Electrical Coil-winding Machine

Here is a coil winder that features a variable speed

control, automatic counter and can be built inexpensively
By HAROLD P. STRAND

Craft Print Project No. 265

Part 1

U NLESS you have a metal-turning lathe, or

some similar machine capable of holding
and turning a coil-winding form at a slow
speed, winding a coil having hundreds of turns
on it can be quite a chore. To answer the need
for such a machine for those of you interested in
making home-built electrical devices requiring
coils for special size transformers, solenoids, etc.,
the electric-motor driven winder shown in Fig.
1 has been developed.
The winder is powered with a used Hoover
vacuum-cleaner motor purchased at a repair shop
for $5. It is of the ac-dc or universal type which
is subject to speed control with a variable resist-
ance or reactor and is of a large heavy-duty
type. The foot controlled reactor (Fig. 1), for
which building plans will be included in Part 2
of this article, has an infinite number of speed
control steps, will not
heat up in use, wasting Variable speed, foot-control
power, and has no wip- switch regulates speed of
motor when winding coil.
ing contacts of the type Photo A shows how mag-
usually employed with a net wire is hand guided
resistance control. from spool to coil windings.
When purchasing the
vacuum-cleaner motor, length of the brushes—
turn it on and observe they should be at least
the commutator. There 7/16 in. long. Alsb check
should not be apprecia- the armature-shaft bear-
ble arcing at the brushes ings for wear. Remove
which could indicate a the motor from the clean-
short in the a r m a t u r e er and attempt to move
winding. Failure to run the fan and shaft from
at its customary high side to side. Any side
speed is another indica- movement indicates
tion of defective arma- worn bearings. A little
ture windings. However, end play, in and out
worn carbon b r u s h e s movement of the shaft, is
could also produce these permissible, h o w e v e r .
effects, so check t h e Select a motor having a

FEBRUARY, 1957 187

 Left, Cleaning disassembled motor with rag moistened in kerosene. Right, Clean commutator with fine sandpaper
to inspect it ior grooves or ridges.

A 150-watt lamp is connected in series with motor to

reduce its speed when test running.

3/8 in. dia. shaft on it.

After purchasing a motor in the best possible
condition, take it apart and clean with kerosene
or carbon-tet. First remove the brush holders and
brushes from their supports on the insulated ring.
Then remove the two screws at the ring of the
outside bearing cap, disassemble the motor as in
Fig. 2. When cleaning, do not immerse the wound
parts in cleaning fluid, merely wipe them off with
a cloth dampened with the cleaning fluid or brush
off the dirt if it is dry and loose. Clean the arma-
ture commutator with fine sandpaper as in Fig.
3. If ridges or grooves appear on the commutator
after cleaning, have it turned down in a lathe and
lightly sand smooth. Then clean out any deposits
between the segments, which might cause shorts,
by scraping with a thin but sharp tool. A quick
test for shorts or grounded wiring in the arma- sembled. Be sure to apply a drop or two of light
ture can be made by having it tested on a growler machine oil on the bearings when assembling the
at your local automotive generator repair shop. motor and install new brushes if the old ones are
If it is found that new armature-shaft bearings worn down to under 7/16 in. in length. Since these
are needed, they can best be installed at a motors operate in a clockwise direction, when
vacuum-cleaner repair shop while you have the facing the shaft, change the direction of rotation
motor apart. At this time also saw off the % in. by interchanging the two brush leads. Later,
armature shaft so that it will project only 1 in. after testing the motor, adjust the insulated brush
beyond the outside edge of the bearing when as- ring so that the brushes will be located at a point

188 SCIENCE AND MECHANICS

where the speed and torque of the
motor will be at maximum. These
motors were also designed to op-
erate in a vertical position and
have a drilled shaft and wick to
supply oil to the lower bearing.
To operate in a horizontal posi-
tion, drill a 1/16-in. hole at the top
side of the extended end of the
bearing so that oil can be applied
directly to this bearing. After re-
assembling the motor, test run it
with a 150 watt lamp connected in
series as in Fig. 4 so that the mo-
tor will o p e r a t e at a r e d u c e d
speed. Check the commutation
and let the brushes run in to a
good fit.
Make the motor bracket (Fig.
5A) and fasten to the motor flange
with three bolts. To make the
slotted holes used to fasten the
bracket to the base, drill three
Vi-in. holes side by side and file
to a slot by hand or with the filing
machine (Fig. 6) described in the
Home Electrical Handbook Vol. 3.
Since it is difficult to purchase a
1-1/2 in. dia. V-belt pulley with a
3/8in. bore, a 1/2 ODx3/8 ID bushing is placed in List for source of supply) make the counter sup-
the 1/2 in. hole of the pulley. Drill through the port bracket (Fig. 5C). Since the counter must
bushing so that the pulley setscrew can be tight- rotate at a one-to-one ratio with the polishing-
ened down against the motor shaft. head shaft, a pulley having the exact same di-
Make the base (Fig. 5B) next by gluing two ameter as the small pulley on the polishing-head
pieces of 3/4 plywood together to form a 1-1/2 (Fig. 7) must be made for the counter shaft. If
in. thick piece. Have a 1/16 in. thick piece of sheet you have a metal-turning lathe this becomes a
steel cut to the exact size of the plywood base at fairly simple matter. Make the pulley for a round,
your local sheet-metal shop and fasten to the base rubber vacuum cleaner belt. Drill and tap the
with six #6x1 in. fh screws countersunk flush pulley for a 6-32 set-screw to fasten it to the
with the steel base top. Dress the edges of the counter shaft. If you do not have a metal turn-
steel top with a sanding disc and slightly round ing lathe, purchase the two 1-1/2-in. pulleys seen
the top corners with a file. Then lay out and drill in Materials List. Bore one to 1/2 in. for polishing
the holes for the motor bracket and spool support. head and bush the other to suit counter shaft.
To finish the base, give it two coats of gray paint A chain and sprocket drive (Fig. 6) which costs
on the edges and bottom of the plywood and at- about $5 for parts, would assure accuracy.
tach four 3/4 in. dia. rubber headed tacks to the The winder parts can now be assembled to the
underside at the corners for feet. base for testing. Loosen the set-screw in the
After purchasing the counter, (see Materials small pulley of the polishing head, slide the

FEBRUARY, 1957 189

 Left, Alternate drive design using chain and sprocket assures positive accuracy in counting number of turns.
Right, Making accuracy check of counter by turning polishing head shaft by hand a counted number of times.
A cotterpin retains spool and spring which applies
braking action on spool to prevent spinning.
threaded shaft and slip the vacuum cleaner belt
on the small pulley. Reassemble the shaft and
place a 6 in. dia. V-belt pulley on the end of the
shaft having the left-hand threads. Bolt the mo-
tor to the base first. Then, with the V-belt on the
motor and polishing head pulleys pulled taut and
in line with each other, mark the base for the
polishing head mounting bolts, drill and fasten
the head to the base. Locate and mount the
counter on the base in the same way.
To check the counter drive for accuracy, mount
a hand-tight drill chuck on the polishing-head
spindle and grip a piece of wire bent to the shape
190
of a handle in the chuck jaws as in Fig. 7. Then
mark the chuck or 6 in. pulley with a spot of
paint or crayon so that the number of revolutions
can be counted as the crank is turned. Set the
counter at zero, turn the crank exactly 10 times
and note the number of turns registered on the
counter. If there is much of a difference in pulley
diameters it will show up on the counter as over
or under 10 turns. If the error in pulley diameter
is only very slight, the counter will probably
register accurately over so few turns. However,
since even a slight error will be cumulative,
it is well to try a hundred or more turns of the
crank if 10 turns show up accurate. If the figures
on the counter are less than the number turned
by hand, it indicates the pulley on the counter
is larger than the pulley on the polishing head.
If the figures are more than the number turned
by hand, the pulley on the counter is smaller
than the polishing head pulley. You can reduce
the diameter of either pulley by putting it in
a lathe and turning the bottom of the pulley
groove down. It is also possible to place a turn
of narrow friction tape at the bottom of the
pulley grooves to make the size correction.
After testing the counter and making the cor-
rections if needed, make the holder for the mag-
net-wire spool as detailed in Fig. 5D. Fasten the
holder to the base with two bolts and using nuts
as in Fig. 8. If various width spools of wire are
to be used, make the bar longer and drill several
holes spaced to suit the spools. Allow space for
the washers and spring compressed enough to
supply some braking action on the spool so that
when the winding is stopped, the spool will not
spin around and tangle the wire.
Part 2 appearing in the next issue (on sale
February 28) will describe the construction of the
variable speed, foot control switch.
SCIENCE AND MECHANIC'S