Electric motor brush holder

A brush holder comprising a frame having a central opening therethrough for the commutator of an electric motor, the frame being provided with a pair of brush housings beside said opening 180.degree. apart, each housing having a passage therethrough with inner and outer ends, a brush slidably disposed in said passage, one side of said housing being provided with a longitudinal slot therethrough beside the brush, a stud projecting from said frame at said one side of the housing, and a torsion spring having a central coil encircling said stud and having end portions extending laterally away from the coil toward said housing with the free ends of the springs biased toward each other, the inner end portion of said housing having an abutment facing toward the inner end of the housing, one end of the spring engaging said abutment to prevent said end from moving toward the outer end of the housing, the outer end of the side of the brush beside said slot being provided with a notch, and the opposite end of the spring extending through said slot and projecting into said notch to hold the brush retracted in said passage until said opposite end of the spring is removed from the notch and placed against the outer end of the brush to move the inner end of the brush into commutator-engaging position.