Post Type Archives: SWD

There are so many artists that I like and I’ll try to name a few and some other facts. For years I had been trying to find the musician who did the solo in “Peppermint Twist” by Joey Dee and the Starlighters. I was told that it was Billy Butler who also did “Honky Tonk”…

ickups that feedback: I like best using hot wax at a controlled temperature for newer pickups. Older pickups I leave alone as it can lower the value of the pickup. You need to follow proper procedures and safety. Pickups with plastic or nylon bobbins need extreme care and attention so you don’t distort the shape…

There are many things I take on the road to do seminars. My helper Tim Larson assists me when doing the many shows we do each year. I will list some of the tools and equipment that I use to help repair and wind pickups on the road. I have a homemade winder with analog…

The first thing I would do is make an inventory of all the parts you have on a spread sheet similar to Microsoft Excel. I use Excel for all my collections and it makes it easy to trade and send files over the internet. If you have things you want to keep, it’s a good…

Pickups could be wound with various alloys that are insulated such as aluminum, gold, silver, molybdenum, tantalum, titanium and tungsten. All the listed ones have no magnetic attraction and can be used to make a pickup. There are economical factors to consider along with physical properties. This chart will give you physical comparisons. Pure metals…

These may be confusing but it’s the general guide I use when winding coils. Cohesion is the force that holds together the molecules of the same elementary magnet wire. The greater the temperature of the magnet wire, the less is the cohesion. Malleability, ductility, tenacity, toughness, hardness and elasticity are to be considered properties dependent upon…

The American Wire Gauge (AWG) is the approved name for that previously known as the Browne & Sharpe Gauge (B&S) and is practically the only gauge used in the United States for wire used in electrical work. The majority of pickups use 42 AWG and the nominal diameter is .0026″.

When the insulation is removed from the copper magnet wire the copper becomes oxidized under ordinary exposure to air. Copper becomes coated with green basic carbonate when exposed to moist air containing carbon dioxide. That’s why protecting the coils from moisture is important and potting solutions are used. Copper wire is said to be hard-drawn,…

Yes there is, and I often find that this is very useful when trying to wind a coil to a specific number of turns and getting the right D.C. resistance. The chart below will show you the most popular wire gauges and the differences between the whole and half gauges. The half gauge wire is…

The bare copper wire that is 99.9% pure is run through a series of rollers with a pad saturated in the insulating material such as Plain Enamel or Formvar which is common in most vintage pickups. As the magnet wires passes the saturated pads, the bare copper wire is coated with the desired insulating material….