Small 1940 electric motors by Black and Decker

You guessed it.
Yes these are hair dryers.
Purchased by my great Aunt.
Story goes that after Pearl Harbor, a hairdresser in town gave up his shop and in enlisted.
My Aunt who had her own shop, purchased these from him before he left.
She used them all during the war years. The set was eventually spit up between family members and hauled all over. I accired one, then a few years later, another, then after my great Aunt passed..the last one was shipped to me.
Again, all three are in daily use now, and I've managed to keep them running for quite a few years
The most problematic are the switches. (Pics below)
They are a old style Rotory 4 position progressive switch. Off Cold Warm Hot.
Off being one position, then cold witch turns on a fan, then warm witch adds a heating element, then hot witch adds seconds heating element.
If there a malfunction in the switch there the possibility of a heating element on and not the fan!
This has always had me minding them closely, as without the fan running, you don't know it' a element is still on.
These switches have take take a lot ware, since customers are in control of them, and are constantly adjusting the temps, and have been since WWII!
The other dangrious aspect.. Is when there is wearing of the Carbon brushes.
If the brushes ware out.. the fan can stop, but the heating element may still be on! (Below is a pic of a original worn brush.
I've just recently gotten into the switches and cleaned the contacts. I also have some vintage back ups to replace switches as needed.
I'm alway fascinated with Dave's videos, and watch closely when he opens a electric motor.
This isn't the first time I've cracked one of these motors open, but after seeing David with the 1926 Fridgadare motor.. it was balls to the walls for me to service these old timers!

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 3 View Full Size


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Post# 1051077 11/15/2019 at 01:34 (1,623 days old) by Stan (Napa CA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 It was time to service these motors (I have three) so thought I'd share some pics. I was inspired by David after watching his repair of his 1926 Frididare. I paid special attention when he got to servicing the electric motor. I finally had to settle for carbon brushes that will work for them, although I have to modify. Black and Decker was no help, as there is no model number to go by.. Just a I.S number?any of you boys know what the hell the I.S number means? I'm still unsure as to how much "soft grease" is suppose to be used on the front and back bearings. I used very little. I used singer lubricant that has a Vaseline consistency and seams O.K Thoughts?? Pics are shown before adding any to the cup or the felt pad. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 8 View Full Size

Post# 1051111 , Reply# 1 11/15/2019 at 08:31 (1,623 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA)
Checkrate/Likes That's a very interesting motor, for sure. I'm glad my Frigidaire repair encouraged you to service these motors as well! One curiosity I have is; what sort of machine is this? I see one picture of the motor mounted in a round housing with a screen inside it but can't recognize it. Sincerely, David

Post# 1051135 , Reply# 2 11/15/2019 at 13:13 (1,622 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *hair dryer?* looks like might be antique beauty salon type hair dryer? :)

Post# 1051303 , Reply# 3 11/16/2019 at 23:43 (1,621 days old) by Stan (Napa CA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Brendon* You guessed it. Yes these are hair dryers. Purchased by my great Aunt. Story goes that after Pearl Harbor, a hairdresser in town gave up his shop and in enlisted. My Aunt who had her own shop, purchased these from him before he left. She used them all during the war years. The set was eventually spit up between family members and hauled all over. I accired one, then a few years later, another, then after my great Aunt passed..the last one was shipped to me. Again, all three are in daily use now, and I've managed to keep them running for quite a few years The most problematic are the switches. (Pics below) They are a old style Rotory 4 position progressive switch. Off Cold Warm Hot. Off being one position, then cold witch turns on a fan, then warm witch adds a heating element, then hot witch adds seconds heating element. If there a malfunction in the switch there the possibility of a heating element on and not the fan! This has always had me minding them closely, as without the fan running, you don't know it' a element is still on. These switches have take take a lot ware, since customers are in control of them, and are constantly adjusting the temps, and have been since WWII! The other dangrious aspect.. Is when there is wearing of the Carbon brushes. If the brushes ware out.. the fan can stop, but the heating element may still be on! (Below is a pic of a original worn brush. I've just recently gotten into the switches and cleaned the contacts. I also have some vintage back ups to replace switches as needed. I'm alway fascinated with Dave's videos, and watch closely when he opens a electric motor. This isn't the first time I've cracked one of these motors open, but after seeing David with the 1926 Fridgadare motor.. it was balls to the walls for me to service these old timers! Photos... < > Photo 1 of 3 View Full Size

Post# 1051304 , Reply# 4 11/17/2019 at 00:02 (1,621 days old) by Stan (Napa CA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Switches* Dryers were made by Eugene co but motors were black and decker, switches by another co Photos... < > Photo 1 of 3 View Full Size

Post# 1051339 , Reply# 5 11/17/2019 at 08:47 (1,621 days old) by turbokinetic (Northport, Alabama USA)
Checkrate/Likes Fascinating, just fascinating! Got a lot of history to them as well which makes it all that much more important to keep them working. Without knowing how much room there is in the mechanism nor how the whole system is put together - this may or may not be physically feasible but here goes an idea... You can add a relay to the system which will ensure the heat can only function when the fan is receiving power. This could work in conjunction with the existing switch without modifications, but again the layout of the machine could make this impossible or unfeasible.

Post# 1051351 , Reply# 6 11/17/2019 at 11:45 (1,620 days old) by Stan (Napa CA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *HI David* I've thought about that but didn't think about a relay? I kinda thought that might be possible with a modern style rotory switch. One of the pics above shows the 4 wires coming into the back of the switch. The switch is marked with a L 1 2..can't remember..(have to look again) but the manufacture also printed the sane numbers on the termanals they go to on the top close to heating elements. I made notes with multimeter as to what each wire was for. I'm no electrician but was able to use multimeter to test my back up switches that are also very old but have had little use compared to original. Everyone I've talked with has no idea what the I.S number on tbe motor is suppose to mean. So that's still a mystery. I'm going down today to service the last one. Might try to get better pics. As a side note..the man who first owned them is 96 now and is in fairly good shape. He's come by a few times..always smiles when he sees them and likes to hear and see them running. He's a sweet old guy, always with a twinkle in his eyes.