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That call to a 1920s building in Boston with the old Otis gearless traction unit
Got a call last Tuesday about a car stuck between floors in this old office building downtown. The super said it was making a loud grinding noise, so I figured it was a simple brake issue. When I got into the machine room, I saw it was one of those original Otis gearless units, the kind you almost never see running anymore. The motor brushes were completely shot, and the commutator was a mess. I spent six hours just cleaning and fitting new parts, and the whole time I was worried I'd fry something ancient. The best part was when it finally ran smooth and quiet, the building manager came up, shook my hand, and said, 'You just saved us a quarter million dollar modernization.' Ever have a job where you're just glad nothing broke for good?
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the_lee1mo agoMost Upvoted
Cleaning that old commutator is nerve-wracking, but a light touch with fine sandpaper works wonders.
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torres.sage1mo ago
Man, my biggest win is just not breaking the thing I'm trying to fix.
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brian_ramirez17d ago
...and that's exactly how I ended up with a toaster that has different shades of brown on each side. I was trying to clean the heating elements and thought I'd just tighten a screw while I was in there. Next thing I know the alignment is off and now my toast looks like a checkerboard. It still works, just uneven. Kind of adds character to breakfast honestly. Have you ever had one of those minor fixes that turned into a permanent quirk?
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