foredom owners(anxiety attack)

[StihlEchoingHusky]

Ok I'll admit I'm probably freaking out over nothing anxiety for me can go 0 to 100 in a instant. I was doing my personal weekly maintenance routine. I Pull brushes (lable them so they go back in the same way they came out) I use low psi compressed air on the motor, I pull the sheath wipe off inner shaft and lighty lubricate with a combination of super lube NLGI 2 grease and super lube lightweight oil. I've been consistently doing this for about 2 years now And I come across this on the one of the brushes. It's hard to see but there is a copper color to the arc residue, I don't know what to call it other than residue. I know that the copper dust is just normal Wear and tear on the commutator but it's never looked like this and it's only showing up on 1 of the brushes. which has me worried that the commutator needs resurfacing or contact pins replaced. Is it normal for it to form just on one brush alone?

 

[Mastermind]

Pictures of the commutator would help.

 

[Al Smith]

Couple of things could be happening .Could be the brush holder and or the tension spring is fouled . This little die grinder is tiny but you might be able to find or modify a dressing stone small enough to get in there .If you want try going to You Tube ,they have the process documented .Fact I've done starter motors on tractors,the 5 HP DC motor on my Monarch lathe .Largest ever were the 300 HP DC motors on giant broaches in the automotive industry .Problem with oiling up or greasing the comp and brushes is it leads to collecting fine debris which just scratches the brush or the comp eventually .

 

[srcarr52]

Wow, weekly maintenance? I haven't done a thing to my SR motor in the 12yrs I've been running it. It's starting to make some odd noises... maybe I should pull the brushes and see how much is left.

As for cables, I usually break them before they need regreasing. I did manage to wear the drive key off one once.

 

[Mastermind]

Wow, weekly maintenance? I haven't done a thing to my SR motor in the 12yrs I've been running it. It's starting to make some odd noises... maybe I should pull the brushes and see how much is left.

As for cables, I usually break them before they need regreasing. I did manage to wear the drive key off one once.

I've replaced the bearings in mine once, and the brushes once.

 

[Sloughfoot]

Might be loving it to death.

 

[srcarr52]

I've replaced the bearings in mine once, and the brushes once.

I looked at the brushes and they were fine. I noticed it was pretty dusty so I blew it out and a whole lot of stuff came out. So far it's been quieter.

 

[Mastermind]

I looked at the brushes and they were fine. I noticed it was pretty dusty so I blew it out and a whole lot of stuff came out. So far it's been quieter.

Mine started squeaking. Figured it might need some attention.

 

[StihlEchoingHusky]

As for cables, I usually break them before they need regreasing. I did manage to wear the drive key off one once.

2 years ago when I bought it I got the heavy duty square drive because prior to it I had the vevor SR knock off and the inner shafts snapped to easy. At the time I was porting cylinder heads for a ls1. After that first month I decided to try foredoms key tip with neoprene seath. Last night was the first time I changed that inner shaft since I got it. I didn't replace it because it broke either. I swapped it out to let it soak in isopropyl alcohol for a few hours. Almost 2 years on that 1 shaft and it's still bend free. From what I've gathered the neoprenes flexibility actually makes them last longer than the normal sheath.

Pictures of the commutator would help.

I ended up wiping the brush off with a paper towel and blew off the commutator and it seems to be working just fine. No extra noises or anything like that. I've got all sorts of electric rotary tools and pneumatic die grinders but the foredom is probably my favorite tool I own. I like it more than my saws.

 

[srcarr52]

2 years ago when I bought it I got the heavy duty square drive because prior to it I had the vevor SR knock off and the inner shafts snapped to easy. At the time I was porting cylinder heads for a ls1. After that first month I decided to try foredoms key tip with neoprene seath. Last night was the first time I changed that inner shaft since I got it. I didn't replace it because it broke either. I swapped it out to let it soak in isopropyl alcohol for a few hours. Almost 2 years on that 1 shaft and it's still bend free. From what I've gathered the neoprenes flexibility actually makes them last longer than the normal sheath.


I ended up wiping the brush off with a paper towel and blew off the commutator and it seems to be working just fine. No extra noises or anything like that. I've got all sorts of electric rotary tools and pneumatic die grinders but the foredom is probably my favorite tool I own. I like it more than my saws.

Interesting. I was thinking of going to a square drive on my 2” roll lock foredom angle grinder as the key drive cables tend to wind up and create an oscillation in the grinder that makes it jump around. I have a motor I use only for that and an SR for everything else.

 

[dangerousatom]

Everything in the Foredom motor is sealed we’re it needs to be ( bearings ) and open we’re it should be. I would refrain from oiling and greasing even the motor shaft. Like mentioned above it can collect or sling to areas and cause caking of fine grindings. You can even get arcing in the brush area if there is a major build up of them. I had it happen in my old dremel tool before upgrading to the foredom. I would occasionally tear it apart clean n lube the crap out of it. Found it seemed to do more damage than good. My grandfather who was a machinist said just blow it out n replace the brushes when they are shot.

If you are actually getting a lot of dust in it after usage, get a 6-8” long type cone filter pre-filter mesh cover and put it inside it.

 

[StihlEchoingHusky]

Everything in the Foredom motor is sealed we’re it needs to be ( bearings ) and open we’re it should be. I would refrain from oiling and greasing even the motor shaft. Like mentioned above it can collect or sling to areas and cause caking of fine grindings. You can even get arcing in the brush area if there is a major build up of them. I had it happen in my old dremel tool before upgrading to the foredom. I would occasionally tear it apart clean n lube the crap out of it. Found it seemed to do more damage than good. My grandfather who was a machinist said just blow it out n replace the brushes when they are shot.

If you are actually getting a lot of dust in it after usage, get a 6-8” long type cone filter pre-filter mesh cover and put it inside it.


View attachment 443138

The only part that I grease/oil is the inner core shaft. A very light amount. I do the mixture because I've found the grade two grease to be a little too thick. I know they make a grade 1 and lower but finding it in stores isn't something I've come acrossed plus I've had a large pail of the grade 2 for a while.

I don't put anything on the motor it's self. On weeks where my usage is ALOT more then normal I'll use CRC electronic cleaner on a q tip and wipe off the commutator bars. But that is only once in a blue moon.

 

[StihlEchoingHusky]

I had it happen in my old dremel tool before upgrading to the foredom. I would occasionally tear it apart clean n lube the crap out of it.

I was like that with my 4300. I had the 8260 before the 4300. I got it because I was in need for continuous power supply. the brushless 8260 was a million times stronger in low speed and was alot quieter. I tried to make the 4300 quieter by doing the same thing. Just the bearings though. I Left the armature and commutator alone but the lubricant squeezed out the bearings and got all over it and caked the stator with grit. It definitely went the opposite direction