3573 replies to this topic

[don.siegel]

I seem to remember most of us winding our own arms in 67-68 too - I mean, who could afford 10 bucks for a rewind motor, or 6 or whatever it was for the arm alone?

I did have a rewind or two in there (an SS101 in fact), but that was much more the exception than the rule.

Don

[havlicek]

I seem to remember most of us winding our own arms in 67-68 too - I mean, who could afford 10 bucks for a rewind motor, or 6 or whatever it was for the arm alone?

I did have a rewind or two in there (an SS101 in fact), but that was much more the exception than the rule.

Don

Same here Don. If anyone knows of a source for good blanks at reasonable prices, I sure would appreciate the info.

-john

[Prof. Fate]

Hi

When I was living in Pittsburgh, Rick used to stock up on used arms and sell them to me cheap. In the day, I usually "dumpster dived" for parts. It is amazing how many things people just toss.

I doubt I told P, my first "Turbo", which he designed, was a dumpster item. Someone bought it, hated it, tossed it in anger....It had a bad solder joint!

Back in the day, the commercial rewinds would often just toss a wire in the first heat, get tossed, nearly new!

Fate

[havlicek]

A member here sent me a couple of D can arms to rewind for him. It's a pretty easy thing to dewind the arm, shorten the stack, add a better com (Kirkwood here) and rewind them. These arms are inexpensive and can be a great way to have a go at rewinding. This particular one is a mild #28awg wind drawing 2 amps...but they can be whatever you want them to be.



-john

[Jairus]

Cool!

[Ed Miller]

John,
Arm looks good, I can't wait to give it a try. I'm sure they run as well as they look.
Should make this motor sing
A Job well done.

Thank you,

[havlicek]

Thanks Jairus. I look at this kind of thing as a modern version of an old 60's rewind (with a couple of updates). Drawing 2amps (actually less), the arm should run cool and be easily manageable.

Thank you also Ed. I look forward to hearing how this wind works for your setup. Slot car motors have come a long way since the Mabuchi days and even el-cheapo "disposeable" motors provide a lot of bang for the buck. People who wind/rewind can't compete on economics because of how good the mass-produced motors are these days (except maybe doing new versions of the old pro motors). However, I believe that it's still just plain cool to stick a hand wound arm in a can and "let 'er rip".

-john

[Jairus]

John,
So... has the red dye and markings become your signature?

[havlicek]

...um...sure for now Jairus , but I've been thinking about blue dye though and how purty that would look Seriously though, your post got me thinking and I've just realized that they all look recognizeable to me. I guess that the same way as a chassis builder can spot one of his builds, arms tend to look a certain way depending on who winds them. The way the coils are wound, the com is tied, the kind of balancing marks etc. all sorta add up to a kind of "signature".

-john

[havlicek]

Here's a sweet #26 awg. Runs cool and sounds like it'll be a tire shredder

New Mura .007" blank and com
3.5 amps no load
.2 ohm
hi-temp epoxy/welded com
35° advance



-john

[gascarnut]

Wow!

That has to be one of your best yet!

[havlicek]

Thanks Dennis. The Mura .007 blanks have a way different web than their .014" arm blanks...so different that winds for a specific awg have to be changed significantly for either the .007" or the .014". I did a little bit of guessing on this one and it turned out to work as I had hoped. Sometimes I get lucky and I'll write this wind down so it doesn't get lost on the old "mental Rolodex"

-john

[havlicek]

-john

[Jairus]

Freaking damn piece of ART!


Okay, you got that nailed down. You solder beautifully and have the scratchbuilding bug just like me..... how about you learn to paint next?
I double dog dare you!!!

[havlicek]

Thanks Jairus ...but I think it's best that my "painting" skills aren't applied to too many otherwise healthy bodies I "overwound" this arm a little to keep it reasonably safe. It's done on a longer stack that started out at .490" and with powder coat and bit of epoxy on the ends as a safety against shorts before winding, it finished close to .500". It also polished-out a bit wider to a diameter of around .511" to .512", so it's very close dimensionally to the vintage arms. I also tried something new for welding the com. Like the combination powdered solder/flux in a syringe ("SolderIt") stuff, you can get combination powdered silver and brazing flux from jeweler's suppliers. I put that on the tabs before I crimped them closed and welded them. It's a pretty precise way to do it and seemed to work nicely. It might look nice in one of your creations dontcha think?

-john

[Jairus]

ALL my vintage builds run your arms my friend. I have not put in an antique Certus, Mura, Thorpe, RehCo or other arm in any motor in over a year. "I only use Havlicek arms!" Your first welded com went in to the Bay Area Choti build and that one drove beautifully... and sold just as quick.

New build to be shown very shortly BTW.

[havlicek]

Thanks Jairus...but...Ack!...now I have to wait to see the new build!

-john

[havlicek]

-john

[Jairus]

Can you turn down the diameter on these coms? I have a strap motor that used a smaller diameter arm. Standard length.
Guessing the dia is .49 or .48" . Not sure because I don't have a digital mike.

[havlicek]

Hi Jairus,

.490" or .480" ...I don't think that much would be a problem. It would be a little time-consuming as I'd go slow, but it might be fun. That might be a good project to do using a heftier blank to start with since the web and face on these .007" Muras is pretty thin as is. Going down as much as 20 thousandths ...maybe even 30 thousandths (these normally polish/finish at around .510") might not leave a heck of a lot. You have any arms lying around that are whacked and can volunteer for the cause? If so, I'd be happy to have a go at it.

-john

PS...the #24 above screams! For sure it will burn-up some rubber, and I think I'm getting better/neater with the whole welding process. Learning to get a feel for that one little aspect threw a whole 'nuther monkey wrench into the process. It would be cool to do something hot-hot-hot with your strap motor.

[Ed Miller]

John,
Your arms are the best. I have advertising sticker for your arms on our new track.
Drop me an email when you get a chance.
Keep up the good work,not only do they look good the work great!

Ed
S&E Raceway
S&E Motorsports

[HarV Wallbanger III]

Hi John,

I had to find this in all my stuff but..

Big Jim told me many years ago that this is what he used to epoxy the arms:

Epoxy Lite #813-9 Not sure if its still available with all the new VOC laws in your state?

Here is a link to it: its at the bottom of the page. Good Stuff!:

http://www.electro-w.../epoxylite.html

Good luck and keep on turn'in out those beautiful arms! ...... Maybe you would do 1 for me?? I got some blanks and comms!

Attached Images

• 

[HarV Wallbanger III]

John H. "I've also figured out a better way to polish the stack that I used here. So bit by bit..."

Also I think Big Jim told me he used a old model train "track cleaner" Its like a big eraser.

Good luck! Now lets talk 'bout a arm Mr. Arm Spinner!

[havlicek]

Hi Ed,

Thanks for the kind words. It was really nice talking with you on the phone the other day also.

Hi Barney,

thanks for the information! I did look at Epoxylite when I was trying to source good quality epoxy that could withstand higher working temperatures...nice stuff. I landed on a different material for several reasons that comes from NY where I am that has worked really well. The company is named Cotronics and the epoxy is called Duralco 4461. It's a very low viscosity epoxy that is clear and does a great job of penetrating the windings. Since they sell "samples", I was able to get a relatively small quantity too. Given the shelf life of these things, the supply I have will probably go bad long before I use it all. Another great aspect of the Duralco is that it is a room-temperature cure epoxy that can handle I think between 500 and 600°F, but it still can be force-cured by baking it at low temps. VERY nice stuff!

The polishing method I use is something I pretty much developed while getting back into all this. It does some functional things to the arm as well as making them look pretty. Funny how all this stuff goes...months ago I "thought" I was pretty much "there", yet I still find ways of getting better. Truth is I'll probably never get "there" ("there" being where people like Mr. Steube already were... decades ago...dammit), but it has been a lot of fun trying.

Good luck! Now lets talk 'bout a arm Mr. Arm Spinner!

Need an arm?...no problem, just PM me. I need to order some more blanks soon, but I'm waiting for the gov't to bail me out first

-john

[HarV Wallbanger III]

Hey John,
After I sent that post I saw that they also sell flat wire.... You may have to sign in to see the other products and this link.

http://www.electro-w.../magnetwire.php