Variac brush repair

• To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
• Subject: Variac brush repair
• From: Gary Lau 13-Dec-1998 1211 <lau-at-hdecad.ENET.dec-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twf-at-verinet-dot-com>)
• Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 14:43:49 -0700
• Approved: twf-at-verinet-dot-com

I have  a Superior Electric Powerstat 120V/15A variac whose brushes are
just about at the end of their life.  While my first choice would be to
simply buy a new set of brushes, I fear this may be hard to come by.  If
anyone knows if it is possible to buy replacement brushes, please do let
me know!

Anyway, I was considering the possibility of repairing the old brushes.
They appear to be brass blocks with a carbon brush soldered into a notch.
While I'm sure I could find another carbon brush and machine it down to
size, I'm not certain about how it's secured in that brass notch, I doubt
that carbon is solderable unless it's copper plated.  Has anyone else
attemped such a repair?

Gary Lau
Waltham, MA USA

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