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Kids weren't much safer away from the tree; Boys playing with their new Meccano Electric Motor plugged directly into the 240v light socket. Bare thumbnut contacts with no insulation. Girls with their radioactive Chemistry Sets with Cyanide, Sodium... Today its all "'elf and safety gone mad"

As an interim solution, you might try turning the drive-belt inside out. Showing a lesser-worn face against the roller. I would try taping-up the roller, underneath the belt, with a strip of strong fibre duck tape. Removing the roller until you source a new belt, would be better than having a...

A safer, traditional option from the past; Brass clip-on candle holders, with little candles and naked flames on your dried-out xmas tree. What could possibly go wrong?

Wow @huskyvacs, that's an expensive lesson. There was/is a product called Foamclean?, made by 3M, I think. Its marvellous for all screens, keyboards, and textured plastics. It brings-up old and dirty crud to new. BUT its around £20 a can, if you can find it. We used to 'borrow it' from work!

Polishes specifically made for plastics: Maguires, Novos, Turtle Wax, Polywatch, Mothers... My personal recommendation is Abro Headlight Polish. These will all remove fine scratches and ingrained dirt and discoloration. The important thing to bear in mind is that Brasso, T-Cut, alcohols, or...

Your Hoover looks great. Although consumers had their own unique set of electrical problems to overcome in those days; non-standard voltages, limited to 5 Amps, different plug types, and often only one outlet per room (usually for lighting) - they did have the advantage of having the cord...

Similar problems with SOME Charity Shops here in the UK. Directors on £100,000+ per annum. Staff all unpaid volunteers. Staff cherry-pick from donations. Good stuff goes up on eBay, or to shops in more-affluent areas, not in the window. Poorly-performing shops set ridiculously high prices...

eBay is not the manual marketplace it once was. Automated Bidding Apps will place a buyer's bid on their behalf, in the last one or two seconds of an auction. In the past 'snipers' had to sit there monitoring an auction in real-time, hoping they had bid enough in the one or two bids they could...

I doubt you'll find a Tradition Shag-King Attachment for sale individually. that's why most of us buy another machine, or attachment set, just for the one or two parts we're missing. I did try giving away my spare Tradition trim, parts, tools, cloth-bag, polisher... two large boxes of stuff; I...

If you're mailing it, make sure your courier hasn't excluded it in their non-permitted-items list. Some couriers say 'No antiques, No electricals, No machinery...'. Some UK couriers will kick a parcel around, then claim it must have been inadequately packed. Photos while you're wrapping it...

If you're buying a donor machine anyway, to get all the trim and accessories etc., why not use the Yoke from that?

Unless those brushes were worn on a commutator of exactly the same radius, they will still need to bed-in. Even if you swap brushes around 180 degrees when checking for wear, they have to re-seat again. That worn groove is going to cause arcing and/or noise too, isn't it?

I can't see a great level of detail from your photo, but it is usual for new brushes to arc a fair bit, until they're run-in. There is a processes called dressing(?) which speeds-up that settling-in period by grinding a hollow in the brushes to match the curvature of your particular commutator...

A tip that I'd like to share is for renovating the Blue Trim on the Tradition Brushroll Head. You don't need to remove the trim, but most people tend to when polishing the Head. Use a hot cloth or hairdryer to soften the trim before easing it over the rivets. Warm soapy water, as usual, to...

That's the sort of help I'm offering. That's why I was asking. I can send you that part. Message me, and I'll remove it from my 'parts' Kirby. Welding, gluing, fabrication, may work in the short-term, but it will take quite a strain in use. I'm in the UK, offering to post it to you for free. You...

Has anyone tried using their Kirby Handi-butler polishing attachment on their Kirby housing? Easier with a second machine, but it may do the job on the Brushroll Head & Handle. At least you'll learn which wheels/products give best results.

I have a spare Tradition (all working, tools, caddy, handi-butler, polisher, shampooer...) If you want any bits, just let me know.

Alcohol-based products, Acetone, Windex, Brasso... etc. affect plastics & rubber. You can sometimes get away with it, so people advocate those products, but there's a high risk of damage. I use 'Mirror-Glaze' plastic headlight polish or car door-seal cleaner/rejuvenater. They're safe on all...

Not ALL buyers are equal. Be prepared for them to either; Swap-out your nice parts for crud and return them... Claim they never arrived... Claim they arrived damaged... PayPal will refund them instantaneously. You'll be lucky to get SOME parts back. Their "Proof of posting" may be for a used...

If eBay is your marketplace of choice, and you only sell through eBay, why list them here? I'm sure people here have heard of eBay, and have Internet access. Go list them. Personally, I wouldn't deal with eBay ever again, nor anyone selling on it. Tax-dodging, thieving, over-priced, cowards...