Out of the blue

I get lots of emails from people who are looking to sell their fans or asking value of fans. Usually I figure our that the fan is not something I want. Well that is not always the case.

A few weeks ago, A gentleman emails me discussing some fans that he has come into possession of. He inquires if I'd be interested. Generally people are very vague so I ask for pictures but he was very descriptive. He said magic words to me. I have a 32volt DC Emerson. I wanted to email him back and say, "YES SIR I'LL TAKE IT RIGHT NOW!!! HOW MUCH YOU WANT?" but you see my grandmother and grandfather taught me better than that. I said, "I don't know, send me some pictures and I will see..." When I got the photos, I was glad that I didn't overreact. The fan had some pretty serious damage. The cage had multiple broken welds, the oscillator collar (which is made of pot metal) was broken and the paint was in terrible condition. I threw him out a number and we went back and forth a couple times then we reached a decision. Then I got to worrying about his packaging abilities and wondering if the fan would survive a brush with United Parcel Smashers (borrowed that term) if it was inadequately packaged.

LIGHT BULB!!! I remembered a buddy of mine lived quite near there so I figured to myself, "Self, I bet ole buddy ole pal can do a hare better joba packing then that other fella." So I called up my friend and he said sure. I gave him my best instructions, repeating over and over, "pack it tight so it cannot move inside the box....."

So I wait and I wait and I wait and I track online... Then the day comes and since it is UPS I know it will be an evening delivery. I continue my life with it brewing on my mind, catching a glance of my watch and the clock now and again. Then I hear the truck rumbling to a stop and the screeching brakes as I look out the living room window I can see the silhouette of the truck with the lights shining. I burst out the door and meet the driver at the truck. (I really don't care if they think I am eager) When she finally turns around she is startled. I forgot that I hadn't said anything. I immediately help here with the box because I can tell this was not packaged well at all. The bottom of the box was about open... UGGGG!!! I ran inside with it shouting, "Have a nice evening!!!!"

Once in my basement, I ripped into it. Revealing the same fan in the photos. Much to my relief, there was no more damage than before. I grabbed some oil, cut the cord and applied some temporary wiring to my D.C. Outlet. I check the brushes(check) Then I turned my variac to 32volts and cranked it up. Oh what a rush... Runs like new.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY9x9FISGlQ

Tribute Fan

Earlier this year I received an email from Dick Boswell about a lady who was trying to sell her father's fan collection. His name was Ken Grable. He was a member of the AFCA a few years ago. Ken had lung cancer. His daughter, Heather was wanting to sell the remainder of his collection. She wanted help posting them on the BST forum and Dick wanted to know if I'd help. I posted the pictures and contact information and they did not sell.Last month my wife and I had the opportunity visit some family that lives in Jefferson City, MO. I mentioned to my wife that I wanted to go by and see this collection in person on our way home. I made arrangements with Heather to have someone meet us there. I also mentioned to her that I would like to buy a couple of fans in the pictures and she said that would be fine. So we drove to Camdenton Sunday morning and met a family friend named Joe. He took us to a mini-storage shed that Ken had owned and opened the roll-up door to reveal the fans. Once inside, I quickly located the two fans that I wanted, this Emerson 21666 was one of them. Upon examination, I noticed that the front of the motor housing was not attached and there was no oscillator housing or oscillator shaft/gear. I knew there was no cage or struts but this was a surprise. I decided to take the fan anyway in the hopes that I could find the parts and revive it.

By the time we were able to visit, Ken had passed away.

I took the fans home and began to tinker, as my usual routine goes. I was curious to see if any of the fans I had bought that weekend actually ran, especially the Emerson. I grabbed some bolts and tightened down the motor housing, then screwed the blade down tight because it had worked loose... Then with a little power and a flick of the switch the fan came right on. It did have one other problem, it ran backwards. As anyone with Emerson experience knows this just means the wires are not connected correctly. It was then that it dawned on me, that apparently Ken was in the process of doing something with this fan when he got too sick to continue. So I made it my goal then and there to start the restoration of this fan. So I tore it down and separated the parts. Then I got on the Internet and put a call out for parts that I needed: cage, struts, oscillator gearbox, oscillator shaft, rubber feet, wire, leather washer...

Before long I had willing volunteers with the parts I needed. Dick Boswell came through with the cage, struts, gearbox and shaft. Steve Sherwood sent me a care package of fiber washers, leather washer and rubber feet. I placed an order for new wire from sundial for the appropriate cord. Then I set about the ritual of paint prep... I have always used basically the same method of wire brushing and chemical stripper followed with a dip in M.E.K. for a day or so. Then I use Rustoleum bare metal primer and paint. This time I decided to try a Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy. Much to my surprise it was easier to apply than lacquer and less susceptible to the environment.

After finishing the paint and receiving all the necessary parts, I had to spend some time with the brass to bring it back to a shine that matched the gloss of the paint. (I respect the purist's idea of preservation, but for me the rule is simple, if the fan is in bad enough shape, it needs a full resto then let time return a patina. Nuff said...) Anywho, this weekend I had time to work on it since my kids had the flu. So last night I polished the brass cage and badge, attached one end of the headwire to the re insulated stator and put it back in the motor housing... Then I put the feet on and put it all back together except the switch and and lower end of the headwire and cord.

This morning after I had my grits I started to work again. I grabbed the rubber gloves, steel wool, and toilet bowl cleaner and headed to the backyard. After scrubbing the blades to remove all the crud, I installed a fresh buffing pad on the grinder and slung some rouge. Apparently everywhere because my kids were laughing at me later because I had a green moustache. Since the hub was all jacked due to the toilet bowl cleaner, I hand painted it and used a little brasso to finish the shine.

Forgive the length of the story and mind numbing detail, but I felt it necessary to explain the process for those who'd ask, "How'd you do that?"

Were in the homestretch now. I grabbed my colored tester wires with clips on them and my wire labels. I wrote down the first combination of color to number for the headwire test. Apparently I am getting really good, because I nailed it first shot. What are the odds...Oh never mind. REASSEMBLE, WIPE DOWN, BOW TO APPLAUSE....

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you... the Ken Grable tribute fan...

Neglect of the Hobby

I know what you're thinking... "So you think you can just blog on here like nothing ever happened!!!" Please forgive me. I know it has been a while, but I have had a few other things going on and I just haven't had the time. I have been fanning though. Take for instance this little beauty. Guess what this is... Oh come on try real hard. Look closely. Okay it is an Emerson 29048. That's right a 29-oh-48. For those of you who don't know. That means direct current only. Cool huh.

History

This fan came into my possession as a parts fan for another one that I was working on. No blade or switch. Just a beat up stump and bent and broken cage. Enter the AFCA and good fan friends. I had my welder buddy at work wave his artistic Miller wand and repair the breaks. This I reshaped and cleaned up the welds. Coat or two of lacquer and presto. I cleaned the original paint on the motor housing and repaint the base. I didn't have a blade, brushes or the little o-rings that go inside the brush housings. I got these items from some great fan folk.

Keeping the story brief. I pulled everything together and it runs very sweetly. I love it when an old piece destined for the heap bypasses it with glory, don't you?

I will try to keep posting more as I have a lot to catch up on. Hang with me. AFCA members don't forget Pig Picking coming up soon.

Ask And Ye Shall Receive

Just the other day on a "nothing better to do" day. I was combing through some antique stores looking for goodies. I found myself day dreaming about a fan I had seen in another store many miles away that I had avoided because the cost was too high... I thought, "Boy, I sure would like to get a nice brown 16 inch Emerson." Well this is the part where you're gonna say, "you are making this up..." I swear it is true. I had been through nearly the entire store and was coming back downstairs and around a corner when I saw it. If it had been a snake.... or something link that. I knelt beside it thinking, "I couldn't be so lucky." I worried the price would be too high or some part might be missing.

I looked at the tag and it was a little different than any I'd seen before 77648-SG. Color scheme is the same as the AS model. Price was almost half the fan in my dream. So I picked up the beast and bounded to the cash register to request my normal 10% off.

I asked if I could test it which they always let me do. The fan came to life like a proud Emerson should.

I paid for the fan and went about our normal shopping before making the trip home. Once back at the ponderosa, I unloaded the cargo including several pounds of ancient wind mover which quickly went into the workshop for servicing. The fan needed new felt, which it got. It got a new cord and plug, fresh oil, blade balancing, and a wipe down followed by a wax job. The original paint is nearly mint. Such a joy to watch these fans operate on low speed. What a find.

TTFN,
LH

Revival

Lately, I have just not had much time for fanning of any sort... Ironically yesterday morning at church two different individuals brought the subject up separately. One was telling me a story about his visit to the big apple and a guy he saw with a fan sticking out of his backpack on the subway... I guess that is better than the alternative considering our ever-present terroristic concerns these days. "SAY YES TO FANS AND NO TO BOMBS"

The other fellow was my coworker in the audio/visual room that morning and we were just catching up on both our interests. I had ask him about an airshow that he had recently attended which I guess prompted him to ask me if I'd made any purchases lately. I thought real hard and couldn't immediately come up with anything. These to fellows managed to get me thinking fans. Coincidentally we were going to one of my favorite antiquing towns just that afternoon. I hatched my plan... he he...

As always I have a mental awareness of fans in my proximity and this 12 vorty (i.e. General Electric Vortalex) was where my focus fell. This fan was probably the newest addition to the circuit and it was priced way too high. My goal you see was contingent, if I could somehow get the right deal I have the fan and if not I could easily walk away fanless and unscathed by the wifey-poo.

As I had mentioned I knew this fan existed and had stopped to check it out on several occasions. One thing that I had noticed was that it seemed to be relatively frozen. The blades turned about 1/2 rotation back and forth but they would freeze again, so I decided this was my reason for the "low-ball" offer.

I had to find the attendant to instigate the conversation that I rightly assumed would lead to a phone call (thank the Lord for cell phones). She called the booth owner and I recognized his name when she called it as a guy I had bought several fans from. I could tell that he must have been busy on the phone because her conversation was hurried sounding. She asked me question obviously prompted by him like: Does it have brass blades... Typical antique dealer mentality, not realizing there is much more to it than that. I happily answered "NO". She walked away from the counter toward the booth and the fan. I didn't follow but could still here her discussion with him. Then the slight murmur ended with an, "okay thanks". She emerged from a mountain of furniture with the fan in hand. Bullseye!!! You know sometimes you just know when it's your lucky day...

So I get the fan and take my verbal abuse happily from my wife who likes to equate my hobby to a lack of respect for her. I threw it in the back of our vehicle and we decide to walk around since it was a nice day.

Later that evening after getting some chores done, I decided to try to get that play out of the new vorty. I grabbed my Royal Purple, (Good Stuff) and went to work on it. I squirted everything I could find that moved on it. I rotated the cage because someone had turned it so that the label and everything was crooked. Then, even though the cord was pretty cracked, I decided to hook it up. I figured if I could get it to turn on its own it would work out the freeze a little faster than I could by hand.

After a slow start the hum turned into movement... Then faster, faster, Faster, FASTER!!!!!! WooHoo! I was alive and lubed. Everything worked great, oscillator, switch. It even has the original felt in-tact on the bottom... Talk about a good fan day.

Later,
Larry "Up at 3:30 with reflux from that tuna sub blogging" Hancock

Long Live King Northwind

I love my family so much. One day I am surfing the web and I find this Northwind 44A available for a buy it now. I email the link to my wife. I wasn't thinking anything about it after that because I really just did it to irritate her... Plus we were getting ready to go on vacation so we had much more on our minds.

We get to the beach and go through the routines of swimming, beach walking, sand castles etc... and we are sitting together in the condo one night and my wife calls me over to the laptop along with my children. Then she turns the computer around to reveal a successful auction page and she says, "Happy Father's Day" in unison with the kids.

There are no fans like the fans that come from your biggest fans, family and friends...

Kidney Surgery...

One night at church a friend, who knows my fan addiction, says, "Hey Larry, I have a fan for you." I said, "Oh yeah?, Keep talking." He goes on to explain that it belonged to his wife's grandmother. He said, "It is a GE!" I am thinking in the back of my mind. It is probably a teal blue GE quiet blade with the cursed rubber grommet. None the less it will be a fan. So I inform Jeff that I will be at his house after church.


As usual when I go anywhere, my son Griffin wants to go, but I am glad to have him so we take off over to Jeff's house across town. Upon arriving and ascending the stairs to his porch I notice a cardboard box on the railing of his porch. So my curiosity gets the best of me before I even knock on the door. Folks, in this box is a totally disassembled GE Kidney oscillator (minus the Kidney my luck.) All the parts were there in Ziploc bags. It was a morbid scene for a fan collector.

I knock on the door. Jeff comes out to visit and talk about the fan. Then his wife comes out and begins to tell me about the nights she spent at her Grandmother's house with this fan lulling them to sleep. When I inquired as to why it was such a basket case now, they didn't know. Just that it was found in the barn when they were cleaning after she had passed away. I told them that eventually I would have this fan running again.

After getting the fan home and surveying the damage closely I could determine that I needed a new top strut, stator, worm gear for the oscillator, and of course the kidney and its gears. I put the call out on the AFCA forum. Kim Frank sent me the top strut, stator, and another rotor with the back side cut off for use as a stationary fan till a donor can be located. Thanks Mr. Frank. Then Darryl Hudson came through with a worm gear for the original rotor. Thank you Mr. Hudson.

After spending some more time with the fan getting the three wire head wire attached to the proper places, the fan came to life. I reattached the cage and installed the switch and since we don't have a kidney still. I have a decent little GE on dialysis. If you know of a donor fan. Lemme know. It would be a beautiful end to a story.