Paces Races Restoration Progress Continued January 26

The motor is removed and disassembled.  There are again some surprises.  A couple of the seals are broken, the lock washer comes off in pieces, the armature needs to be turned and one of the brush retainers is frozen and will not turn.

paces races motor removed

The motor comes out of the game easily, four bolts.  The game uses a ladder chain from the motor to the crank, from the crank the length of the game, and from the other end of the game to the piano roll mechanism.  The shuttle is able to attach and detach from the ladder chain when resetting the horses as it goes back and forth.  Ladder chains are still available and are used when motion needs to be synchronized.

paces races brush holder

One of the biggest concerns when disassembling the motor is the condition of the brush holder.  It appears the Bakelite insulator has been abused and the slot cracked.  The holder is supposed to unscrew and allow the brushes to be removed through the hole and replaced.  The Bakelite is an insulator preventing the brush holder from contacting the case of the motor.  Eventually no encouragement could get the holder to move so I needed to drill it.  Happily the holder came out and could be reused if held together with a small bolt.

paces races armature

The armature looks to be in good condition.  This is one of the biggest concerns when restoring any of the games based on the Paces Races as they are not available.  Parts are scarce.  It appears the commutator needs to be turned as the brushes have worn ridges.

< paces races motor disassembled

The motor is completely disassembled.  There is a seal on the right that tore when removing the plate.  The seal holds the lubrication in the bearing race.  The brushes appear to still have some life.  The lock washers were broken due to over tightening.  The helical cut gears are in good condition.  It appears the lubrication has evaporated and left a thin coat of varnish on all the gear surfaces and bearings.