jim rozen wrote:

How about some of those old screw-in heater elements,
that have light bulb bases, but are conical ceramic
with resistance wire wound around them, for old time
space heaters?

Or one of those water heater elements that you some times see in the
surplus catalogs. The important part is to take that resistance out
of the circuit and short the rotor leads together once its running.
The low speed (relatively) wound rotor motor with the rotor leads
shorted together to minimize rotor losses ought to make a great
converter once its running.

Fitch