With a single tool made substantially like this, over a thousand of the finest magnets have been wound. Its value will be appreciated after you have had the experience of winding a few magnets.
Order in the Workshop.—Select a place for each tool on the rear upright of the bench, and make it a rule to put each tool back into its place after using. This, if persisted in, will soon become a habit, and will save you hours of time. Hunting for tools is the unprofitable part of any work.
CHAPTER III[ToC]
MAGNETS, COILS, ARMATURES, ETC.
The Two Kinds of Magnet.—Generally speaking, magnets are of two kinds, namely, permanent and electro-magnetic.
Permanent Magnets.—A permanent magnet is a piece of steel in which an electric force is exerted at all times. An electro-magnet is a piece of iron which is magnetized by a winding of wire, and the magnet is energized only while a current of electricity is passing through the wire.
Electro-Magnet.—The electro-magnet, therefore, is the more useful, because the pull of the magnet can be controlled by the current which actuates it.
The electro-magnet is the most essential of all contrivances in the operation and use of electricity. It is the piece of mechanism which does the physical work of almost every electrical apparatus or machine. It is the device which has the power to convert the unseen electric current into motion which may be observed by the human eye. Without it electricity would be a useless agent to man.