Vridar

"Ron you are sssssssssssoooooooooooooooo far over my head."

Miriam, not really. I'm trying to accomplish the same as you are with the dimmer switch for your Dremel. I'm using the inline foot control as a "dimmer" switch. I can set it at 6 different levels. If I set it at the lowest level it will allow the "down stream" foot control to only reach a maximum of very slow. The next level of the inline will allow a little more maximum speed of the "down stream" control. And so on up to the six level not affecting the "down stream" controller whatsoever.

The purpose is to limit the maximum speed of my sewing. I am not expert at controlling speed. This allows me to control the maximum speed and gives more graduated increments of speed. Same as your dimmer switch regulating the speed of your Dremel.

miriam

ok - we had this dimmer switch laying around the garage...

oldsewnsew

Here's another "dim bulb" piece of test gear from the days when I tinkered with old tube radios and hi-fi's.
It is a short circuit detector, that limits the current. It will also slow down a motor, it's not the same principle as a rheostat because almost full line voltage is still across the motor. This is actually a receptacle that came with a socket for one of the old screw in glass fuses. A bulb will light when the motors plugged into it. A motor has almost no resistance unless there is an open in the wiring somewhere. But the circuit breaker for that wall won't trip, even if there's a short, because the bulb limits current, a 1 amp motor, (around 100 watts give or take) with a 100 Watt bulb screwed in, will run about full speed. If you try to stop the motor, the bulb (which was kind of dim) will start to get brighter because the load is increasing.
Again, my caveat is don't get too wild with this stuff, don't do it on a wet basement floor, etc, etc etc...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]471704[/ATTACH] In the first photo, the test box is plugged in, but the motor isn't. Next photo, the motor is plugged in and running [ATTACH=CONFIG]471705[/ATTACH] I think that was a 75W bulb, motor was about 80% of full speed, next photo 100W bulb, brighter, and motor going almost full speed.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]471706[/ATTACH]Please excuse the bare ugly vise jaws on the motor, normally I'd cushion it with something. You may wonder why I did this...dunno just to see what would happen I guess.

SteveH

how about the other end of the tech scale...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]471857[/ATTACH]

This is a slot cutter. This particular tool is going to be used to make the slot in the end of the spool pin shaft for a Willcox & Gibbs Automatic.

this is the slot
[ATTACH=CONFIG]471858[/ATTACH]

NapaJohn

Do you use it in an eggbeater drill?

jlhmnj

Looks like Shock Therapy and Tooth Extraction time. WooHoo!

SteveH

Shudder... no.....hehe

A less than stellar 15 year old knee mill.

oldsewnsew

what? u couldnt work in an old belt driven model that originally was used in Orange Massachusetts?

oldsewnsew

i take it you're making replacement W&G spool pins?

SteveH

Well, I need one for my W&G Handcrank, and it is about the same amount of effort to make a few as it is to make just one... especially if you can set up the correct tools first.