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Breaking a pickup wire mid-wind

Posted by Dan Sleep on September 7, 2013 at 7:49pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Has anybody had any luck reconnecting the 43 gauge pickup wire if it breaks in the middle of winding the bobbin?

I tried to scrape the insulation from both ends, and then tie them together in a knot, then solder the knot. But, I didn't have any success with that and the pickup didn't work. I am guessing the solder joint at the knot didn't make good contact.

Trying to lay those teeny little wires side by side and soldering them that way was an exercise in futility trying to get the wires to lie still.

Any suggestions?

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Replies

  • Elmar Zeilhofer September 8, 2013 at 1:54pm

    Mine is a bit thicker, so it's easier to connect the ends. I twist the broken ends together and solder them. The heat removes the insulation. When I proceed winding, I put a small strip of tape below the solder joint and one above. 

    • Dan Sleep > Elmar Zeilhofer September 8, 2013 at 1:56pm

      Yea, I am gonna try something different next time. Also going to use 42 gauge instead of 43. Seems to be a bit stronger.

  • t-belly johnson September 8, 2013 at 9:17am

    I usually use ttie both ends together using a sliding loop and then run the solder iron over it maybe an inch either side.I then add a little solder to the iron and again run it along the length I just heated up, concentrating on the know. I finally have a bar of wax, run the solder iron along a length of that and then dip and slide the wire along it.Any lumps of wax I gently sqeeze down and it`s ready to roll again.

    I`ve done this several times now and had no problems whatsoever.

  • The Phrygian Kid September 7, 2013 at 8:18pm
    Yeah I'll put in a tap where that happens, ie solder in a third wire.. If you connect that third wire into your circuit you'll be shorting half the coil, so it gives you three coils for the price of one..

    I see you're using copper tape for your terminations there, I suggest you really need a third patch of that to repair the break
    • Dan Sleep > The Phrygian Kid September 8, 2013 at 8:23am

      So, if I understand your suggestion, I should put down a piece of that copper tape, solder both ends of the break to the copper tape, and then just continue to wind the remaining wire over top of the copper tape and just bury it inside the windings?

      I can't picture what you are describing about the tap and the third wire though...

      • The Phrygian Kid > Dan Sleep September 8, 2013 at 10:33am
        Yeah I'll just tape the two ends on the top and repair at the end when soldering it up, you could bury it in the coil as you say, but the solder there etc might introduce a snag which could cause further breaks as you continue winding so I probly wouldn't do that, but who knows, I haven't tried it either. . A third bit of the copper tape will give you something to stick em both to is all, far easier than reliably joining two individual hairs as I'm sure you've found. The extra wire if you can be bothered just allows you to use the coil at half power so to speak, can be useful for a rhythm sound or whatever.
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