Marvelous Magnetic Machines: Building Model Electric Motors from Scrap - Hardcover

by H. P. Friedrichs (Author)

Winner of the Gold Medal for the best HOBBY and CRAFT BOOK 2022, IBPA Book Awards.

This is an absolutely delightful, entertaining and educational read for anyone interested in science, mechanics, electronics, amateur radio, tinkering, or simply "how things work".

From the back cover:

"You're standing in front of an old card table in a driveway at a garage sale. On that table is a one-quart aluminum saucepan, a votive candle holder, pieces of some office machinery, and a wooden awards plaque. What do you see there? If you did not answer "a six-cylinder radial electromagnetic attraction motor," then you need this book!"

H.P. Friedrichs (author of The Voice of the Crystal and Instruments of Amplification) returns this time to explore the principles behind the operation and construction of five simple, yet impressive, model electric motors.

Aspiring mechanical model makers are often discouraged by their lack of access to machine tools, like mills, lathes, or drill presses. Friedrichs demonstrates that with some basic knowledge, an open eye, and a sharp mind, one can use commonly available (and often discarded) parts and materials to engineer one's way around any lack of expensive machine tooling. In fact, every motor in this book was built from scrap, and can be assembled with hand tools.

You'll learn where to hunt for and find materials, and where to salvage suitable bearings. You'll know where useful solenoids can be extracted from scrap, and how to fabricate bobbins to wind your own. You'll learn how to time your motors, fashion a connecting rod, make a commutator from scratch, use a hall effect sensor to detect magnet position, use a transistor as a switch, and much more.