Motor Remagnetising

[The son of Triangman]

Hi folks, just gauging opinion. I was wondering if there was demand for remagnetising motors still?

Was thinking of setting up a remag service as part of the new business, but wanted to gauge opinion before I look at the idea more in depth. What better place to find out than here?

[Huwsie]

You never know.... some my find it attractive while others may repel the idea....

Sorry - I just had to I'm afraid!

[96RAF]

You could say the answers may be poles apart...

[Yelrow]

reading this sitting in my armachair. john

[Tony57]

 HI SoT

As someone who runs older locos with home servicable motors my responce would be "yes" please. Can you also think about offering a motor commutator rewinding service as well please.

Hope all goes well next week

Tony

[viking]

 SOT, yes please as need some locos done

Do you also do the reprofiling as well to code 100?

[Fishmanoz]

Looks like the service is a keeper SoT.

[The son of Triangman]

Thank you guys, I will put the idea as a possible in my notes, I am trying to work out what will sell and what won't sell for the business.

So far the list of no hopers are:

Sales of spare parts -  A big player has cornered the market

New models, not enough margin to make selling them viable if competing against the model supermarkets.

 

 

 

[Michael_A]

Depends on cost. Replacement motors aren't necessarily that expensive.

[The son of Triangman]

It's a good point Michael A, I think a remag will cost around £2.50 a go plus return p&p, can't see why it would cost more than that, most places are around the £5.50 mark but it's a simple two or three second process to do. A good s/h motor will cost more than a fiver as a rule.

[LCDR]

 I would certainly welcome a cheap and simple to use re-mag service especially if it catered for a reasonable variety of magnet types.  (Can Ringfield's be re-magnetised?)

 

For Tri-ang and similar users a new source of new motor brushes might also  be useful. There must still be plenty of people using X04, X500, EMB  and related open frame motors both in original Tri-ang and in kit and scratch built locos. This ought to be the basis of a small 'cottage' industry for someone with the necessary skills.

 

I presently source motors from old 'clunkers' at toy-fairs where the body is rough as old boots, valve gear wrecked etc. but if you take the trouble to look under the skin the motor just needs a clean and service. But brushes are often the biggest hurdle.

[poliss]

There are at least two places that sell brand new brushes for the motors. No need to buy second hand ones.

[96RAF]

In the event you had a rare motor that you could not find brushes for you can make them from a cheap set of vacuum cleaner motor brushes. A bit of cut and file from a bigger brush makes a lot of little brushes,.

 

And did you know you can solder wires onto carbon brushes - news to me but it works - white man's magic again. 

[Michael_A]

At £2.50, ok, but would that include removal and replacement of the magnet in the motor? I think the demand may be low imited on ability to remove the motor from the loco in the first place, let alone strip it down to remove the magnet, then the reassembly proces.....

[96RAF]

@michael - if you were going to fit neo magnets to any of your motors you would have to go through the same process and while it was in bits you would likely fit new brushes, etc.

 

Maybe it would be better for SoT to offer his service by way of taking your motor, reworking it as necessary and sending it back in one piece, a kind of motor refurbishment facility.

 

That would  obviously drive the cost up, although he would know best how to strip down and reassemble these motors probably better and quicker than most so the motor you got back would certainly be a good 'un..

[Jimbo1707820979]

Sounds like a good idea. Might mean a new lease of life for slightly "tired" locos bought second-hand. Please give it try. 😛

[The son of Triangman]

Good idea, I did look at refurbing/reworking old motors as a future service, but it is very labour intensive to do properly and people won't pay the cost alas as a rule. For now remagentising will be as far as I will go if the demand is there, quick and easy to do. Maybe in time I will dust my old coil winding machine off and get it back to doing work.

 

[96RAF]

@SoT

I used to 'tune up' slot car motors in the 60-70s by rewinding them with a lot less turns of somewhat thicker enamelled copper wire to increase the current draw and thus provide more torque, which could pull a tad higher gearing for more speed - or at least that was the theory.

 

Then the windings were warmed up over a hot plate and Araldite sweated in to bombproof them against falling apart at the subsequent super silly higher RPMs.

 

It was surprisingly easy to do with a simple hand cranked winder I had then, but I don't have now when I could maybe do with it.