A graphics client of mine has a husband who is a retired coin laundry mogul. He made a very comfortable life for he and his family with several dozen coin laundries that he owned in the L.A. area.
Now, in retirement, he "dabbles" in commercial real estate. One of the buildings he owns is an amazing old warehouse on the outskirts of Little Tokyo just east of downtown Los Angeles. It's a huge old brick building from the turn of the century. I've never been inside it but have seen it from the outside.
Anyway, my client (his wife) called me one day last week and said, "Dave found an ancient, and I do mean ancient vacuum" when he was cleaning out one of the rooms in the Alameda warehouse. It's here at the office; come and get it."
Well, of course I was all a-twitter wondering what it might be. I went to her office on Thursday and fetched it.
See photos. "Minor letdown."
It's a pretty shabby Hoover 725 that has suffered many indignities in its long life, not the least of which was having, at some point, its handle and motor hood painted canary yellow.
I dragged it home and didn't think any more about it until today. I got it from the back of my Explorer where I had stuck it Thursday and took it into my workshop.
When I turned it on, it started rattling and roaring and vibrating and carrying on for filth! I turned it right off, then took it apart to see what was going on.
First off, the thing seemed awfully heavy to me, even for what it was. When I took the [bojack replacement] cloth bag off, I saw why. It was full of bits of cement, rocks, sand and plaster dust!!
Then when I took the motor off and saw the fan, well just look at it. (See photos.) No wonder it was carrying on the way it was! The fan blades are just totally chewed up from all the rocks and stuff that someone used the Hoover to sweep up.
The bearings are also shot so the motor isn't really worth anything. But it did have something I could use.
Old Hoover lovers know that the handles of the early models had a spring-loaded canvas strip that coiled up inside the top of the handle to which the top of the bag was attached. When the bag was empty, the strip would be completely coiled up. As the bag began to get heavy with dirt, the weight of the stuff in the bag would pull on the coiled strap and it would begin to unroll.
The purpose of this was to keep the bottom of the bag from dragging on the floor when it was empty, and to keep tension off it when it was getting full.
Earlier Hoovers had a so-called "spreader top" that was kinda like a pair of spring-loaded scissors that served the same function.
Pretty clever, those old Hoover guys! It's not often you find one of these coiled straps intact -- they either broke and disappeared into the depths of the handle, or were replaced when the machine was serviced. But this one is still intact and funny functional!
So this "ancient, and I do mean ancient vacuum" was a happy find for me. The handle will serve as a transplant donor for the 725 I found last week at the big estate sale where I found all those Hoovers and the Cyclonic floor polisher, since that 725 does not have the canvas strap.
Now, in retirement, he "dabbles" in commercial real estate. One of the buildings he owns is an amazing old warehouse on the outskirts of Little Tokyo just east of downtown Los Angeles. It's a huge old brick building from the turn of the century. I've never been inside it but have seen it from the outside.
Anyway, my client (his wife) called me one day last week and said, "Dave found an ancient, and I do mean ancient vacuum" when he was cleaning out one of the rooms in the Alameda warehouse. It's here at the office; come and get it."
Well, of course I was all a-twitter wondering what it might be. I went to her office on Thursday and fetched it.
See photos. "Minor letdown."
It's a pretty shabby Hoover 725 that has suffered many indignities in its long life, not the least of which was having, at some point, its handle and motor hood painted canary yellow.
I dragged it home and didn't think any more about it until today. I got it from the back of my Explorer where I had stuck it Thursday and took it into my workshop.
When I turned it on, it started rattling and roaring and vibrating and carrying on for filth! I turned it right off, then took it apart to see what was going on.
First off, the thing seemed awfully heavy to me, even for what it was. When I took the [bojack replacement] cloth bag off, I saw why. It was full of bits of cement, rocks, sand and plaster dust!!
Then when I took the motor off and saw the fan, well just look at it. (See photos.) No wonder it was carrying on the way it was! The fan blades are just totally chewed up from all the rocks and stuff that someone used the Hoover to sweep up.
The bearings are also shot so the motor isn't really worth anything. But it did have something I could use.
Old Hoover lovers know that the handles of the early models had a spring-loaded canvas strip that coiled up inside the top of the handle to which the top of the bag was attached. When the bag was empty, the strip would be completely coiled up. As the bag began to get heavy with dirt, the weight of the stuff in the bag would pull on the coiled strap and it would begin to unroll.
The purpose of this was to keep the bottom of the bag from dragging on the floor when it was empty, and to keep tension off it when it was getting full.
Earlier Hoovers had a so-called "spreader top" that was kinda like a pair of spring-loaded scissors that served the same function.
Pretty clever, those old Hoover guys! It's not often you find one of these coiled straps intact -- they either broke and disappeared into the depths of the handle, or were replaced when the machine was serviced. But this one is still intact and funny functional!
So this "ancient, and I do mean ancient vacuum" was a happy find for me. The handle will serve as a transplant donor for the 725 I found last week at the big estate sale where I found all those Hoovers and the Cyclonic floor polisher, since that 725 does not have the canvas strap.
