What could be with the motor?

I am just about to pitch an old sewing machine, but it has a good foot
pedal and motor (l/8 hp). I wonder if any of you have ideas about
what could be done with the motor. I have a couple huge Highland Park
grinders, saws, and tumblers, Big I have. small I would prefer, so
if you have ideas here…

It would be great to find a new use for it, in polishing something or
cleaning. I am considering a brass brush at the sink to clean
investment from casting. Would this wee motor do it?

Actually, I have a whole stach of motors. It seems I have a genetic
flaw. I can’t throw away a perfectly good one. I bought an estate
that included an astounding number of them in addition to what i had.
It must be genetic, for as fortune would have it, I recently
’inherited’ my grandpa’s polishing motor!

So you see my problem. I can’t dispose of it, and actually, I need
all sorts of ideas about what to do with motors… If I knew
how, it would be fun to build animated displays but I haven’t a clue
as to how to start…

Perhaps someone knows what size motor is needed for a home-made
table saw? draw bench? paint mixer? investment mixer? What powers a
beadblaster?? Anybody have some ideas??? Please send replies to me
directly. THANKS!! Jeannie

Jeannie, The sewing machine pedal makes a fine speed control for a
variety of devices. Teresa

Greetings: Some years ago I attached a Foredom flexible shaft adapter
to such a motor shaft and converted the setup to a low power high
speed flexshaft tool - it performed fine until I switched over to
Foredom proper. There are adapters for motor shaft from 3/16 to 1/2.
The adapter enables you to insert the flexshaft that you can buy as
standalone from any Foredom dealer.

Regards,
Joe Bokor
@Joe_Bokor2

Jeannie,

We have attached a small polishing wheel to the sewing machine motor
and used the foot pedal to control the speed of the wheel. It works
really good for small jobs. I am sure it must have other uses and
would be interested in know what others have done. Roxan O’Brien

Ah Yes, possible uses for a foot pedal. How about: When production is
slow, just step on the pedal and your employees work faster. Or, when
you are feeling particularly grumpy, step on the pedal and only paying
customers come through the door. Another application requires
attaching a jeweler’s saw blade to the sewing machine and Voila,
broken blades in one tenth the time. I am still trying to figure out
how to get rid of bill collectors, maybe a foot pedal activated trap
door? By the way, if you hook up a foot pedal to your torch, make sure
not to sneeze while soldering a critical piece. Well, I got to step on
it, …where is reverse on this motorized office chair? I keep
bumping into my computer. Will Estavillo
http://www.natureshop-gallery.com

Hi Jeannie, I must confess I have a similar passion for electric
motors. One of the handiest things I have come up with is take a
motor and speed control similar to the one you mentioned. And built
a miniature arbor for it, belt driven from the motor. At about a 4
to 1reduction. I then mounted a 1/2" drill chuck to one end of the
arbor. In to this I can put anything you can put in a drill or
dremal, polishers, wirebrushes, burrs, small sanding disks. This
thing is so handy, I’ll bet you could sell them and make a
fortune… best of all it’s quiet, lowpowered, and not very
intimidating. and yet you can do real work with it. I love mine,
wouldn’t be without it. If this sounds like something you just have
to have. Email back and I’ll try to describe it in more detail. Have
a good one Michael Turley

Hi, Michael. I’ve been following this thread with anticipation,
waiting for the AHA answer. Think your suggestion is brilliant [I frequently mount a dremmel sideways in a vice so I can bring a piece to it–like a mini fibre wheel. This is one of my favourite ways to refine a piece.] I would love to hear a more detailed description of
your Frankenmotor–and I suspect others would too. --Andy