Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jkevn on January 24, 2010 at 11:12am

it would not be my first choice.....slowing ac fans down with a rheostat can cause them to create a great deal of heat....which is no longer being removed by the air movement of the fan. Aint gonna last long like that. I dont know if you could get it to maintain that slow speed reliably enough to wind a pup. But....a smaller dc motor from rat shack, or a kids toy...now yer talkin.

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Permalink Reply by JUJU on January 24, 2010 at 12:01pm

A good choice for anything like that is a Sewing Machine motor and foot speed control - thats what i used to make mine , works a treat , and theres always lots on ebay "cheap"

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Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 24, 2010 at 1:25pm

Can a ceiling fan rheostat be used on a sewing machine motor in lue of the foot pedal ?

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on January 24, 2010 at 2:52pm

Yes to Bob, I am successfully using a rheostat to slow down a sewing machine motor. Even though the hardware store guy said it would blow it up. Hasn't so far :)

In addition, I have geared down the motor with a pulley to get it in the range I want it.

I tried the foot pedal thing first, but the one I had was terrible. It was either on or off, very hard to get the speed in the middle where I wanted it.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 24, 2010 at 3:29pm

Thanks for the info on the rheostat. What does the out side diameters of your pullys mesure?
Skeesix said:

Yes to Bob, I am successfully using a rheostat to slow down a sewing machine motor. Even though the hardware store guy said it would blow it up. Hasn't so far :)

In addition, I have geared down the motor with a pulley to get it in the range I want it.

I tried the foot pedal thing first, but the one I had was terrible. It was either on or off, very hard to get the speed in the middle where I wanted it.

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Permalink Reply by Tim on January 24, 2010 at 5:36pm

i wouldnt use a reostate on just any motor it can cause problems you need to make sure your using a variable speed motor not a multi speed motor.

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Permalink Reply by jim on January 24, 2010 at 9:12pm

yup, i also use a dimmer switch on my sewing machine winder, no promlems. foot peddles on sewing machines are the same thing, their made for them.

Bob Harrison said:

Can a ceiling fan rheostat be used on a sewing machine motor in lue of the foot pedal ?

.

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Permalink Reply by Jimbo Cawthron on January 25, 2010 at 12:41am

Thanx for all of the input, y'all are great, thats why I like this community so much.
So now its off to find a sewing machine.

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Permalink Reply by Tim on January 25, 2010 at 4:06am

also look for a cheap variable speed drill they are pretty easy to find in a pawn shop.

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on January 27, 2010 at 6:24am

Bob Harrison said:

Thanks for the info on the rheostat. What does the out side diameters of your pullys mesure?
Skeesix said:

The little pulley is just what's on the end of the sewing machine motor shaft - it's 1/2" or so. The big pulley is 4.5". I couldn't find what I needed commercially, so i just made my own out of acrylic.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Harrison on January 27, 2010 at 8:47am

Thanks, this really helps.

Skeesix said:

Bob Harrison said:

Thanks for the info on the rheostat. What does the out side diameters of your pullys mesure?
Skeesix said:

The little pulley is just what's on the end of the sewing machine motor shaft - it's 1/2" or so. The big pulley is 4.5". I couldn't find what I needed commercially, so i just made my own out of acrylic.

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Permalink Reply by Jimbo Cawthron on January 30, 2010 at 5:10am

Well I went ahead and tried something.
I was at lowes one day and they had some of those slide dimmer switches in the mark down cart for 4 dollars so I got it.
Took it home and wired it up to my fan motor.
it worked with no sparks or shorts, so I turned the speed up and let it run for a while then slowed it down and let it run for a while.
No excessive heat build up!
So I put my practice bobbin on and started winding with sewing thread.
I worked fairly well, now I need to do some fine adjustments and I will try the real thing when I get my wire.
Just to let yall know....... I confired with an electrician friend of mine be for I did this and he told me the worst that could happen is that I would burn the motor up, but he didn't think it would using it for that short of time.
I will post a pic latter.

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