3573 replies to this topic

[Bill from NH]

I'm not sure what arm it is, however, my Steube arms from the early to mid 70's are ingraved 'Steube' with the wire gage. The number of turns are not indicated.

[havlicek]

yep Bill, he's probably right that it's a Camen as I now remember seeing the "Steube" name spelled out on the arms I've seen here!

-john

[havlicek]

...and speaking of big wire arms, I just had time to do a #24 before the Mrs. finished the scampi we're having for dinner. Bugenis com (but of course) and a Bugenis stack on this one too. This little WMD is destined to cozy-up inside a Nice Mura "B" motor.



-john

[don.siegel]

Holy cow John! You sure that's just a 24? Looks more in wire hanger range, maybe 23 or 22 or ??

Or maybe it's that you take such good photos, everything looks sharp and larger than in real life...**

Don

[havlicek]

Hi Don,

Yep...it's a 24 alright. These things are a little deceiving because these modern stacks have smaller pole faces, leaving a wider gap between and more wire visible. This particular stack has a thicker "leg" than some (the inner part the wire gets wrapped around) and I think they work better for the big wire winds (no scientific evidence...just a hunch). Also, because the leg is still a little thinner than the old Mura lams and the stack here is a bit shorter, this arm has a bit more wire on it than I would do for the Mura...so the coils are a little more visible. Resistance seems to be close to the #23 mystery (Camen?) arm I cleaned up, although I can't be sure until my new meter gets here since my regular multimeter only tells me if they're in the same zip code

Here's the arm in it's new home:


The original arm in this motor was blown...it came apart at the com, but it was reverse timed (CW) as you can see from the picture, so of course the new "24" is as well. Speaking of which, the original arm had a wind on it where the last turn ended at the outside of the stack, so it crossed over the top of the stack to get back to the com tab. I've seen these before and wondered if that might not be such a good thing, considering the forces at play, and this is where that arm failed.

-john

[havlicek]

A #29 double wind FT36D on the milder/more reliable side. The can was originally a Champion with Arcos from Roger Schmitt that the blogger requested a sky or light blue paint job on. The motor draws less than .7 ohm and stays nice and cool.



-john

[mdiv]

Looks beautiful, John! Thank you!

Mikey

[havlicek]

You're most welcome Mikey. Remember, if you want it hotter, just let me know. I kept this one on the safe side by a good margin

-john

[idare2bdul]

"Epoxy during it's curing gives off toxic fumes and leaves behind lot of other stuff you don't want in your body/system."

Epoxy is also absorbed through the skin and you eventually reach a point where you can't be around it anymore without major health issues. This is one reason why so many fiberglass products are made with non epoxy resins. Like many racers and hobbyists I tend to ignore stuff like this and could end up paying the price. I have been using brushes more in situations where in the past I might have just used a finger to smooth out or scrape off epoxy.

[havlicek]

"Epoxy during it's curing gives off toxic fumes and leaves behind lot of other stuff you don't want in your body/system."

Epoxy is also absorbed through the skin and you eventually reach a point where you can't be around it anymore without major health issues. This is one reason why so many fiberglass products are made with non epoxy resins. Like many racers and hobbyists I tend to ignore stuff like this and could end up paying the price. I have been using brushes more in situations where in the past I might have just used a finger to smooth out or scrape off epoxy.

Why yes, that is all true(?)...and random, but thanks for the PSA.

-john

[havlicek]

I got the pieces together for what might turn out to be my next proxy motor:


Since I figure most everyone will opt for the Mura Green can as it's a proven winner, I figured I'd go backwards a little and use a Champion D-sized motor. I chose a can that had a worn bushing so I could ream it out for a ball bearing. The end bell is one of those "orange-picker" jobbies with the plates supporting the "heat sinks". I swapped out the heat sinks for the larger 36D sized ones, reamed out the end for a second ball bearing and then trimmed back the hoods and heat sinks to clear the bearing to avoid shorts. Then the can got stripped and I applied a nice heavv coat of Rustoleum "Hammered Finish" silver that I baked on there for a half hour. You get a durable/hard/shiny finish with the stuff and I like the way it looks in both the silver and the gold colors. I have a set of Champion Yellow Dot magnets and the can shim all ready to go for this bad boy. A set of shunts and the motor should be a strong runner.

For the arm, I used my last vintage Mura .007" lam arm and replaced the shaft with a new drill blank. I then topped that off with a Bugenis com for added goodness For the wind, I did a #24 and decided to go with a lot of wire doing 22 turns instead of the 19-21 turns you see so often. I remember Philippe saying he chose that wind as it didn't burn up so fast, so I figure why the heck not. The Mura stack has a pretty tight space to wind in as opposed to many modern arms, so getting that one extra turn of #25 wire on there without making a mess has always been a challenge for me in the past. I wouldn't say it's "easy" now, but it isn't nearly so difficult any more. The result?...the arm comes in at precisely .108 ohms per pole. On a modern stack with the thinner web, this wind will be 5 or 6 thousandths of an ohm lower...maybe a bit lower than that, but the .007" lam Muras always seem to run really nicely. This puppy will be set aside and I'll wind one or two more on different blanks and send the best one out to Bill Bugenis to be balanced. I've been doing so many motors for other people, it was kinda neat to get to do one for me!

-john

[Jairus]

Nicely done John, nicely done!

[havlicek]

Thanks Jairus

-john

[Victor Poulin]

John,
I really like that hammered finish big time!! Hope you don't mind but I may have to give that a try lol.
It gives the cans almost a factory type look. Nice job buddy !!!

But then again, you always do

[havlicek]

Hi Vic,

The stuff is very durable and has a cool look alright. The look seems modern and "custom" to me, but as you say...sorta "factory" too. As a side benefit, if you're working with a can that is marred, the stuff will help hide that because if it's texture.

-john

[Victor Poulin]

Hi Vic,

As a side benefit, if you're working with a can that is marred, the stuff will help hide that because if it's texture.

-john

That's just what I was thinking to John. I've got a few older C and D cans that would doll up nicely with that

[Pablo]

[Bill from NH]

Vic, in this area, I've found the Rustoleum hammered look paints at both Walmart & Home Depot.

[Victor Poulin]

Vic, in this area, I've found the Rustoleum hammered look paints at both Walmart & Home Depot.

Yep !!
I'm way ahead of ya Bill I was thinking of making a wally world run this afternoon lol.

[Bill from NH]

An ACE Hardware might have it too, but I haven't looked yet.

[Mic B]

need some info about hand winding . Where can I get a hand winding machine and the fixtures to do armatures

[Pablo]

The only hand winding machine in the world is John Havlicek.

[havlicek]

Yer a wild and crazy guy Pablo (thanks).

Hi Mike,

Besides the occasional LaGanke that comes up on eBay, Rick (RGeo) here makes a nice crank and also does various clamp fixtures for the different diameter stacks. Happy winding!

-john

[Mic B]

Thanks John
Bill Bugenous told me you would have an answer for me

[havlicek]

I had to come up from winding as I'm (literally) bleary-eyed and burned-out and there was a package waiting for me I hadn't been expecting. I opened it up and there was (among other things) this:


...a super mint K&B Wildcat FT16D! This was my all-time favorite motor as a kid (for whatever reason...might have even been just the color!). I wound a whole boatload of these things back then looking for that perfect formula, and can still remember being jazzed when I got a new one...so I could rip it apart This one came with the original nifty box, a spare can, the mounting brackets and the instruction sheet! I swear I was almost "back then" for a second while opening it. It might seem a bit silly getting such a kick from a toy motor. Actually, it probably IS silly, but that's me Anyway, this has already been an unexpectedly early and awfully nice Christmas! THANKS DON!

-john