape. I used standard 5 minute epoxy to glue them together. If you need dimensions I have a document that I got from Swedish Luthier I can send you or you can look here (scroll down to the bottom of page 1). Mikester - thanks for the comment on the neck! I routed the wiring channel and control cavity tonight, and the top is currently gluing, I will post pics tomorrow! Chow for now! STV.

Thanks Mike. Seems as though the original P90's were wound in the 10k range. So my plan is to wind the neck pickup at that and the bridge pickup at around 8.5k. I would like to reverse wind the bridge pickup for hum canceling. Can anyone comment on how effective that is? Also, do I need to change the orientation of the magnets to make it more effective? I also have a question about the wire. Is there any benefit to using one wire (say a newer insulated/shielded wire) over something more vintage like the original Gibson type metal shielded wire? Thanks! Steve.

Update...I scored some Magnet wire on Ebay. 3 lbs for $30! I figured that was a pretty good deal! It is 44 AWG rather than 42, so I guess that means fewer winds to get the desired resistance, correct? Also, I managed to get the bobbins made today. Here they are with the wire: I have a line on a used sewing machine so I am hoping to use that as a winder. I'll keep you all posted! Steve.

Ok so now that the headstock is sorted out, on to bigger and better things! I went back to the mill yesterday and managed to secure a piece for the top: Now I can make some progress on the body! Also, I managed to score some magnet wire (3 lbs for $30! Thanks fleabay!!!) for the pickups, and I got the bobbins made tonight: I can't wait until this thing is done!!!

Tragedy averted! I thinned down the headstock and took that opportunity to add a slight volute. During the process the scarf joint seam became very obvious to I decided to backstrap the headstock. I am pleased with how it turned out: That's all for now! STV