Official Luthiers Forum!

Mine died, and I didn't like it much anyway. Polling folks as to which one you like and why. This is only going to be used for power stringing up guitars for set-ups.

I've had cheapies, and high dollar stuff (Milwaukee).
Plain old plastic winders are the best.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I've used various cheapies, but they usually work really slow, take a long time to recharge, or they break etc. so it gets old. I went shopping locally for a good one for this exact purpose a couple of years ago, and ended up with a little Bosch, I believe its this one

http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=PS31-2A

I would have preferred a straight handle (not pistol grip) type, but I haven't seen one that is nearly as well built as the Bosch, at least not over here. It is compact, light, fast, recharges quickly, and I've gotten used to the handle geometry. The Stewmac stringwinder thingy lives on it permanently, and its probably one of my most frequently used tools.

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I have a little pneumatic die-grinder thingy. You can control the speed reasonably, and it makes that cool noise.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Ryobi, as recommended to me by an appliance repairman.
Here
Strong, reliable, and holds a good charge.

There's always the Penguin if you can get one in your part of the world.

_________________
Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

I like the cheapies you find for a dollar at yard sales. They might be a little slow, but much faster than winding by hand, and although a little "weak" I can still break strings with them if I'm inattentive. Like Filippo, I make my own winder attachments. The ones I have are AA battery powered, which last several weeks at the rate I use them.
If I were doing set-ups on a daily basis and winding hundreds of strings a week, I would use a small cordless screwdriver or drill with a clutch so I could set the clutch to "slip" before it breaks the string.

I've taken to searching the thrift stores for various power tools. I just recently got a great router. Aluminum body and adjuster, small, made from the sixties. Awesome tool!

I've been looking for power screw drivers recently and have run across a couple without chargers. I've seen other tools with chargers and good to go.

I don't really care about the shape of the batteries as I can make a new pack if I have to...I could even make a charger too if I had too. Maybe I will. Thrift stores are great for these kinds of things. 5$-10$ for a new tool is a pretty good deal.

I paid $7.00 American money for my router. I did have to replace the cord but I went heavy duty from the original.
I use it constantly...for everything...I'm using it now! Makes a great smoothie!

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

I use the stewmac thing in my 18v cordless drill. No sweat.

Bought mine from harbor freight in 92 , one battery died , but the darn thing is still running.

I bought a Black & Decker LI3100. It's small, reasonably fast and the lithium ion holds a charge forever.
For under $30 it's a pretty good deal, I think.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-LI31 ... ker+driver

I use it with the Turbo Tune.

Kent

I'm with Chris- I like my little plastic winder...

_________________
Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ryobi-3-8-in-12 ... 4ab9e97462
this is what I use when I do set up seminars and such It lasts a long time and it isn't fast like a regular drill

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

For anyone intersted in cordless drills in general, the best I've found are ones made by Fein. These (German) people invented cordless power tools. Bosh was an apprentice there.
The ones we use in our university have lasted years and are powerful enough to drive a 15cm screw into wood without a pilot hole.
Good weight and balance.
Downside- expensive.

_________________
We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

There is also Taylor's souped-up B&D $10-$20 driver:
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier ... river.html
http://www.unofficialtaylorguitarforum. ... opic=819.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyD_t8dFgsY

Instead of making the steel/alum cylinder, it would also work to lock together 1 set of planets, sun, and carrier (the white triangular part in the 2nd link). Then remove the outer teeth of the planets so they clear the ring gear. To lock 1 set (where is that monkeywrench when I need it?), one way is to drill and press-fit pins through the planets and carrier, or planet-to-planet.

_________________
David Malicky

Back in the old days, I used my thumb and forefinger.
You youngsters are in such a hurry these days.

_________________
wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

I'm with Chris- I like my little plastic winder...

_________________
Gene

Me too. I tried a cordless winder for a year, when I was just doing set-ups. At the end, I thought I'd given it a fair chance, but I'm still not convinced. Not faster, not easier. Why bother?