Fair game, I would say. Nice details like the adjustable brush holder.

I think a few practical designs for electric motors appeared in early MEs.

Yes Jason, I think they would make interesting projects, a bit of a challenge also.

If you look on youtube for " The history of electric motors" you should find a short video by a company who supply old electric motor kits, not that you would want a kit but have a look at the them. I watched it a while back and the mechanisms on them are fascinating and could give you some ideas.

Ron

p.s. have a look at this site Jason http://www.earlyelectricmotors.com/about/   open reproductions top right of page, some very nice motors there with makers names.

Edited By Ron Laden on 07/11/2018 14:41:25

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Should keep Jason busy for a few weeks making all of those !

Isn't making the core more difficult than authentic looking wire?

Motor cores were first made of soft iron, but soon switched to Silicon Steel. To reduce eddy losses the core should be laminated, which is usually done by stamping because Silicon Steel is hard to machine. You could probably get round that problem except Silicon Steel sheet doesn't seem to be sold in small quantities – minimum order 5 metric tons! Nor is soft iron easy to find. The laminations out of a transformer are the wrong shape, and reusing an existing motor core is, well, just a rewind, not a model.

On the subject of producing authentic cotton or silk insulated wire, a braiding machine would make an interesting model too. I've often thought it strange that model engineers tend to concentrate on engines when spinning, weaving, printers, Pascal calculators, Enigma machines and many other mechanical marvels are equally rewarding.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 07/11/2018 18:12:13

It should be possible to 'fake' cotton-covered windings, by using modern enamelled copper, completing the winding, and coating it with a layer of varnish (paint, etc) which is tinted or stained to mimic the appearance of cotton soaked in shellac varnish and then oil. I wonder if you would go to the trouble of using scale wire?

Cheers, Tim

And PS a dynamo and a motor of the same period will look identical, generally speaking.

.

That is an 'amazing mechanism'

MichaelG.

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 08/11/2018 09:40:30

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That's a great link, Ron

Thanks

MichaelG.

The first year of Model Engineer 1898 had drawings for a number of electric motors/generators, and this continued for many years.

I'v got a couple of books, "Small Electric Motor Construction" by J. Gordon Hall, a Percival Marshall publication, and "Small Dynamos and how to make them" Mechanic & Work Handbook, written by experts. Those books date back to the 1920s. Then a more modern book, "Practical Design of Small Motors and Transformers" by E. Molloy, first published in 1940, with 6 editions to 1947.

The only thing I find difficult to make is the commutator. Some of the materials used just arn't around any more.

Ian S C