Getting the last drop out of brushes

xjwmx

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If your brushes have worn to 7mm and you don't feel like dropping everything and getting a new pair right then, you might be able to do this.

Unsolder the screw lug and stretch the spring 8mm longer than it currently is, and re-solder. The 8mm should put pressure at the end similar to what a new brush of 15mm has. Stretching the spring more than that might cause the brush to wear too fast.

I don't know how much of a gap is between the brush holder and the rotor rings. Be careful not to let the brush wear to the point where it can jam in that space and wreak havoc.
 
While you are soldering, drill a hole in the metal where the wire solders on a bit bigger than the wire, Solder the wire in the hole from the other side, so the wire don't wrap aroud the metal.
You can get brushes from the hardware store. They sell them in many sizes. Find a set that is as close to the 650 brush as you can find. I found some a bit longer and just a bit bigger. A piece of sand paper on the sides untill it slips in the holder. Now unsolder the piece on the new brush and solder it to the metal from the old brush. Buy 2 or 3 sets. I paid $4.95 each I think it was. I have three sets of brushes set and ready to use.
 
Did you get them at a chain hardware store? We only have Ace, and Do it Best around here.
 
Sears Hardware. Do you have a place that fixs electric motors? they will have them too.
 
If your brushes have worn to 7mm and you don't feel like dropping everything and getting a new pair right then, you might be able to do this.

Unsolder the screw lug and stretch the spring 8mm longer than it currently is, and re-solder. The 8mm should put pressure at the end similar to what a new brush of 15mm has. Stretching the spring more than that might cause the brush to wear too fast.

I don't know how much of a gap is between the brush holder and the rotor rings. Be careful not to let the brush wear to the point where it can jam in that space and wreak havoc.
Why? New brushes with new springs are $15.
 
I agree. New brushes save time and worry. I got the hardware store brushes and soldered them to used brush holder. Got plenty of extras. If a set gets worn I just replace them. No waiting for an order to come in.
 
Well, it's just unnerving to pay $15 for something that's worth maybe fifty cents. I'd like to find generic ones at their actual value and pay myself $30/hr to sand a couple of pairs down. Hell I might even McGuiver some lugs from a coffee can lid.

We've got a Sears with a hw dept. I went to an industrial electric motor place today, and they didn't have anything close. They referred me to an auto electric place that I know will want $30 for a pair. LOL I know the guy, and he charges for parts as if he was doing the work, since you're depriving him of the work by doing it yourself....
 
If you have a farm and fleet type store in your area they might have brushes i the hardware section in the same bins as the small hardware. I also read somewhere about a guy who took apart a D cell battery and used the core to make new brushes but I can't remember where I read it, that's some Mac Gyver for you there !
 
I don't think a battery rod is right for this. It needs to be slicker than they are. Graphite is real slick, so it doesn't wear the copper much. Although the copper does wear some. If you take something really soft and rub it against something really hard they both loose material, just different amounts.
 
Well, we have Tractor Supply one town over. I could use corporate names. There's nothing left here that's mom and pop.
 
The outside brush wears faster than the inside brush because it travels farther and faster. On '80 to '83 models, the brushes are identical, so you can swap them at every oil change to even out the wear. Get about twice the life out of them.

I also drill a small hole in the metal bracket and feed the wire through and solder it to make it easier to change the brushes or R&R for cleaning. You can also swap the brushes on the earlier models easier when they are soldered like that.
 
The only brushes that I could find that were remotely close were an exact fit :) They're 13mm long and a little less than .200" square. Interesting thing is they have a brass disk soldered to the end. I think if one wanted he could just cut the screw lug off an old brush, and insert these brushes and screw the lug down, with no soldering. The contact to the rotor through the graphite is high enough resistance that it probably doesn't matter.
 

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Very good on finding some the right size. That price is very good.
Thats about how the ones I bought were.The ones I found were to big and needed to be sanded to fit. The spring on mine was a bit to big to slide down into the holder. Probably because they were to big to start.
I'm not sure about how good the connection would be without soldering. I guess you can try it and see how it works.
At $1.98 You can have keep a few spares around. Even if you have to solder them on, it's still much cheaper than getting new ones.
 
I love to solder, so I soldered them anyway :) I had three pairs of old springs and lugs I reused. The supplied springs were the right size but weaker. They had a big assortment of brushes in a tray like a screw assortment. But it was in the store office with a different store's name on the tray instead of out front and I think it was not normal stock. I used the suggestion of drilling a second hole.
 

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xjwmx : I read this whole thread but didn't see where you got those brushes at ???? perhaps I missed it , ( normal for me,sorry)
but I would like to pick up about 4 of those brushes myself !
.....
Bob....
 
..... and they appear to have the perfect size - 5mm x 5mm square x 15mm long. $2.97 a pair.
 
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