Q AmatGur ■ 

 Electrician 



T^nd Wii-eless OpGrator 



O' 



An Improvised Coil Winder for 

 Electrical Apparatus 



COIL winding is a very difficult 

 operation for the amateur, espe- 

 cially where it is desired to have 

 the outside surface smooth and neat. 

 To do it correctly the spool upon 

 which the wire is wound must be re- 

 volved at a medium speed while the wire 

 is fed on with a guide or by hand. 



The work of winding some coils 

 10 in. long was quickly accomplished 

 by the aid of a machine made as shown 

 in the illustration. Two trestles were 

 used to which a baseboard or ways 

 of the devised lathe were attached. 

 The tail-stock consisted of a wood 

 block fastened to the ways with a 

 bolt having a thumb-nut on the 

 underside. The block was bored 

 centrally near its upper end and a 

 bolt placed in it 

 with a waste nut 

 screwed to one sur- 

 face for the feed. 

 A hand -wheel 

 found in the scrap 

 served to turn the 

 bolt. The end of 

 the Ijolt was filed 

 down to a point for 

 the dead center. 



The lathe- head Winding an eighteen-inch 



consistcdofabreast improvised lathe 



drill attached with clamp-bolts to a 

 piece of the proper height fastened to 

 the opposite end of the ways. A spur 

 center was used in the drill-chuck for 

 turning the spool. Spools of varying 

 lengths can be placed between these 

 centers and turned by means of the crank 

 on the drill. 



In winding the coil the ordinary wood 

 rest can be used as a guide for feeding 

 the wire. — Willard George Cook. 



De-Sulphating Storage- 

 Battery Plates 



NE of the chief causes of loss of 

 efficiency in lead accumulator cells 

 is sulphation. White sulphate of lead 

 usually forms on the active material 

 and at a point where it is least wanted — 

 at the junction of the metal supports 

 and the pero-xide. The formation of this 

 sulphate is due either to the impurities 

 in the oxide employed, foreign sub- 

 stances in the lead or lead alloy, or 

 chemical impurities in the sulphuric 

 acid or water. 



One way to remove the sulphate is 

 to charge at a somewhat higher rate 

 than normal and to continue charging 

 some little time after the cells 

 are gassing freely. This meth- 

 od either reduces the sulphate 

 to the peroxide or causes it to 

 fall away from the plate. 

 A quicker and more satis- 

 factory way, how- 

 ever, is to add about 

 I oz. of sodium car- 

 bonate (Na2 CO3) 

 to each cell. This 

 not only reduces the 

 tendency of the ele- 

 ments to sulphate, 

 but rapidly removes 

 the salt that is al- 

 made of a breast drill ready formed. If 



the amount mentioned docs not result in 

 removing the sulphate, another ounce 

 can be added to each cell; but no more 

 than this should be put in. Unless the 

 cell is in a very bad condition i oz. will 

 usually do the work. After putting in 

 the sodium carbonate, the cell or cells, 

 should be charged at a rate of from 13 

 to 15 amperes for 8 hours. 



The de-sulphating solution should be 



coil on an 



mixed with a varying amount of water, de- 



787 



