I picked up a 249E at the local TTOS meeting last weekend. After I cleaned up the motor, I tried to install new brushes from my stock of parts, but the brushes seem to be too long. The brush is jammed on the back end by the wire spring and pressed very hard against the commutator. Were the prewar brushes shorter than the postwar versions I use in my F3s, etc?
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Yes.
Gandy
Dale,
Yes the are. You need brush # 1-92 .
Often, if I don't have the shorter brushes on hand, I just shorten brushes of the proper diameter.
I lay them in a V-block, using the end of the block as a guide to keep the brush end flat and square, and file away the excess length.
Brushes are soft, so almost no pressure is required, therefore the end of the V-block comes out unscathed.
I do the work on a piece of newspaper to collect the messy dust that is created.
I used my Xacto saw and miter gauge to trim off about .1" of length, then I used a V-block and 600 grit sandpaper to put a clean perpendicular end on the brush. The brush now has room to move in and out in the brush holder.
Thanks for your help!!
I've shortened hundreds of brushes for prewar trains (622-121 diesel brush). Just make a jig from a steel block drilled to a depth of 0.285" (not including the tapered part of the tip of the drll bit) using a 3/16" bit. Insert the brush (I do two at a time) and file off the excess.
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