Pick up Winder build for HR design and build guitar.

muttley600

Banned
Much was said about making pickups for the HR Design and build guitar. Fantastic idea but my old winder was not really that good and only really upto basic and rough winding.

Here is the result of a conversation which has been ongoing between JGH and myself. He posted his design in the Homebrew section and it finally inspired me to build a new winder. Here is mark 1 which will probably be enhanced in the near future.

Key considerations are,

It must be able to run true, my last one used to vibrate off the bench.:o
It must run fast and allow for the addition of a tensioner at a later date.
It must be cheap, funds are limited on stuff I am not going to use regularly.
Ideally it should inspire others to have a go at building one.

Start with a sewing machine. This one is beyond economic repair and has lived under our stairs awaiting this day.

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The red bearings are some old flange bearings that I robbed from one of the kids scooters... I knew they'd come in handy.


Rob out all the parts you need and put the rest in the "save for later" bin..

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Make a box that will house the motor, spindle and bearings as well as the counter and leave enough space for later additions.

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Start assembling the main drive spindle which will hold all that we need inside and out.

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Once all the components are on the drive bolt in the motor and put the belt on..

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A reed switch and magnet are fixed to the drive wheel to do the wind counting. I've hacked an old calculator fro now but this system is only good to about 350rpm. I need to go faster so will be looking a photinterrupters as an option next.

The finished box with the plates mounted. I just used a three ply circular discs cut with a hole saw and glued them. This give a very stable and true face plate which is important when running at speed.

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The thing so far. Hopefully I'll be able to run up a video of it in action. I'm off to watch the footie with my boy tonight so nothing more til tomorrow.

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It looks like you're off to a good start. I fought the counter issue when using a reed switch as well. At best they're only capable of about 400rpm reliably. My solution was the decade wheel. It looks like you have enough room to do the same, and fit it in your box.

If you decide to go the optical route, here's a setup that I made for the new winder I'll build someday.:o I've been contemplating it, and gathering pieces for four years, so don't expect anything soon. Then again, this might be the inspiration I need.

This is the switch. Basically it's an infrared LED that excites a phototransistor that's sensitive to IR light. I used a regulator, and a voltage divider to get the voltages correct. My Cub 1 counter required a trigger voltage of less than three volts to not damage the internal battery. I tested it to speeds up to 2,500rpm, and it works flawlessly.optical switch.jpgoptoschem.jpg
 
Back again. Been busy with work for most of this week but have cleared this months backlog.:thumbs up:

I had a bit of time yesterday to finish this off to a stage where it is usable.

@JCH thanks for the info. I'm definitely going the photo interrupt route later with this so thanks for the input. I'll no doubt quiz you on it later. For the time being I've installed a friction wheel that counts 10 revolutions in the same way as your set up. Works a treat.

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I added the finishing touches and I'm left with quite a functional and accurate tool way better than my original setup which was my aim. It's definitely able to be added to and improved but for now It will have to do.

Here's the finished box and hopefully I'll chuck up a video once I have a test bobbin on it. All in all the cost was about £20 excluding bits I had knocking around the workshop.

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