I purchased a NOS armature for a five-digit Hudson or Northern (e.g. 21130 or 21139) and am surprised to see the shaft is bronze or copper in color instead of silver (steel). I've never seen that before with a Gilbert AF armature. Have you? What might be the explanation for this? Thanks.
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I purchased a NOS armature for a five-digit Hudson or Northern (e.g. 21130 or 21139) and am surprised to see the shaft is bronze or copper in color instead of silver (steel). I've never seen that before with a Gilbert AF armature. Have you? What might be the explanation for this? Thanks.
SG,
Are you sure it's bronze? Use a magnet on it to determine if it's steel or not. My guess is that the armature, being NOS and rather old, has acquired a bit of "patina" over time, and the color is reflecting that. Try cleaning the shaft very carefully with a bit of solvent. Then lubricate with a good Teflon or lithium grease, and instal. Also make sure there is electrical conductivity between the commutator segments.
Congrats on obtaining an NOS piece, by the way! Hope it runs well for you!
Jerry Poniatowski
Wayne, MI
I have had a couple of armatures before made with what appears to be brass stock for the shafts. Pretty sure they are NOS
Al
if the shaft is magnetic (indicating it is steel), my guess is that the shaft may have missed a step in the chrome plating process. In some chrome plating processes, a layer of copper is plated before the chrome is applied. It could be that the chrome was never applied to this shaft and the defect was not caught before the shaft was assembled into a complete armature.
or it could simply be dirty or coated with an oily film.
I tried a magnet and it is definitely attracted to the shaft. Thanks.
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