by using my existing 5 inch hole saw and crafter's flower arranging foam instead of a 5 1/2 inch hole saw and a block of wood to make mounts for the LED board and AC power supply / current source / temperature regulator/compensator taken from the green LED Dialight traffic light I bought surplus on ebay. These mounts will attach the green board to the cheaply purchased, expensively machined Surplus Center 10-1134 ceiling fan motor mounted near and driven by the cranks on my bicycle. The AC motor will be poled for self-starting with a little 6 or 12 VDC and should generate small amounts of power efficiently. You see, the coil is on the _outside_, so larger, thicker, wires can be used, lowering the resistance of the source. I intend to rewind it with silver wire one day.
The foam blocks are about 2x2x2. Why that size? Well, my drill press has a stroke of 2 inches, so I took the drill bit out of the hole saw and used it as a sort fo a fly cutter, with a wooden rail guide, to mill the sides of the blocks, at max height. Then, I sawed a curve into the end of the block, withdrew the cutter, sliced off the waste, repositioned the block with a stop, and finished by repeating this action. The resultant concave cylindrical curve was smoooth but the wrong size. The motor is 5 1/2 inches in diameter. That's when I looked up the 5 1/2 inch hole saw in MSC. I'll use one later when I make the wooden mount. But for now, I just wrapped a little 60 grit paper around the motor and sanded the curves to the right size.
The foam blocks will allow the block to shear in an accident, preserving the integrity of the electrical components. Later, when the wooden blocks are in use, they will hold the components securely, but they will be protected by a fairing then.
Gotta love that foam. It sure machines crisply. I've got to clean up that green dust, cough, cough, and have another cigarette, so I'll log out now. See ya gang!
Yours,
Doug Goncz ( ftp://users.aol.com/DGoncz/ ) Student member SAE for one year. Loves in my life: Dona, Jeff, Kim, Mom, Neelix, Tasha, and Teri.