Simple Electric Motor

Equipment Needed

2 metal strips, each about 5" x ¾" - you can cut them out of an empty tin can
Pliers
1 hammer
1 sharp nail
1 horseshoe magnet
1 large cork that will fit between the two legs of the magnet
1 plastic knitting needle
1 insulated wire
1 six-volt battery with 2 leads
Plywood
Adhesive tape or duct tape

How to Make Your Electric Motor

Use pliers to bend the ends of the metal strips over for about one inch of their length (Fig 1).

Use a hammer and a sharp nail to make a hole in both ends of each metal strip, as shown in Fig 2, and screw them to a small plywood baseboard.

Fit the plastic knitting needle through the holes in the strips, making sure that you have adjusted the distance between the strips correctly so the needle will fit (Fig 3).

Skewer the cork on the knitting needle (Fig 4).

Coil the wire around the cork, about 40 or 50 times (Fig 5).

Remove the insulation from the two free ends of the wire leading from the coil.

Tape the ends of the wire to the opposite sides of the knitting needle, making sure that you do not cover up the bare ends of the wire with tape (Fig 6).

Attach the two leads to the battery and secure the free end to the baseboard, as shown in Fig. 7.

Make sure that the ends of the leads are bared, and that they make contact with the bare ends of the coil, where they are secured to the knitting needle.

Hold the magnet in position so that the coil can revolve freely between the ends of legs of the magnet, without actually touching them (Fig 8).

Lightly touch the cork to get it to spin. The motor will start.