I would like to ask for ideas on how to remove stuck brushes on my Challenge Extreme slide mitre saw. The little brass cap on one side broke off when I pulled on it, so I tried thin-nosed pliers on the wire but that broke off too. The other side is the same, stuck fast. Is there a method of removing the brushes? I don't want to replace the saw as I hardly ever use it these days. Can anyone help?
You can sometimes remove the complete carrier, but not often. Best bet might be to strip enough to remove the rotor, and then try to drift them out from the commutator side.
Yes most of these are what I often term as self destructing devices. Have you looked at the commutator? Thos after were as well. It may well be cheaper to get another one. Brian
Have you got squirrels in your area? If a rat they are bigger and may well need to be poisoned as they have probably bred. Mind you mice could be the same of course. Brian
You will probably have to open the saw case to get at the brush carries from the inside. You may be able to wiggle them out without withdrawing the rotor, but if not replace the rotor before fitting the new brushes to stop it snagging on them.
I can't get brushes out of my makita miter saw
OK, now that we've seen the Youtube video, we can see how things can "go wrong" in there.
First of all, brushes don't always wear equally. The last brush repair I did, one brush had twice as much wear as the other brush.
We can use that to advantage.
The less-worn brush, should be removable as in the Youtube video. It should just come out. Now you have an intact sample to look at.
What's happened to the knackered brush, is all the carbon got worn off it. The brush was no longer long enough, to be supported by the guide rails. Just the metal bit on the end of the spring is left.
To remove it, the spring needs to be rotated, until the metal portion aligns with the guides.
The problem is, the metal bit (being on the end of a poorly controlled spring), it can be canted at an angle. This prevents the metal bit from being willing to go back up the guide rails.
If the brush had stayed in the guideway, then it would easily have come out. And enough carbon has to be left on the end of the brush, for it to come back out.
*******Your manual should have a procedure for "armature replacement". If there is a commutator failure (the shiny copper contact area), or the wires had a short in the windings, sometimes the armature (spinny part in the center of the motor) needs to be replaced. This will require taking the saw all apart. But, by doing so, when you have access to the armature, you will also be able to see the brush-end and use pliers or tweezers to send it back up the guideway.
What's the worst thing that happens to brushes ? When they burn the brush holder. This has been known to ruin cheap appliances in the past. Fortunately, the other companies learned from this, and the materials used today are more robust.
So start by removing the easy-to-remove brush, and visually examine it, to see how it could break free of the guideway and get stuck in there. You may be able to figure out how to get it aligned again. Or, you may decide that for least damage, taking the saw apart, pulling the armature (carefully!) is the right answer to gaining access.
Good luck, Paul
Did you check the age of the post? I have not but most of them seem to be years old when they suddenly reappear like some spectre. Brian
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