Pickup Windings broken

[yorks5stringer]

I was installing some new SD pickups today only to find the J of the PJ set was too large to fit the hole, so in order for it fit the case of the one it was replacing I had to reduce the length of the pickup by filing it down. Needless to say when I installed it it was not working, and upon closer inspection I've caught some the external windings with my fat fingers and have 2 broken copper windings showing from the outside. Anyone got expertise in this area please? Unfortunately the broken  windings are not 2 of the same end but 2 separate ones if that makes sense....

Edited July 2, 2018 by yorks5stringer

[ikay]

You'd need to find and join the corresponding loose ends which would be very difficult to do. Sounds like a rewind to me...

[yorks5stringer]

Yep, I was afraid of that and they are so fine.

[ikay]

The damaged windings are probably quite near the surface so one other thing you could try (still fiddly) would be to unwind the top few layers of winding until you reach the last point where it's broken. Then connect this bare end to the corresponding output wire. You'd end up with a few windings less than before but probably not enough to make a significant difference to the tone or output. Might be worth a try before you go for the rewind, not a lot to lose!

Edited July 2, 2018 by ikay

[yorks5stringer]

I've spoken to Armstrong Pickups who suggested they could do the same thing as you suggest: knowing my fat fingers I may be better off leaving it to someone less impatient and clumsy..!

[stevie]

2 hours ago, ikay said:

The damaged windings are probably quite near the surface so one other thing you could try (still fiddly) would be to unwind the top few layers of winding until you reach the last point where it's broken. Then connect this bare end to the corresponding output wire. You'd end up with a few windings less than before but probably not enough to make a significant difference to the tone or output. Might be worth a try before you go for the rewind, not a lot to lose!

I agree with this, and have done it several times myself. It's really fiddly because the wire is incredibly thin, but it's not that difficult.  I can see why you might want to let someone else do it.

[yorks5stringer]

Got lucky and it's repaired and on its way back, have to recommend Armstrong pickups who sorted this very quickly and for just 18GBP including postage!

[ikay]

Excellent!