If I put this up for sale it will be on my website: www.handtoolrescue.com

I've been doing motor repair professionally for over 35 years. That "string" is lacing that was doped in-place to keep the winding leads, attached to the commutator segments, from being pulled out of position by centrifugal force. The lacing should have been redone and "doped" (cemented with high temperature motor winding epoxy ). If this motor is used for any length of time it will have a catastrophic failure due to this major oversight. There is a special tool used for "under cutting" the space between the segments of the commutator. The tool removes a precise amount of the insulating bedding material the segments are embedded in and chamfers the leading and trailing edges of the segments to reduce wear, chatter and arcing of the carbon brushes, a very important step in turning a commutator. Minimally, these two items should be corrected before this motor is put in service.

Holy Crap! Speed and direction, one lever, no clutch. It's just bloody beautiful and elegant.

As a retired auto mechanic I really appreciated this video. I remember the old days when we actually repaired and reconditioned things like starter motors and alternators, rather than replace them. Thanks for this great video.

Though I am an old lady in my mid-70s by now, these kinds of videos bring back fond memories of being with my dad in his workshop, turning things on the lathe, and so forth. He could fix anything. If he needed a specialized tool he didn't have, he would design and make it. And he was from the generation that only had an 8th grade education! It makes me happy to see that there are young folks who still embrace these skills instead of just throwing things away. (And yes, at my age, "everyone" else is a youngster! LOL)

Leland made a lot of specialty motors. Phase shifting, repulsion, induction and wound rotor motors. I love the designs of these machines and now they are quite rare as most have been scrapped or thrown out due to misunderstanding of them. I have a complete selection of them and would love to see them in a good home. I'm a retired Westinghouse motor designer and probably won't be around that long. I have many Leland Dynamotors too!

I am 73 year old and this is the first time I have seen a motor like this one. Excellent!!!!!!

An old repulsion induction motor! With exterior reversing handle. I had one I would play with, years ago. Repulsion induction motors are known for their torque and that they are reversed by moving their brush cluster. Not seen much today, a personal favorite! Great job!!

I appreciate you actually restoring this. Most of these videos they just take it apart, clean it, throw a coat of paint on it and put it back together.

Still the only intro I don’t skip.

“Reversing the motor adds material back…” Superb restoration and the exact amount of humor!

That brought back some memories. I was in the Coast Guard and stationed on diesel electric large bout tenders in the great lakes. They used two engines connected to generators that put power to a main motor, connected to the single shaft and prop. Just imagine that motor being 10 feet in diameter and switching back from full forward to full reverse constantly during the day while ice breaking or tending buoys. It's a sight to see. Thanks for the video.

At 7:46, I was glad to see you add solder to make a better connection, I have seen so many fails, because people thought clamping would work by itself.. Saving all the old wire you could, showed me you respect the the makers.. Loved seeing you didn't modify it with modern bearings, using the old oiler's was a class move.. If you find out what it was made to power, please update it for us.. I love history, especially industrial topics.. IE Motors & Machines.. Thank you for sharing, always a treat to watch..

There's something special about those small oil filler ports with their little lids... love them!

Been an Electrician all my life and never seen a motor like this. Pretty amazing and way ahead of its time.

When I went to Electrician's Mate "A" School iin 1978 they taught us about variable-speed, reversing DC motors, but I've never seen one. So cool!

I love hearing the snap of the screws hitting a magnetized parts pan!!!! Thank You for giving me the vibrational strength to keep Truckin' on Brother!!!!

The wiggle of the ear proves the commitment of the craftsman to the necessity of the head smash! Another wonderful restoration! Always tell my friends to watch and enjoy your videos!

There's just something magical about seeing an old machine get cleaned up and sparked back to life. Thanks for sharing.

Brilliant! I've never seen one of these, but as soon as I saw the handle I knew exactly what it was. Thanks for a very informative video.

The last few minutes explained the concept WAYYY better than the online course I'm taking at work! Great job!!

Came for the thumbnail that looked like a baby minigun, stayed for the '90s sitcom intro. (and then sat through the whole video because it's great)

The wind blown noise effect is a nice addition to the soundtrack.

Takes me back to time spent in a motor rewind shop in the US Navy, when I learned how things worked. I still have and occasionally refer to my copy of Rosenbergs. Very nice restoration, with proper respect for an old tool.

I watched this video closely. The amount of work involved in restoring it is absolutely MURDER! The one important step which I believe was skipped is checking the windings with an ohmmeter. I also think a high-voltage should have been applied to test the leakage of the insulation of the windings to the case (and hope and pray and keep fingers crossed) it passes the test! The engineering involved in designing this old motor is awesome. Your job of cleaning it up with extremely hard work is excellent!

Glad I could have a very small role in bringing this crazy motor back to its former glory!

Cleaning the copper from between the bars must have been so fun. Good job!

Thank you for the video. I remember my dad taking apart motors to fix them. Such a simple and maintainable motor. Too bad we don’t have similar nowadays.🎉

A homerun restoration. Beautiful. You really knocked it (and almost yourself) out of the ballpark. Thank you.

"reversing the file adds material back" Its these engineering insights I come here for. Why did I not know this before. On the down side, my fingernails are now four feet long.

Love the way your videos move along. I almost never skip ahead. You have found the right balance between showing the essentials, yet not belaboring the point. Also love the comedic touches. Great work.

Been here sense almost the beginning of the channel... I so enjoy HTR vids. One reason is I get to see something fully restored without having to do any work whats so ever! Still, the most bizarre machine I've ever seen was that Pogo Compactor. Learning to operate that thing without getting killed would be half the fun.

Awesome Restoration! I've used one of those before at my retirement job to test the alternators I've rebuilt. Your video brings back memories.

It's so wonderful that you don't add music, just the real sounds.

These sort of motors are apparently called "repulsion motors" ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repulsion_motor ). They seem to be very similar to a normal brushed AC motor (e.g. vacuum cleaner) but are wired up differently. My $0.02 for what it's worth. In a regular AC motor, mains current passes through one stator coil, through the rotor via the brushes, then out through the other stator coil. However, in a repulsion motor, mains is connected only to the stator coils. The brushes are shorted together. Depending on the angle of the brushes relative to the stator, that determines whether it runs fowards, backwards, or is stationary. It's now got me wondering if it would be possible to convert a regular AC motor into a repulsion motor with a bit of tinkering!

An absolutely beautiful restoration! My best friend in youth during our high school days was an apprentice at a electrical motor repair shop through the school co-op program. This was in the 1960's and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he was familiar with these motors! They were definitely quality built and meant to last!

I have 3 of these in some form or another from old printing presses 1890’s-1940’s. Love seeing someone restore them.

Hands down, the BEST restoration channel on YT. New uploads never fail to make my day just a bit better.

Few things in life are more eagerly anticipated than a new HandToolRescue video!!

Thanks for your service. Saving instead of trashing. Awesome little motor.!

the sound of it winding up was so unexpectedly satisfying! I immediately though of the old Time Machine movie or something.. all you needed was an old flap wheel date counter readout in the background.

Reversing the filing machine... That was a gag worthy of This Old Tony.

Not gonna lie. I subscribed immediately after watching your intro like 3 years ago and you have failed to disappoint.

These repulsion engines are still in production for honey extractors. Brilliant job. Many thanks.

I love these videos. I too like to restore old tools, and equipment. I don’t always tear things down as far as you do, but sometimes just enough to get things working. My hat is off to you for your sticktoitiveness, and my head is getting cold. - Jon, Taylor Iron Works

I'd been feeling particularly down and sorry for myself but watching this video took my mind off things. Then at the end "Reversing the file adds material back" you got me. Thanks for the laugh, and for all the work that goes into these videos. It's appreciated more than you might know.

Ciertamente creo que ya NO existen más estos motores eléctricos. Una verdadera lástima!!. La ingeniería del siglo 20 sigue siendo FANTÁSTICA, simple, efectiva, durable y por demás confiable!!. Que pristina restauración. Felicitaciones señor!! 😊

I was in the Royal Navy and worked on commutators like this. We called the process skimming and undercutting. Skim on the lathe and undercut the insulators.. We would grind down the offsets on an old hacksaw blade to undercut so that it fit the slots. I enjoy watching your videos!

Having done work on hydroelectric plants built in the 1900s brings back great memories thanks for sharing Rincon Indian Reservation Valley Center California

This technology is still very useful and much more durable in industrial environments than solid state motor controllers. However please be advised: when the motor is going full speed and then is slammed into reverse the motor will create a voltage spike in the line. Any delicate electronic devices sharing the house wiring may be damaged. This principle is refered to as dynamic breaking. (when a running electric motor is disconnected and leads shorted to rapidly stop it). The motor momentarily becomes a generator until the inertia is lost. The leads can also be shorted with a high amperage resistor for less violent breaking. This brushed motor most likely can also run on DC. Great videos. Watching from far far away.

The lighting and composition of the head smash replay is genius

There is a certain simple elegance to this design. Today we do it electronically & think we're so cool!

I just found your channel and found this restoration very interesting. As well as the motor itself. I've never seen one like it. Now I have something else to else to search for. Thanks.

Finally someone that knows how to join wires and use heat shrink.

The sound it makes when you vary the speed is so satisfying!

Wow that was really cool. That's good stuff! That's the kind of thing my Grandpa would know how to do. I wish I had a head start learning stuff like that. Something about restoration warms my heart man. Plus I love the motor! I've never seen one like that. Well done Sir 😊👍

Knowledge + Tool + Time = Success. Very enjoyable video. Thank you

very interesting and i have been a tool freak for most of my life of 78yrs. but i don't remember seeing one of these as all my motors are one or two speeds. But the main thing here is the absolutely perfect restoration of this motor. Thanks for just doing the work and not chit chatting about it. I'm a new subscriber today and hope to see many more of your creations and vintage tools.

What a great idea for a motor... it's got that slight tinge of danger even after the (most likely) better than new restoration. This is the kind of tool you just instinctively know not to turn your back on. What a great video. Thanks for making it!

I loved that the mistakes were left in the video along with the funny parts. Great job restoring.

Hats off to you. You are a real "craftsman", not a "Crapsman". I have seen too many nice antiques and nice things ruined by Crapsman. I have never seen a motor like this, very nice. Thanks for saving it from scrap. If I were you, I would add it to your collection.

I love the use of the right angle electrical conduit to make the switch. Great idea. Nice work

Yes!!! I’ve been waiting for a new video. Good thing I’m at work and I’m completely willing to stop what I’m doing to sit down and watch this.

WOW I've got to say I've seen this on a UKposts short haven't watched this video but I can already say it is gorgeous when you're done. Fantastic!

Years ago, my father had a business rebuilding motors. He would strip them down to bare metal, rewind new coils, refit new bronze bearings and paint the external parts. He used some type of white wool in the oil wells, not cloth. Originally, the winding wire was cotton-covered enamel. When wire insulated with Formvar came out, he switched to that. I remember him cutting Holland cloth for insulating windings. Also, I remember him carefully redoing the armatures, including undercutting the material between the commutator bars. This was in the 1940s and '50s. It seemed like a lot of work, but I suppose it was feasible for specialized motors at the time. th

I've never seen an electric motor like that before, and I've spent most of my life around tools and equipment from the 10's to the fifties. Awesome! The speed control and reversing works on an electrical timing principle. Moving the handle, and thus the brushes, makes the magnetic interaction of the opposing fields happen sooner and increases the power / rpm. When you move the handle to the middle the opposing forces are directly over each other and nothing happens. Great video!!

Bent handle was probably an indication of the predominate direction the motor was used. Maybe high speed in one direction, (hard over) and slow speed in the other direction negating going hard over. Good stuff. We were taught shifting the field for speed and direction but never had our hands on it. Thanks.

Not sure what I just watched. But I can appreciate the love this man has of his skill and craft. It's good to have the resources ($) to be able to do whatever you want, whenever you wish. I am envious. God bless!

Took me back to Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, early 1960s. A Mr. Menna, "Electricity/Motors, teacher/docent: "Gentlemen, before "modern generators" using current and voltage sensing relays, a system was used to balance the required current/voltage at city speeds, versus Highway cruising speeds to charge a car's battery. This was known as: "the third brush system" applied to the commutator of a generator." You will probably never encounter this system in your "careers". It is a museum piece, much like the Gramme ring motor." Being too busy "learning" I never thought about it again, until I saw your restoration. A universal MOTOR with 4 carbon brushes, fixed to a radialy rotatable plate; Eureka! How is this electrical machine wound and wired? Have you thought to experiment: by mechanically "driving" the rotor and measuring, and plotting the output voltage versus speed? How about using an Ohm, resistance meter, to shed some light on the nature of the windings? Is it simply a 2 pole motor? (by Ocham's razor?) The fact that the commutator bar looks "normal" i.e. coaxially and straight = same commutating resistance, plus wear and tear pattern in both directions. Similarly for the "straight vanes of the cooling fan. Would submarines have used these systems as propulsion control in WW1? As generators? Any info about: the manufacturer, the application of this motor? Power versus speed curve? De gustibus non disputandum; I would have painted the laminations black; "to enhance the heat dissapation", (if necessary, and contrast to the red, awesome, and yellow of the brass. Nice job. My respect, Sir.

That is so cool. I rebuilt 3 of those, one was just about identical without the tags. One of the other two had never been out of a box. And was 100% old new…… cool stuff man👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🍺 (you just moving the electrical field to reverse it) Great For Old School Lifts. Just hook it up to a reduction motor. And you’ve got some serious power!

*_One of the very best restoration videos I have seen on the internet. And the camera work, and showing detail was absolutely first rate. Excellent video!_*

An almost lost art/science. Until my grandpa died at the young age of 58 in 1959, he owned Vandall's armature rewinding shop in Des Moines, IA. I loved being in his shop. Fantastic video!

I love old tools and have a collection which started with my father's 1930's hand tools he actually used. I display them and don't redo them because I feel they've worked hard during their lifetimes and deserve to rest in retirement, and because the look of wear and age means a lot to me. However, I don't object to others repairing and redoing old tools if that's what they want. Having said that, I found this video oddly satisfying. Nice work!

Interesting motor; I've never seen, nor heard of such a thing, and I have friends that have come across a lot of unique equipment. I have been able to weld cast iron with a wire feed welder, and it's held up perfectly. I first discovered it would work, after my dad tipped over our Harbor Freight drill press, and broke the platform crank in two. I made the obligatory double-groove grind for the braze, and thought I'd try out my new wire feed welder, with ER70-S7 wire, just to tack the edges together. It went really nice, so I thought I'd make a base pass. That went so well, that I welded it completely, and it never broke again, even after scrapping it some 30 years later. That went so well, that I welded a huge crack in my neighbor's 390 Ford exhaust manifolds. He held the rosebud down there to keep it cherry red, and I made pass after pass, filling in the gap. He drove it for several years, and they still weren't leaking 15+ years later, when he sold the truck. I found cast iron welds at a much lower temperature.

Im studying to be an electrician, we have one of these ate school. They went the way of the dodo when cheap inverters/speed controllers became available, because they have a massive flaw many other motors share; it has brushes, and brushed motors require maintenance much more often than induction motors. Asynchronous motors on the other hand only need yearly lubrication of their bearings for the most part.

I love these old tools, I have a Desmond Stephen MFG Co old Vise from about 100 years again handed down to me, it will last forever.

GOOD job MAN , a real work of art and power!!!

Very interesting! I've never seen this precise device before. The commutator is just a switch that applies current to successive windings as it rotates. The electromagnetic forces make it turn. However with the extra brushes you can produce two fields that will balance each other at the central position. In theory it will then be drawing a minimal current due only to eddy currents and any losses. It's a very interesting concept. I think that string should have been replaced and lacquered down with a shellac of some kind as it supports the wire ends of the armature (rotor?) coils. Good job and instructional video. I wonder what it was used for?

To put it simply, the electromagnet created in the windings is interacting with the fixed magnets in the casing. As you move the location of the brushes, you're changing the direction and efficiency of push. As you move further away from center, the motor gets more and more efficient- ie: more speed. The energy is still going through the armature in other positions but- instead of creating torque, it's creating heat- which it likely why they're not made anymore. Too many barn fires.

The content, the intro, the hands. This channel is top tier.

"they don't make 'em like that anymore" Love your intro, reminds me of perfect strangers

That pause when you pulled the wire out of the shrink tubing killed me

Awesome restoration, explanation, and demonstration of this fascinating piece of engineering for any time period.

Oh it’s an early VFD! A single phase one at that! That is sweet!

My cousins grandfather had a similar unit. A cabinet maker he early on embraced power tools and was able to use a reversible motor to operate a number his power heads / tools. Thanks for sharing. Narragansett Bay.

Thanks for the note on reversing the file to add material. I need that for a current project.

That is cool!!! I always love watching your restores..Great job!!!

Please don't divulge how to rewire a house so the power meter runs backwards.

This is without question the coolest electric motor that I have ever seen. Why on earth is some company out there not making these? I would replace almost every single motor in my shop with one of these if I could get them.

That is so cool. I want one forward and reverse variable speed. That’s crazy. Thank you.

Man, that is one of the coolest motors I’ve ever seen!

That does look like a very cool component. And the way the front pulley is partly made of wood is quite fascinating. Great job restoring this.

Thank you! I didn't know I needed that. But, it was a relaxing video to watch.

Just found this when you think you have seen everything here comes a guy to show you something new. Amazing job Thanks for sharing

Incredible! Nice Restoration Work! Cool motor!!! Thank you for sharing🙏👍❤️😊

Now that’s a neat variable speed bi-directional motor! I can see it being used on an electric 4x4 kiddie truck!

Out standing rejuvenation of history.

Amazing to see this insane motor! Lots of love and good wishes from the Indian Himalayas ❤

Great stuff. This speaks to my soul. I think almost everything can be restored and I hate getting rid of anything that has a chance of being fixed. Subscribed and liked!

Great vid ! That fibrous material you removed @3:07 was there a a kind of "wicking" or a tiny "sponge" to help hold the light machine oil that was squirted in from a can into the spring loaded metal cap opposite the bearing to lube it. This was routine maintenance on most quality motors, generators & starters of the era. But the bearings lasted too long that way so they adopted the modern "maintenance free" bearings.