On this day in 1950 this Geo-Stevens coil winder (Model 115, Serial # 1307 shown below) was ordered by Kalamazoo based industrial supply house Allen Electric & Equipment. Photographs taken at the Gibson factory from the 1950’s show that at least two similar KZ/LP-115 machines were used to wind pickups in Kalamazoo. The soft aluminum fixtures of the KZ/LP-115 still show wear marks from both P-90 and PAF bobbins, confirming its use as both a PAF and P90 pickup winder.
In the 1970's when Gibson was getting ready to move manufacturing to its Nashville, Tennessee facility they invited Les Paul to take any equipment that was no longer needed. Les Paul rescued this coil winder and took it home. After sitting unused for decades, the original machine and fixtures were purchased by ThroBak at the Guernsey’s auction of Les Paul memorabilia on February 19, 2015.
ThroBak got the KZ/LP-115 working again using the original Gibson made, 50’s era wire guides, bobbin fixtures, traverse gears and non-adjustable lobeless cam. Now out of retirement at the sweet age of 66, the KZ/LP-115 coil winder is working again. All the coils on the ThroBak KZ-115 P.A.F. are wound using this machine which have an unusually warm, low end tone for a pickup with such a low resistance. At ThroBak we've made it our mission to keep the machines that made the earliest and best PAF pickups doing what they do best - making great PAF replica pickups!
In the 1970's when Gibson was getting ready to move manufacturing to its Nashville, Tennessee facility they invited Les Paul to take any equipment that was no longer needed. Les Paul rescued this coil winder and took it home. After sitting unused for decades, the original machine and fixtures were purchased by ThroBak at the Guernsey’s auction of Les Paul memorabilia on February 19, 2015.
ThroBak got the KZ/LP-115 working again using the original Gibson made, 50’s era wire guides, bobbin fixtures, traverse gears and non-adjustable lobeless cam. Now out of retirement at the sweet age of 66, the KZ/LP-115 coil winder is working again. All the coils on the ThroBak KZ-115 P.A.F. are wound using this machine which have an unusually warm, low end tone for a pickup with such a low resistance. At ThroBak we've made it our mission to keep the machines that made the earliest and best PAF pickups doing what they do best - making great PAF replica pickups!
Above: Original 1950 Stevens sales record on a re-purposed B.O.M. ledger indicating 59 machines on page. Year date of 1950 is on the item line. Machine sold on Monday Feb. 27, 1950.
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