Weeden Electric Motor

The early DC motors were two pole types.  This electric motor is very similar to the Electro-magnetic Toy Engine.  Three pole DC motors came a little later, like the Erector set Gilbert  DC motor.  Prior to the rotating motors there were reciprocating motors that worked very much like steam engines.

I heard from John P. that these were mainly used with the Weeden line of steam engines as DC generators.  That makes a lot of sense since Weeden's main product was steam engines.  Also he says to power this as a motor takes a lot of current (8 A @ 6 V seems high?).

Some checking shows some minor problems.  The brush holder has been removed from the frame and you can see a couple of sheet metal brushes.  One of them is too weak to make good contact.  Someone has put a tapered rivet to trap a wire and make contact to one of the brushes, that's OK, but it may also be shorting to the frame.  That wire has a bad solder joint to the wire from the left coil going to the input terminal post on the left.  Much better would be to run the wire directly to the terminal.

There are a number of places where a bare wire is very close to or touching the frame.

It's hard to see in this photo, but on the shiny metal plate between the two coils the word WEEDEN appears engraved into the metal.

The two brackets that hold the shaft are non magnetic.  This is correct otherwise they would be bypassing the armature.  It's not clear if there's an iron bar between the sheet metal base and the sheet metal platform.

Weeden is known for their model steam engines.  This electro-magnetic machine could be used as either a generator or as a motor in a steam engine setup.

The brushes are bent so that the surface that rubs on the commutator is 90 degrees from the mounting surface.

The material has arrived to allow making new brushes.
If you have any exploded parts diagrams or other info on this toy DC motor please let me know.  The way it was assembled does not look like a factory job.
To order a 3" x 3" x 0.009" piece of phosphor bronze see the Phosphor Bronze Brush Kit.

283307 Music Box, W.N. Weeden, Apr 18, 1883, 84/94.1 ; 84/166 - in watch case
318335 Toy Motor, W.N. Weeden, May 19, 1885, 60/669 ; 91/214 - vertical boiler toy steam engine
1735057 Toy Steam Engine, William. Ritchie (Weeden Mfg), Nov 12, 1929, 219/535 ; 104/DIG.1; 219/531; 392/459 - horizontal boiler w/A.C. mains electrical heat

2044737 Toy Railway, William. Ritchie, Ralph Delano (Weeden Mfg), Jun 16, 1936, 246/174 ; 105/37; 105/43; 246/125; 246/206; 246/207 - spring power

Early toy cannons used caps from early pistols.  Then came the firecracker cannons.  Then the roll or disk of paper caps cannons.  Then compressed air and cork cannons.  Then blank firing cannons.

874952 Gas-Gun, William S. Franklin, Dec 31 1907, 42/55 ; 89/7 - acetylene
1057420 Gas Gun, Nelson Goodyear, Apr 1 1913, 42/55 ; 89/7 - boat shape
1352715 Gas Cannon, J.H. Wily, Sep 14 1920, 42/55 - breach removed between shots
1384366 Gas Gun, E.P. Welch, Jly 12 1921, 89/7 ; 446/401 - noise maker pistol
1597447 Gas Operated Cannon, J. Klarke, Aug 24 1926, - external gas generator
1624086 Toy Firearm, James H. Wily, Apr 12 1927, 42/54 - pistol using calcium carbide
1757523 Toy Gas Cannon, M.F. Grimm, May 6 1930, 42/55 -
1765562 Gas Cannon, C.C. Blackmore, Jun 24 1930, 42/55 - mixing chamber seperate from combustion chamber
1789585 Gas Cannon, S. Gormly, Jan 20 1931, 42/55 - provides for scavenging smoke prior to next firing
1806633 Toy Gas Cannon, John W. MacDonald, May 26 1931, 42/55
1806693 Toy Gas Cannon, May 26 1931, 42/55 -fixes smoke and cleaning of water mixing chamber
1807974 Toy Cannon, Birger Engstrom (Forster Mfg Co), Jun 21 1931, 42/55 - complex fix
1854679 Toy Cannon, G.W. Walker, Apr 19 1932, 42/55 - thin sheet metal designed to not explode
1863062  Toy Cannon, J.W. MacDonald, Jun 14 192, 89/7 ; 42/55 - foolproof  fix
1883028 Gun, E.H. Smith, (Smith Welding Equip Co), Oct 18 1932, 42/55 - tripod mounted external gas generator
1883029 Toy Machine-Gun, E.H. Smith, (Smith Welding Equip Co), Oct 18 1932, 42/55 - "
1908070 Gun, E.H. Smith, (Smith Welding Equip Co), May 9 1933, 42/55 - "
1998023 Gas Cannon and Method of Operating same, E.S. Peake (Kilgore Mfg), Apr 16 1935, 42/55 -
2000607 Gas Cannon, E.S. Peake, May 7 1935, 42/55 ; 89/7 -
2046663 Miniature Cannon, G.E. Wade, Jul 7 1936, 42/55 - blocked barrel to prevent shooting something
2094854 Gun, E.H. Smith, (Smith Welding Equip Co), Oct 5 1937, 89/7 42/55 431/278 431/353 89/40.01- machine gun simulator, uses external oxygen & acetylene tanks
2754607 Gas Gun, J.H. Wily, Jly 17 1956, 42/55 - seperate mixing & firing chambers Big-Bang, Bangsite, Carbide Cannon (Wiki)

3022597 Electric Toy Cannon, R.A. Rucker, Feb 27 1962, 42/55 - fires dummy missile, mexternal gas tank

3346984 Combustible Gas Toy Gun, R. Lohr, Oct 17 1967, 42/55 89/7 D21/573 -  M16 lookalike

3365832 Carbide Adapter for Salute Cannon, E.T. Chapman, Jan 30 1968, 42/55 89/7  - looks like shotgun shell

3559325 Gas Noisemaker, J. Webster, Feb 1971, 42/55 102/344 124/56 446/398 89/7 -