Interesting looking new motor driven coil winder

[Yorkie]

I'm not in the market for one, but I thought that this motor driven coil winder with digital readout looked interesting, fairly versatile and not too expensive:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Low-Variable-S...ltDomain_0&hash=item338299a4a0

(I can't tell from the blurb whether the traversing rate is an adjustable parameter, and whether it can be set to traverse back and forth to lay turns side by side for a given gauge of wire, and a desired width of coil).

I wonder how many people who buy old coil winders in various states of disrepair, and with missing parts, ever get them working and actually wind coils with them. Not many would be my guess, with the notable exception of Colin ('Retired') and his amazing prize-winning restoration of an AVO-Douglas winder, including cutting a set of gears for it. Coil winders and valve-testers seem to have a great fascination to the vintage radio fraternity - a fascination that I'm not immune to.

In a similar vein - a fascination for mechanical gizzmos - I once bought an Adana 8 x 5 printing press very cheaply at a car boot sale in a dilapidated state. I spent much time restoring it, including sourcing a new ink roller, but I never did get around to using it to print anything, though I didn't lose on it when my sanity was temporarily restored and I was overcome by a wave of common sense and sold the Adana.

[AlanBeckett]

dAVID,

I don't think it has a Wire Guide, unless I'm misreading it.
You can change the Spindle direction and the count, but that's it.

Alan

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks David for your kindness; yes I enjoyed months of enjoyment/frustration whilst restoring the basket case AVO wave winder. I never intended to use my winder once restored only seeing it as a restoration project. I did eventually sell my winder to a guy who wished to use it and he was delighted to buy it at a fair price. I always seem to do such restorations during our very long freezing winters but its better than being a TV cabbage.

I agree with Big Al in that the one you mention David is very basic but certainly worth knowing about; at £160 though good manual AVO winders are available which are top class machines and more versatile?

Kind regards, Col.

[Yorkie]

I agree with Big Al in that the one you mention David is very basic but certainly worth knowing about; at £160 though good manual AVO winders are available which are top class machines and more versatile?

Kind regards, Col.

I think you're right Colin - there's been an Avo for sale at the last two or three Golborne Swapmeets - I don't know if it sold this time around. It looked farily complete, and with a photocopy of the manual. As you say, a great restoration project - it looked very tempting, but I managed to resist it and didn't dare ask the price unless it was such a bargain basement price that it was almost a giveaway! (Whether or not it had any 'unobtanium' bits missing, I've no idea).

[Refugee]

It does look like it is based on a big dot matrix printer carriage motor and from the bumph perhaps a 10 step per revolution one.
I have build most of a winder of my own based on an ice cream maker of all things.
It is due to be finished off soon as i have a job for it. I will do a thread when it gets another turn on the bench followed by another thread for a scope PDA transformer rewind.