Strange, toy electric "steam-like" engine

[Reid]

auction #

280178714499


You guys have seen it all. Have you seen this before?



Although it's a toy powered by a single flashlight cell, it offers visual and operational similarity to a horizontal steam engine; even to a basic gas engine.

One lever control: it reverses direction on the fly without change of electrical polarity:

Control: a single brush, shaped like a wishbone; rocking the brush position alters the phase of contact with the bent-wire crankshaft.
Plus, the motor speed throttles up and down by slight adjustment of the same control.
Ingenious!

I hope you enjoy seeing it. It's mentioned here not so much for sales purpose as for sharing.
I hope this notice is considered "OK" for this thread; I don't want to abuse the posting rules.

Here are direct links to the two demo videos;

straight-up demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k9BXvGNOOA

earlier demonstration (made before I'd learned to adjust the brush)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aWobDU0Cm0

Here's the patent for this exact motor with patent drawing and all, thanks to Google Patent Search
---

Hope you enjoyed the tour,

Reid

[OldironJeff]

While they are hard to find I have seen a couple of large collections of them.I bought one at an antique mall,the owner thought it was'nt all there but it was complete.I played then sent it the ebay way.I have built scratch models and have plans to build more.Thanks for shareing.

[Reid]

Thanks for that, Jeff. I know by reading the patent online, that it was a successful design,
inasmuch as the inventor assigned the patent to the large firm, Manhattan Electrical Supply. They were a big outfit, made electric fans and much more.

So here was a toy for the rich man's son.
I bet they made a bunch of them, and I bet they were not cheap then;
like five bucks, maybe? I hope to find a catalog listing some day.

It's so cleverly done, particularly that easily replaceable brush;
it just snaps into place.

I must have paid MORE than top dollar for the toy when I got it from a dealer at an antiques show;
the dealer was a specialist in toy motors. He did not sell cheap stuff.
The price I paid is still stickered to the bottom of the toy's japaned base.

I ain't sayin' what I paid unless someone here wants to know!
And then they should tell me,

"Well, if you had put that into Microsoft stock,
you'd not be selling toys on eBay today!"

Brothers, don't I know it!

[Mike Monnier]

I've seen several Mesco motors over the years, but that is one of the finest in captivity. I'm not sure how many sizes they made, but I've seen at least 3 different sizes with the double coils. I also have a small single coil version that will fit in the palm of your hand.

[Reid]

Mike, is that what my motor's called, a Mesco?
Anyone got any pictures of these motors?

And Jeff, you've scratch-built and have had one of these;
got any pictures to share?

I've scoured the net looking for identical or similar reciprocating armature motors. Have struck out so far.

Anywho, I paid $165 for the toy 23 years ago when I had pockets stuffed with green.

Anyone got links to pictures of the same sort of thing?

Let's find more.

[Reid]

AHA!

http://uv201.com/Misc_Pages/mesco_motors.htm

MESCO

Manhattan Electric Supply Company


(duh, I'm so slow on the uptake)

[Chris J]

wow, that things cool, its on my christmas list!! Hopefully it doesnt go to high, maybe i can buy it then. who knows, some people have lots of money, some dont...

[Reid]

I'm delighted to share this toy, especially through the first video, which really shows what it's supposed to do. That's enough keepsake for me.

FINDING the name, MESCO, has been a boon: (thank you!)
now the auction has a new illustration (sorry, it came out small),
and a hint for the bidders to go find its source by a simple Google search.

And cool, too, I was fair to term it as an "engine"; that's what MESCO called it: an engine.

The market will decide the value. I'm guessing it might get $200?
Hell if I know though. Ten years ago I was paying more than that for primitive transistor radios.

TIPS: I have a background in clock and watch repair; also in small electrics.

The motor is super-simple, as you all see.
Its pivot bearings (drilled brass cheesehead screws) were pegged clean with oiled wooden splints;
the pivots polished lightly by hand (there was no rust);

the brush, which had one leg deformed too straight by a prior owner,
was stroked back into a symmetrical curve.

The brush (would be easy to make a new one) snaps into its holder;
no tools needed--that's a brilliant feature of the design.

The pivots were lightly oiled with Tri-Flow (a light synthetic).
The armature guide pins were offered a mere suspicion of the same oil;

likewise, the crank throw and the commutating surface were lightly oiled;
the oil suppresses spark, reduces wear and friction.

To really extinguish the slight sparking that can otherwise occur,
a film capacitor across the battery terminals would probably do the trick 100%.

I hope this helps. And as a bonus, it's in that original, great, perfect black paint that I wrote about last week on the hit and miss panel.

Japan black is the -only- black paint that can always be matched.
Because (this is neat) the substance that gives it its resin and color is as old as the dinosaurs:
fossilized asphalt called gilsonite; always a jet perfect black.


PS: Have added a hand cranked siren to my auction list.
Time to shuffle toys so I can get a hit and miss engine someday!

[Elden DuRand]

Group:

I don't have any of the originals but, in my spare time, I build what I call "Electromotors". They are a good way of cheating the junk man.

Go to my web page:

http://www.oldengine.org/members/durand/

and navigate yourself to "Otherstuff" and "Electromotors".

Take care - Elden

[Gene O. Carpenter]

Aw shucks, I was just going to say Elden builds stuff like that all the time!!!

....................................... .........

[Reid]

Amazing imagination Elden, amazing ability.

IF only your electromechanical brain could be harnessed to make giant machines! Peanut butter would be much smoother!

Truly, many smiles and gee-whizzes given by your Electromotor page.
Salutes to the Inventor!

[KidDynamo]

I bought a small version of this motor for a couple bucks at a garage sale, although mine looks a little cheaper made and has a pot-metal flywheel, as I recall.

It will run on a flashlight battery or two and the "control lever" provides for reversing too. Mine goes either direction, depending on lever position.

[Mike Monnier]

Attached is a picture of my little one. There is no provision for a reversing lever on it. The base and flywheel are cast iron. I can't guarantee it's a MESCo, but it certainly copied their design. I just bought it because I hadn't seen one that small before.

[Bill Geyer]

Those are very nice motors, I've never seen one, thanks for sharing. Here's a couple of utube links to motors I built.

[OldironJeff]

My motor was just like Mike's
Bill,I made an electric motor like that one in 7th grade shop class.My son says it's not Shop Class its Intro Tech (Introduction to Technology).

[Chris J]

sold for $162.50 wow, i wanted to buy it, hopefully it went to a good owner! Now im after the one listed in our news paper, it is the largest one made, # 1011 from 1910, thats what they say. what is it worth? they said it runs and is in great shape, asking price is $175.

[Mark Bruto]

Here is the ebay # for a Mesco new in the box that just sold 190180103621

and here is a very cool solenoid outboard motor boat motor 190180121540

there is also another Mesco that ends soon 190180108869

Enjoy!

[John Davidson]

Here is one that looks like a steam engine complete with the fake boiler. It is call HOGE. Probably from the 1920s. This one uses 110 volts which makes it run very fast so I use a variac and it runs better at about 55 volts. I bought it from a friend of mine at Portland this year.

[Allen]

I paid $5 for a similar engine (The paddle was on the other side of the coil and the connecting rod ran over top of the coils - a configuration that I've only seen a couple times since, but the paint was about half gone) at a yard sale about 15 years ago. I cleaned the contacts, adjusted the main bearings a wee bit, and lubed it up.... and it ran like a champ.

About a week later a "buddy" of mine talked me out of it for $40 (he said he wanted it to go with the one he had for a display at our show)...then promptly resold it for $120