Hi Guys,

My FOBCO Star bench pillar drill packed up this morning

After nearly 45 odd years of sterling service, it sputtered and stopped. The on/off switch on these machines is a rotary one with four positions, two off's and two on's. Moving the switch to the other on position restarted the motor, and I was able to finish the job I was doing.

Since I realised that it was the switch and not anything else, I stripped the switch out and broke it down. The switch, a "SANTONS SRW123" is no longer made and not available any more. The company is alive and well but has nothing that can replace this model switch and no longer has any spares.

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The above picture shows the switch wafer and the two contacts which connect to the outside world. The contact on the right is how it should look and the one on the left is the one that makes contact with the contacts in the wafer. The switch breaks both live and neutral poles using a second wafer.


08-04-2018-003.jpg 08-04-2018-002.jpg
I positioned the contacts in the wafer so I could get good pictures of the burnt out wiper contacts.

There are two wafers like this in the switch assembly, the other one looks like new. Both wiper contacts should look like the one in the bottom right of the first picture. I'm tempted to just link the neutral wires and use the good wafer to switch the machine on/off. At least that way it would keep the machine original. Since I've not been able to find a replacement switch.
Attached Images




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