wire 32 this process is repeated until all coils have been wound and the tail end of the winding is then laid in the slots 30 of the first housing 18 and pushed back until it is adjacent to the lead end which was placed against the boss 28 at the beginning of the winding operation the wire 32 is then cut and the armature removed from the winding machine the body 12 now has a winding portion 32 comprising insulated wire e g enamel coated wire laying in each of the housings 18 each of the winding portions 2 is under tension and is pulled tight against the respective boss 28 the commutator segments 34 are pre assembled on the base 10 to do this they are placed on the outer surface of the base 10 and are slid along the base 10 so that the terminals 36 slide between a pair of adjacent ears 38 and the lugs 42 enter the respective recesses 70 the segments 34 may be held on the base 10 by a ring not shown which can be snipped off after connecting the terminals 36 to the body 12 the base 10 together with commutator segments 36 is slid along the armature shaft and as the terminals 36 approach the winding portions 32 held in the housings 18 the slots provided by cut outs 48 move over the wires 32 the sharp edges 64 of the cutters 62 sever the insulation on the wires 32 which is deformed as the slots formed by cut outs 48 move over the wires 32 intimate metal to metal contact is thereby provided between the wires 32 and the terminals 36 the armature described.