that's three busted fans in here, a problem i've never had before. i had the one i brought with me from ottawa for upwards of ten years.
the reason i took it apart was to clean the spindle, because it was halted. i realized, in the process, that it was really dried out. and, i think that's the answer - this apartment is so unnaturally dry that it destroys the fans running in it. i'm complaining it's dry - how dry? that dry. i've done everything i can to try to reverse that, short of getting a humidifier.
and, i'm going to have to do that - get a cheap humidifier. a few, maybe, even.
the guy upstairs seems to run a heavy-duty dehumidifier, which is the root cause of pretty much every problem in here (along with the a/c). it's the reason it's dusty, it's the reason it's smoky and it's the reason a table fan breaks after a few months.
i'll also need to get some axle grease and keep up on it.
so, this fan is now spinning by hand - but i can't get the field to click in and i probably never will. but, if i can lubricate the other two, i might be able to salvage them, still.