Fig. 254.—The Complete Generator.
In order to operate the dynamo properly and obtain sufficient current from it to operate a couple of small incandescent lamps, it will have to be provided with a pulley mounted on the end of the shaft after the gear wheel has been removed. The dynamo may then be driven at high speed by connecting it to a sewing-machine with a belt, or the back wheel of a bicycle from which the tire has been removed.
The completed dynamo is shown in Figure 254. The voltage and amperage of the dynamo will depend upon the machine in question, not only upon the size of the wire but also upon the size of the machine, the speed at which it is run, and the strength of the horseshoe magnets. It is impossible to tell just what the current will be until it is tested and tried.
A 10-Watt Dynamo
Probably few experimenters fully understand how almost impossible it is to construct a dynamo, worthy of the name as such, without resort to materials and methods employed in the commercial manufacture of such machines. Practical telegraph instruments, telephones, etc., can be constructed out of all sorts of odds and ends, but in order to make a real dynamo it is necessary to use certain materials for which nothing can be substituted.
The field magnets must be soft gray cast-iron except in special instances.
The wire used throughout must be of good quality and must be new.
The necessity for good workmanship in even the smallest detail cannot be overestimated. Poor workmanship always results in inefficient working. No dynamo will give its stated output continuously and safely unless the materials and workmanship are up to a high standard.
Since castings must be used as field magnets, a pattern is necessary to form the mould for the casting. Pattern work is something requiring skill and knowledge usually beyond the average experimenter. A lathe is necessary in order to bore or tunnel the space between the ends of the field magnet into which the armature fits.
It may be possible for several boys to club together and have a pattern made by a pattern-maker for building a dynamo. Then by using the lathe in some convenient shop or manual training school secure a field magnet and armature for a really practical small dynamo.