Erector set part number 'P1133' motor terminal nut

The stuff is expensive!
 
Nice work on the knurled nuts. Very well thought out process and tooling. My compliments.
 
Never got Erector sets when I was a kid. Mostly I’m sure because my parents had seen what happened to the sets of stuff I got. My siblings felt it was their duty, sole purpose in life to scatter and destroy anything I had. Train sets never survived more than a week before something crucial disappeared. Same with slot cars.

I appreciate your through knowledge and explanations of the whole Erector world Bruce. It really does reflect what I think was the mindset at the time. LEGO was a pale reflection of that, almost a pixilated view of how to build and create.
 
My father was an "Am Damateur" inventer, using Erector set parts even when he was 81 (1987) to prototype ideas he was pursuing. No real sets as such, just parts people had in their basements left over from childhood. He loved the variable lengths that could be "adjusted" to fit most any dimension. I never had a set as a kid. . . too expensive. But after my younger brother was grown and money was a little more available, he gathered up parts wherever he could. "Gizmos R Us", that's my Pop.

Hobby motor design has changed little over the years, mostly in the manufacturing process to cut costs. There are AC/DC universal motors and Permanent Magnet(PerMag) DC only motors. AC motors can be related to a sewing machine motor or a line powered drill or circular saw or any number of line powered appliances. Battery powered appliances will most likely be DC PerMag motors. The only differences in modern motors are the voltage ratings and assembly methods.

My intent here is to advise that while sparking is normal, the less there is the more efficient the motor runs. At most, a sparkler(modern fireworks) puts out far more sparks than a universal motor. Small noise at the brush tips is the most you should ever see. If the "neutral plane" is set correctly, sparking shouldn't be seen with the lights on. The best example is a power drill. If you see that much, it's too much.

Neutral plane isn't easily adjusted on small (<2-3 HP) motors, but it can be done. The relationship between brush rigging and pole pieces is what controls it. If there is serious sparking, it most likely is the commutator "out of round", badly scarred, or "high mica", any of which involves disassembly to correct. Truing a comm is best left to folks that are used to truing copper. If it's just scarred, it can be stoned. For high mica, it must be undercut.

Most small motors can be restored with these methods, especially "vintage" stuff like you are dealing with. High mica is the most difficult to deal with on small motors. It should be a minimum of 1/64th inch below the copper. Any deeper than 1/32" though and the cement used on old motors is weakened, often to the point of slinging the commutator segments out. At which point the motor becomes a small boat anchor. Learning is as much gaining the feel of the motor, but if you have any BER it's worth learning.

Bill Hudson​
 
Little bit of trivia for all. Every one of us has some "legacy" from the former A. C. Gilbert Company in our shops. They invented and held the patent on enamel insulated wire. Up until this invention/discovery, magnet wire was wrapped with cotton string for an insulator.

Bruce
 
WOW!!! That's a VERY significant invention!
 
Now that is intriging. I've worked around electrical equipment even when I was in grammar school. And have run across the cloth insulation referred to on occasion. It still shows up on small lamps. (Grain of Wheat and smaller) I knew it was old technology, but wasn't aware of the significance. It wasn't a discovery, it was a true invention. The more modern version is (I think) G.E.'s "Glyptol".

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