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While I have 4 acoustics in progress, I needed another project like I needed a ... a pickup winder!

To kick it off I thought I'd share the first pickup I wound back in late grade school/high school. I cut the bobbin from white styrene, and the pole pieces were screws, chucked in a drill press and filed down to remove the threads. It was fully hand-wound, and terribly over potted. But it worked, kind of. When I made that one there were only dial-up BBS for "internet" and info on pickup winding was tough to come by. I've learned a few things about pickups, electronics and machining since then.

I have some brass rod and acrylic sheet around - so those are to be the materials for the pickup winder arbor/base plate. The Sherline lathe itself will be used for winding, so everything will be made on it, for it.

Using a rotary table on the mini Sherline, I did the initial work on the pickup mounting plate.



Then did the final truing in the lathe, and added visual pickup alignment guides as .5" incremental lines around the mounting plate.



Next up was a wire guide system that could mount in my quick change boring bar holder. 3/8" polished brass rod, with aluminum stop collars.



A hall sensor connected to an Arduino with lcd display will be used for the wind counter, and I'll add a reverse switch to the lathe for winding RWRP pickups.

Supplies are starting to show up:



My first pickup will be a custom wound 53mm spaced humbucker for a good friend's lap steel.

This recipe also calls for 42 AWG plain enamel, and dijon - Mojotone dijon.