FOLLOW THE RESTORATION: a cleverly modified Edison Class-E

[need4art]

You say hot-You were here in Arizona for a brief time but yesterday we hit 112 had 118 3 weeks ago-now that's hot!!! Paint dry's as you are spraying it before it hits the surface. And yes we can cook eggs on the sidewalk!
Abe

[MicaMonster]

I'm going to TRY to make progress every day...a little at a time. No guarantee though. Here is the governor. Admire how simple the wiring is. Running on higher voltage, this does not utilize the 1.9 Ohm wire wound resistor that a Class-M does, however the governor uses the low-voltage and higher-voltage circuits to accomplish the same shunt....bypass. Because of the painted surfaces of the governor casting, I couldn't use a torch to heat up the screws to remove them. I simply heated them with a soldering gun for 2 minutes, until the old oil varnish let loose. Nothing worse than trying to loosen a small screw then have the head bust off of it. An ounce of prevention to save a ton of problems.

[Curt A]

Excellent work... what a difference.

[MicaMonster]

Progressing onward! Bedplate cleaning. I really dig how the armature has a cover on it. This is wound to run on high voltage, The brushes suffer from someone turning the motor backward, thus bending the copper threads on each brush. Motor very dirty. I am removing ALL wire and replacing with modern cloth covered wire, simply because the resistance of old copper wire is too high. I am replacing most of the copper lugs, simply for reliability. The old copper is corroded, pitted, and unreliable. I decided to also thread wind the connectors....OLD SCHOOL!!!!! One dab of beeswax holds the thread from unraveling. Also braided new motor cable bundle.

[rgordon939]

Wyatt, I must say that your patience is certainly a virtue and the results are outstanding. I'm sure all of us can't wait to see the machine in all it glory when your finished restoring HER. As I'm sure she will be a beauty.

Rich Gordon

[MicaMonster]

Cabinet cleaned. The wiring block.....had a few issues with it. It is made out of what I can only guess is very hard rubber. The terminal screws rusted, and swelled, thus cracking the block in a few places. I filled the cracks and holes with industrial resin, then sanded them flat. I re-drilled holes, tapped them, and made the holes ⅛" deeper, and used ⅜" 6-32 machine screws to replace the rusted screws. I opted to also retain the original spiral power adapter. The bulbs I obtained to replace the original bulb resistors had incorrect resistance. Not enough voltage supplied to motor. I had a GUTSY moment, and installed the one extant original resistor bulb. Slowly turning the DC power supply up.....20V....30V...40V....50V....60V (movement)....70V...(slow movement)......80V RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MicaMonster]

Ta daaaa!!!!!

[fran604g]

Oh my!! How beautiful!

[TinfoilPhono]

Fantastic job, Wyatt!

[martinola]

I've been trying to write something, but my jaw keeps dropping. Amazing work. How very cool!

Martin