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65Ace, I have used Kindy's reindeer motors a lot and for certain applications they have worked great for me. On one cemetery caretaker prop I made I have three of these motors. One turns his head from side to side, a second one moves his torso back and forth and a third one moves his arm up and down. I daisy chained the motors together by plugging the electric cord male plug from one into the electric cord female of the next (the ones I bought have both a male and a female connection). But you are right, they are not really a strong motor for heavy applications like animating a pirate ship wheel. For that and other heavier applications I use wiper motors.
I agree the short drive arm on the reindeer motors is a problem. I get around that by using a piece of small, lightweight aluminum channel cut to the length I want then fitted over the short plastic arm. I then attach the aluminum channel to the plastic drive arm that comes with the motor with JB Weld. This has worked really well for me. For a little more secure attachment in addition to the JB Weld in the past I have also drilled a small hole in the aluminum channel and through the plastic drive arm and used a small diameter screw to attach the aluminum channel to the plastic drive arm. This will also help keep the aluminum channel in place while the JB Weld dries (about 5 minutes if you use the JB Quick Weld. I always keep a small supply of these motors on hand.
Oh one afterthought. If you use the aluminum channel be sure to cut a notch in the channel where it covers the screw that holds the drive arm to the motor. Otherwise you will not be able to remove the drive arm in the future if you want to for any reason because you won't be able to get to the screw.
I agree the short drive arm on the reindeer motors is a problem. I get around that by using a piece of small, lightweight aluminum channel cut to the length I want then fitted over the short plastic arm. I then attach the aluminum channel to the plastic drive arm that comes with the motor with JB Weld. This has worked really well for me. For a little more secure attachment in addition to the JB Weld in the past I have also drilled a small hole in the aluminum channel and through the plastic drive arm and used a small diameter screw to attach the aluminum channel to the plastic drive arm. This will also help keep the aluminum channel in place while the JB Weld dries (about 5 minutes if you use the JB Quick Weld. I always keep a small supply of these motors on hand.
Oh one afterthought. If you use the aluminum channel be sure to cut a notch in the channel where it covers the screw that holds the drive arm to the motor. Otherwise you will not be able to remove the drive arm in the future if you want to for any reason because you won't be able to get to the screw.
