Changing a mains lead

Yes sounds like an old iron flex. Interestingly though most of my old train and slot racing transformers had pace cables and those mostly did the earthing via a tag under one of the transformer fixing bolts, with a strain relief elsewhere to stop rotation and pulling moving it. The airfix ones were very good with hammer finish metal boxes, shame their controllers tended to melt after a while though. The train controllers seemed to be wirewound pots in a plastic box with a cut out button that pinged if there was a short. The transformers were in plastic as well, at least the Triang ones I had were. You could make a good psu with the airfix ones as plenty of room for some capacitors and a voltage regulator bolted to the case. The volts if bridge rectified instead of that naff metal one they used was 16 v. Brian

Coo that's posh... I had a H&M Safety Minor - one big rotary control and a half wave switch, and not much else!

ISTR it became my experimentation PSU of choice (because it was all I had) when I first started dabbling with electronics and electrics.

Yup, sounds fine.

Yup PVC was commonly available by the 60's

If you are worried fit a RCD plug on it.

Graeme laid this down on his screen :

Iron flexes were always rubber, probably still are, more heat resistant than PVC - but I have no idea why on a power supply. Maybe they bought a cheap batch?

Yup.

Dunno why they'd have used that type of mains lead. Perhaps they had plenty in stock?

I thought cloth-covered mains lead was used for everything irrespective of whether it was necessary.

Flat or shake proof washer? *Very* slight chance that a flat washer could allow the joint loosen.

Any washer can. shakeproofs aren't.

NT

Not shake proof :-(

Temporary hiatus. Wife now home from hospital, but that seems to give even less time for toys! Add in son now home from uni for a week, and one of his friends visiting us in a couple of days, time is tight (as Booker T would say).

Back with photos later.

chassis

washer

Wouldn't loose any sleep over it in this instance, assuming the nut anb bolt were well tightened.

washer

Fascinating. Though only a split spring washer was tested not a shakeproof one. This one does split ring and shakeproof and they turn out pretty much the same:

Yes, well tightened. The unit itself is unlikely to be moved during use, and the incoming mains lead is firmly held in a grip, within the unit, so should be OK.