It is starting to get pretty hot now that summer is here. With temps in the shop already up to the mid 90's, having the fans running is a must. My favorite fan is a mid-size metal unit that pushes a lot of air. Unfortunately, the bushing in the motor has seen better days. Before I put it away for the winter, the fan couldn't even get spinning without help.
I took some time off from the plane today to fix the fan. I broke down the motor to take a look at the bushing. I was suprized to find that the bushing is steel and so is the shaft, there is no bronze insert or the like to act as a wear part. The inside of the bushing was badly scored. I polished the shaft and bushing with fine sandpaper. I cleaned all the parts and reassembled with some good synthetic grease.
