I took a couple of pictures of the machine that I can wind transformers up to around 500 watt size with E/I laminations and also wind little things like tuning and IF coils.

Really the machine is just a spindle ( a length of threaded rod) carried in a lathe chuck housing with a motor to drive it around and a counter (because I cant count past 10).

The first photo shows the front view of the cutting edge equipment in spot less surroundings.
An old desk lamp can be seen on the left to light up the working area, the turns counter, speed control knob and a transformer bobbin mounted up with wire going on.

Note the spotless environment with tools neatly at hand, wire spools arranged to size on hand and all, manner of formers, tapes, insulation and other things available if you dig deep enough!

The winding wire is carried on a sophisticated system of a chunk of threaded rod sitting in two sticks nailed to a third stick with vee cuts and accurate tension and winding guide is supplied by the fingers of the winder, bare until you get wire burn(!) and wear a glove, you cant get more "cutting edge" than that!...ok i'll quit the jokes...…..

Little things like RF coils I just tape onto a larger winding block and hang on for dear life as it goes around. The winding tensions are so low you can get away with not much holding the former on.

In the second photo you can see a bit more detail with the chuck housing (X mini lathe) the tooth belt drive to the centre spindle.

The motor is a 120 volt DC unit powered by a 240/120 stepdown and a transistor series speed control that give jogging to fast spinning speeds. The motor actually cogs badly at low speeds and gives a "Jogging" speed, very handy for creeping. There is a ON switch with reversing direction.
The wire I use is straight from the electric motor re wind shop and all hi temperature polyester types that can be hit with a hammer and wound with no "interlayer" insulation, just scramble wound evenly. I do stick in some insulation sticky tape at about 200 volts worth of winding just to keep the start turns a bit away from the ending turns, as in a EHT 1000 volt CRT supply.

I have wound hundreds of transformers and never had a failure with the above technique.
I have found modern tapes like you common "sellotape" have quite a high voltage rating but of course use a mechanical based paper for primary to secondary insulation.

And NO I am not into rewinding power and output transformers for anybody. I'm retired and am really OVER chasing small supplies of wire and insulation. I was easy when I could bum left over wire and off cuts of insulation off the winding shop but as soon as you start purchasing even back in the later 90's the cost was going up but worst of all no one wanted to sell small quantities. Don't know what it is like now, perhaps someone that does transformer repair may like to comment on the scene!


Fred.

Jaycar sells enamelled copper wire by the 100m roll in many gauges so it is still available to anyone wanting to start their own little enterprise.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/search?text=copper+wire&CSRFToken=9e51266b-7a77-476f-977a-a71de8cbdd51

Photos uploaded.

Here's a quote I hope you will enjoy : Einstein's oft-quoted remark, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk?”
I love what you're doing you're obviously a lateral thinker.
How do you maintain the tension, do you manually control the next row . I've got a couple of cordless drills with stuffed batteries, I'm thinking of converting one to a mini lathe, it would already have a speed and reverse control.

Yes the tension is controlled by running the wire through the fingers.
On proper machines there is torque control on the wire spool rotation and/or a felt brake on the wire or spool.
Running through the fingers also then allows you to control the side to side movement.
Proper machines have auto layer winding fingers programable by gear sets or cams.
You need callouses on the fingers and/or wear a glove.

Having wound thousands of rotors, stators, transformers ,chokes and coils I have a "feel" for throwing wire into slots or formers and experience with what insulating works or does not work.
Nothing sharpens your feeling of insulation better than spending a shift winding a motor and then having the insulation fail on a high voltage test and then being told to strip and rewind it! Next time you make sure there are no cracks in the insulation or wire hammered through insulation onto the laminations!

Back to practicality, the drive motor could be a pistol drill with the speed control suitably housed and gripping a threaded rod.
The most essential thing to have is a COUNTER and there are many ideas about that.
I just use a good old mechanical drive cheap unit that has a re-set to zero lever.
Just google coil winders and you have million versions of what guys have made.

The wire that Jaycar had when I was there was the equivalent grade to your old enamel covered stuff ideal for making tuning coils, speaker cross overs and single coil layer wound chokes all at low voltage. The wire I use is the grade that can be used on 415 volt motors and polyester covered that can be hit and has high potential, temperature and mechanical strength.
Low grade enamel wire is what radio transformers used to be wound with. That means CAREFULL tension controlled layer by layer accurate winding with layer by layer insulation a WORK OF ART.
Back in the motor rewind workshop we used hi-spec wire and scramble wound and whacked into place with a hammer.

I have forgotten all the stuff about wire grades and types not being in the business for about 40 years.

Fred.

Hi Fred, what's hiding in the background?
Morris Major? Elite?...pete
And Gosh ! Look at all those Lucas Generators stacked up in the corner...pete

Hi Pete, well spotted!
Yep, the car is a Major Elite one of the last built and first registered Jan 1965.
It has the usual widened arches, fat tyres, steel diff, MG engine, SU's, fabricated headers, neg camber front end.
I built or fabricated all the works and mods over the 50 years or so.
It has peeling paint (so many coats!) , little upholstery and still road regoed.
I run down the street , people look up because it pops and bangs a bit (!) until it warms up.
Yes, that's the starter/generator stash, the spare parts live in a wall rack round the corner with all sorts of 2nd hand or NOS bits.
It all probably should be in a museum or Simms.
Like any other modded car of that age absolutely worthless, but Barbara and I hop in now and again, bang the doors closed and somehow we are both 20 again!
Fred.

I remember when the Minors were a popular car. These days I probably see more Majors - around ten times a year or so.

I remember when the Minors were a popular car.

When I was in primary school my father was given a Morris Minor 1000 as a company car -- he was a traveling sales rep back then, in the 'burbs. I still recall his large frame getting in and out of that car, and my astonishment at hearing the electric petrol pump when the ignition was switched on. Our other car at the time was an FC Holden (BVP-564).

I've always liked the look of the FE and FC sedans. One day I will probably buy one. I still need to decide on the colour.

I didn't look closely enough to see which model it was but I did see an FB or EK ute at the RadioFest.

Yes Brad the thing with Minors were they were a rust box made with little thought to last longer than a couple of years.
The floor pan was just one big water trap and yes, I did own and love some Minors from a 50's SV through to a 60's 1000.
I also spent much time filling, welding and bodging the rot that sprung from inside the box sections of all of them.
The Major Elites went through the "Roto-dip" paint system, (sheep dip for cars) and then were proof-coated underneath and although there were many more Minors than Majors on the road the Major Elites have the greatest chance of outrunning the rust evil. Trust me I know!
The Minor was a brilliant well handling zippy little car with few problems, the Major was an ill handling piece of unreliable crap overstressing the parts used. By the time they got to the Elite it was not too bad but not a patch on the Toyota cars coming in or European cars. We bought Toyotas after that and had Tiaras, Corolas, Coronas, and every model you can think of, and all the time I drove the Morris to work as "my car".
Anyway this is a Vintage radio site not a motor fest so back radios!
Fred.

I've always liked the look of the FE and FC sedans. One day I will probably buy one.

Ah, vacuum wipers and vibrator radio.

One of my neighbours at the workshop complex recently towed in a survivor FC. One owner. Been sitting in a barn for decades. Very good original condition. I didn't ask how much he paid for it. Have a photo, but we have veered off topic.

I still have to get energetic & replace the vacuum / fuel pump in the Zephyr its done an oil seal. I have the refitted one ready. Only refitted the old one around 1985.

Its good with some parts starter, generator, water pump bearings & radiator cap are all tractor parts that I can buy new. Its never been unregistered so has its original plates.

My Dad had a FC Sedan, two tone green , I have a scar above my left eye from the dash board, no belts back then , it's pretty faded now though. I was only 4 when it happened, funny I also learnt about fingers in car doors with the same car!! My dad was a Aircraft engineer and use to drive it to Mascot every day our cats use to sleep in wheel arches and one morning he ran over the cat running late for work and 2 days later he ran over our other cat! People say green is unlucky and think the cats would agree! ......pete

My nose is bent right where glasses sit. That was an FJ on a visit to Melbourne. They took no action on getting it checked for breaks, so it was never set & is not without issues. Its interesting, the biggest killer of animals & nearly a people is the currently grounded tractor.

These now seem to becoming second to quad bikes & I have seen some idiotic things done with them. Tractors are much more subtle, however, both take a heavy toll on idiots. A bit like aviation & the sea: Those who would dare to make a mistake there, may pay a very high price.