ColinB Posted May 30, 2020 Share Posted May 30, 2020 I have been converting my A4s and A3s to 5 pole motors using the "Gordon" motor units off Peters Spares and the A1/A3/A4 motor housing. Trouble is the Gordon unit is a great unit with a 5 pole armature and the gears, it works really well, you get a 5 pole motor cheaply. Trouble is the "Gordon" motor unit uses a diffent shape gear retainer as the motor body is different, so I need a different gear retainer. At the moment I am using the 3 pole version S3968, but there is no individual part number for the retainer for the 5 pole in the Service Sheets, it comes with the gears. Of course you cannot get them any more, so I wondered if anyone knows where you can get an individual gear retainer from. S3968 works ok, but the holes are a bit big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 New modellers shop https://www.newmodellersshop.co.uk/hornby_spares_motors_and_gears.htm list two gear set variants for the 5 pole motor both out of stock. The retainers are a slightly different shape. If the 3 pole retainer is a basic fit you could try soldering up tje holes and redrilling on the correct centres to suit the 5 pole gears. Or you could make a new retainer from springy plastic if you don’t have suitable metal. Credit and loyalty cards are often useful for such jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Yes, I had wondered about soldering up the holes or soldering some bits of copper over the holes and redrilling. Seems funny that they do the 3 pole one as a separate part, but not the 5 pole, but then again that happened with car spares. Ford stopped selling bits and just started selling sub assemblies. Shame the guy that used to do laser cutting is not around anymore, I could probably have got some made. I will get a spare one and experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 Yes, soldering up the holes and redrilling them seems to work, fortunately it is not a bearing surface so it shouldn't wear away the solder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Spare Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 The answer as to why 5-pole gear retainers were never offered is that, as with many of the smaller components made in China, they were never imported other than in gear packs, were never publicly allocated a part number and, allegedly, all individual components would only be produced by the factory when a locomotive incorporating any of those parts was on the production line. The 3-pole version is still available because Margate production was often in excess of known requirements (or purchased in bulk from an outside contractor), unwanted stock eventually being disposed of to parts dealers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 That explains the shortage of spare parts for newer models. The trouble is that and the individual gears are probably are the things that would need replacing, but I suppose that is not an issue to Hornby. Funny that you can get the motor housings. There are probably not many 5 pole Ringfields about, or else someone would be making them. I have fixed the issue at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Yes, soldering up the holes and redrilling them seems to work, fortunately it is not a bearing surface so it shouldn't wear away the solder. The retainer hole is not a bearing surface Colin. I thought you knew everything.The holes are locators for the retainer.The bearing surface is the flat face of the retainer against the face of the gear to stop it falling off the spindle which is a bearing surface with the gear bore, albeit very poor given the spur gear thickness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 No, I don't know everything, there is an awful lot I know nothing about. I did say "fortunately it is not a bearing surface so it shouldn't wear away the solder". Having built Classic Bikes for a number of years and working for a mechanical engineering firm, I do know a little bit about bearings, not a lot, but I must admit my leaning is towards digital electronics and software development. Mind you if you talk about the Arts, I haven't a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted June 1, 2020 Author Share Posted June 1, 2020 Do you know I mailed a popular spares supplier to ask if they did S3968, but with smaller holes to fit the 5 pole motor. I got a reply back saying that it is the wrong size, but I have got one where I soldered up the holes and redrilled them (thanks RAF96 for the idea) that fits perfectly even with my slightly out of line drilling. Am I missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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