Post Type Archives: SWD

Over the years there have been design changes due to various reasons. In time, the injection mold can wear out and leave the bobbin out of specifications or excess plastic or flashing on the edges that can cause problems when winding. New designs are created to ease in winding and manufacturing. After the “Patent Applied…

Fender was trying to obtain a better string balance between poles. Having the pole pieces at different lengths would increase or lower the amount of magnetic field to the string. The core of the wound strings had less attraction and the pole pieces were slightly longer. The E & B strings had a larger outside…

Fender style bobbins that are fabricated and combined with rod magnets are commonly made from Vulcanized Fibre and later other Fender bobbins are made from a plastic molded bobbin. Vulcanized Fibre is made Spaulding Fibre, NVF and Toyo Fibre. Vulcanized Fibre is great to work with and can be punched out into many shapes. Music…

Most plating used on hardware and components on electric guitars are used to keep the parts from rusting, oxidizing or changing colors. Chrome, Nickel, Gold and Anodizing are the most common and many other types of dull or bright plating may be used. There is Black Chrome, Black Nickel, Black Oxide. Some plating such as…

Vulcanized Fibre is done by gelatinizing several plies of high purity cellulose papers with high internal bond strength. Vulcanized Fibre is a chemically treated material when completed is made into sheets of homogenous fibre that can be cut, drilled, punched, threaded, machined, bent, bonded and deep drawn. The most common used of Vulcanized Fibre has…

Early Fender Broadcaster, No-Caster, Esquire and Telecaster pickguards were punched out of sheets of phenolic and lacquer finished to cover imperfections in the material. Phenolic is a Phenol Formaldehyde resin and is produced from Phenol (carbolic acid) with formaldehyde in the presence of a catalyst. It can be molded or impregnated into sheets containing linen,…

A bobbin is a fabricated or molded form used to hold the coil in place. A bobbin can be made from paper, vulcanized fibre, molded nylons and other plastics or Phenolics. The bobbin can be held together by rod magnets similar to Fender style pickups. A bobbin can be round or rectangular upon magnet wire…

There are many types of screws with many head designs. Some typical screw types are round head slotted, round head phillips, pan head, button head, fillister head slotted, fillister head phillips, headless slotted set screw, hex socket set screw. There are many types of Alnico rod magnets with different diameters and lengths. Carbon steel studs,…

I would suggest finding old pickups in music stores and taking them apart and examine the components used in various models. You will see coils that look the same but some use a finer gauge of wire than another and the magnets may look alike too, but they can be a different grade and strength….

There are many combinations and procedures in assembling pickups. Each manufacturer has their own technique for making pickups. For example, some companies magnetize the magnets after they are assembled and some magnetize before they are assembled. I do both as it can change the path of the magnetic field it has to take and I…