anyone know how to repair a broken pickup magnet? are there special adhesives or will regular old super glue work?? can anyone help?
One thing i remember from primary school is when you broke a magnet they tend not to work as well anymore, as you disrupt the magnetic structure inside them. Of course school magnetics were always cheap, so you never know you might have a better chance of still being able to use it. But i can't advise how to fix it.
"And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on earth." - Eric Idle, The Galaxy Song.
Probably better off having the pickup replaced
Replacing the magnet would be cheaper if you know what type it is. Or you could change the magnet to give your pickup a different feel, take a look here for more info:
Changing Bar magnets from Project Guitar
Does it still work with it broken? imagine it sounds rather unique if it does.
"And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on earth." - Eric Idle, The Galaxy Song.
i haven't tried the pickup with the broken magnet yet. i actually dont know how long its beeen like that and i have been playing it. only thing i noticed was a microphonic buzz which was why i dismantled it in the first place, hoping to be able to re-pot it.
i figured i may have to replace them anyway, but who knows- it ma sound interesting enough ill want to keep it. thank you for all your advice!
what type of pickup is it? Perhaps it could be replaced with another one, you'll find it may not be that easy to just replace the magnet. There maybe a broken wire coil.
joe
they're off a '65ish Silvertone. they are very shallow, in fact, ive never seen a pickup that shallow. they dont even need a routered channel in the body- they just sit right on top of a metal mounting plate.
i went ahead and superglued the magnet together, it was the only thing i could think of to do to try to salvage it. it cant hurt, i suppose. i'm potting them now to see if that makes any difference. if none of that works, ill just replace them. i'd like to get something that will retain the vintage sound. any suggestions?
An intimate glue job (!!) should work fine, if the magnet pieces still have most of their original magnetism. It's what caused the break that may have compromised or reduced the magnetism -- usually that's some sort of mechanical shock. However, if that was not too severe, everything probably will work just fine.
Way you describe the pickup, it sounds possibly like those that came on my first Teisco electric and my brother's Sears Silvertone. These were constructed of a flat bobbin/coil with a flat magnet sitting flush right in the center of the bobbin and six little metal disk polepieces glued directly onto the magnet. A chromed metal cover with holes for the disks sat over the top. If so, I've repaired similar pups by glueing a broken magnet without problems.
-=tension & release=-
wow! that sounds just like mine. i narrowed it's origin to a '65 or '66 teisco and it has the flat bobbins exactly as you described. i think i probably broke it trying to pry the cover off. i made as intimate a bond as possible between the two pieces i could. if that's all it was, hopefully everything will work just fine. we'll know soon
just a little update- after superglueing the broken magnet and pole piece i potted both pickups in wax (paraffin mixed with a little beeswax). They sound awesome! i dont think theyve ever sounded that good. The microphonic buzz is gone, and the sound is crisp and clear. All that's left is a little ungrounded hum, and that's on the pickup with the perfectly intact magnet! thaanks for the feedback
- carissa
Cool -- maybe I'll rehab the one I still have in my parts bin.
-=tension & release=-
