Ambiance

A few years ago, we bought a small electric fireplace.  It is not complicated--it consists of a light bulb, rotating spindle with thin metal strips that create the flame and a heater.  We noticed that the flame effect was not working.  How I enjoyed the illusion of a fire on a cold, windy, snowy winter's day! I snuggle up with an interesting book and a cup of hot chocolate in front of the fireplace.  Yesterday, being my day off, I thought I'd take a look at the fireplace to try to fix the flame effect.  I took off the bulb cover and tightened the bulb.  It was working fine.  I unscrewed 13 screws that hold the back plate on and took a look at the shaft.  I suspected something was wrong with the small motor that turns the spindle--not sure whatever as the motor hummed and clicked. Had a bit of an issue with trying to get the screws out that hold the motor in place.  One of them wouldn't budge.  I put the entire assembly back together and in the evening I called my father.  He is the most knowledgeable builder, fix-it and mechanic in the world.  "Did you oil the shaft?" he asked.  Well, no, I hadn't even thought about oiling the spindle.  When I complained to my daughter about the devilish screw, she suggest I use a smaller screwdriver.  I followed her advice and that stubborn screw came out.  The spindle only allowed the motor cover to move an iota.  I carefully oiled the shaft with q-tip.  Plugged it in and it wouldn't work. I took the casing off the other side of the shaft and saw the vaseline-consistency oil along the side.  Dad's right!  I cleaned the oil up with a paper towel and carefully squirted 3 in 1 onto the spindle.  Set a few screws back into position,  plugged in the fireplace, and flipped the switch.  The shaft immediately went around creating the flame affect.