Got My Kirbys!!!

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TASE

Thank you so very much for all of the wonderful information!!!!!! This will help me out greatly!!! All I've done so far is clean the dirt off of them and kinda start the process of polishing them. I will definitely take some more pics of the DS50's bag tomorrow for you! I want to know all about the Kirbys! I just couldn't pass up $35.00 for both of them! I do have another question. Can I wash their outer bags? If so, what and how do I go about doing it as to not destroy them? Thanks again!!!! :) -Michelle
 
sonnyndad

Thanks for the clarification about the serial numbers!!! That's very nice to know! Now on the DS50, is that read the same way as the Heritage II? :) -Michelle
 
Michelle,

Regarding your D50, the original outer bag would originally have had a Kirby oval logo pattern (the ovals being spaced together). It would have looked like this in original production. The bag cap would also have "Dual Sanitronic 50" printed on it.

~Ben

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KirbyClassicIII

Thanks for the info on the DS50!!! I am learning so much about Kirbys that my head is spinning!!! I'm trying to remember everything that people are telling me! Which is cool, I actually have a spiral notebook for all of my hobbies and write down what I need to know and remember. I collect and restore vintage clock radios, stand and hand mixers, vacuums, and chainsaws. I'm just getting started with vacuum collecting and learning their mysterious ways! Ha Ha! Thanks again! I love learning! The only way you become smart is to ask a lot of questions! :) -Michelle
 
Chainsaws!

Explains that lovely model in your  profile picture! Did you resident repaint that yourself? Care to elaborate on it as far as brand, backstory, etc?
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I'm sure you've named it, haven't you?
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The DS50 is easy to replace the bearings.

The front bearing is mounted in the bearing plate. Once you get the fan off the armature there are four screws holding the bearing plate in place. This will slide forward on the armature and come off, the bearing will just pop out of the back of the bearing plate.

For the rear bearing you need to remove the carbon brushes then you should be able to remove the armature and the rear bearing will be on the back end of the armature. Be careful not to lose the spring washer that is in the bearing well behind the back bearing. It presses against the washer that backs the rear bearing.

The handle spring is not a big problem, it's fairly easy to replace but you do need a special tool the put tension on the spring so it will hold up the handle. It's a lot easier on the 516 and later models, the 505 to 515 require some really fun maneuvers and two special tools.

For bearings the front bearing is a NTN 8500 (accurate bearing 87500)
the rear bearing is a ND 87007 (accurate bearing 87007)
Both bearings have a step ( the center of the bearing is thicker than the outside fof the bearing) the step on the front bearing goes into the bearing plate toward the backside of the plate. The rear bearing the step goes toward the commutator and then slides into the well in the motor housing.
 
Opps forgot to mention that you would only need the ring tool on a G series bearing plate, you don't need it for the DS50 the bearing is just pressed into place.

The rear bearing puller is Kirby #T125

The Spring tool is Kirby #T123

Also to get the fan off of the armature, when you look inside the motor thru the vent near the bottom you will see a hole in the armature. You can use the fan locking pin Kirby #T104 or I just use 1/8" piano wire (found at your local hardware store) Insert the wire or tool into the hole in the armature to hold from turning then turn the fan and belt pulley clockwise to take it off so you can get to the bearing plate.

If you have to replace the bearings on the Heritage, once you get the fan off then the whole motor comes out the back because there is no removable bearing plate. The bearing is in a well in the motor housing.

picture of bearing with step

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super-sweeper

Thanks for liking my chainsaw!!! That's me holding "Mr. Poppet"! I have 8 of those models so far. In all, between my husband's collection and mine, we have 115 chainsaws as of now, that changes almost daily! We collect, rebuild, and restore them! The one in the pic is my first saw and favorite! Hence, I own 8 of them! That's a Sears D-44 Automatic Oiler. There's not a lot of info out there on this model, but from what research I have done, it's mid 60's - early 70's. I named him "Mr. Poppet" because on the cylinder, there's a de-compression valve and another name for it is a poppet valve. When my husband was first teaching me about chainsaws, I was amazed by the valve and loved the name! My husband actually painted that him for me. That was the first saw I ever had and learned how to fix! I paint, rebuild, and restore them now! I restored a 1979 Homelite XL 12 that I named "Walton". I got him at a garage sale for $10.00! I did 98.9% of the work on him by myself. I only needed help removing the flywheel, clutch, and reassembling the oil lines (they're a little tricky on that style of saw). The pic is of "Walton". A nice before and after for ya to see, plus a pic of me painting him! Thanks again! :) -Michelle

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BikerRay

Thanks for the info on the bearings!!! That will make my life easier now!!! I got so many hobbies and interests! I'm just trying to take off with fixing and collecting vacuums. Thanks again! :) -Michelle
 
KirbyClassicIII

Thanks! I will enjoy my vacuums forever! Once I get something to add to my collection, I will fix it and use it forever! There's nothing like old vintage stuff!!! Everything that is old that I collect, I will use and enjoy forever! I use a 1961 Sears Kenmore electric can opener everyday, a 1205 Electrolux everyday, old mixers ranging from the 30's to the 90's, and get woke up everyday to a vintage tube clock radio! Life to me can't get any better than that!!! :) -Michelle
 
super-sweeper

Thanks a lot! Ha Ha Phyllis!!! The Kirbys especially will look the nicest. My husband restores antique cars for a living. That in-tales painting, metal fabrication, and the general knowledge on how to restore stuff. He's not into vacuums, but he wanted to take my DS50 apart last night and fix the bearings and polish them both up! He's kinda taken a liking to the DS50! I told him it's because they're the same age! Ha Ha! He wants to find the original bag for it, but if we can't find one, we could make one. We wouldn't be able to recreate it exactly, but we could at least try to find a material that would fit more into the beige/rose family. I actually read a thread on here yesterday about someone sewing/making their own bags. Now I have to remember where and who it was! Anyways, I've got my mom's 1205 basically into shell form. I gotta sandblast him and have my husband match the paint. I got a thread on him. It was my mom's and she passed away recently so I demanded it because it was in their garbage heap! It's quite toasty, to most wouldn't be worth fixing. I love him and his name is "Lux". How original I know! Ha Ha! My "Lux" is missing his back wheel, top handle, and castor. We have this vacuum that was in the basement for years that someone left here and I know it's a Eureka, looks like a Princess, but I know it's not. It's missing everything and is too far gone to repair, but it has 2 good back wheels on it and I'm thinking about using them temporarily for "Lux" until I can find his correct ones. What's cool is, for the shape he's in, rusted, and missing everything, he still runs great and the cord winder works perfectly!!! Go figure! I'm done rambling for now! Ha Ha! :) -Michelle
 
Michelle:

You & your husband are a lot like me & my "accomplice". I am a cabinet maker who specialized in restoring 19th century buildings, she is a farrier/blacksmith. When I saw her repairing chaps with two needles & waxed thread, I offered the use of one of my 1912 vintage Singer industrial sewing machines. She now has a sew shop capable of harness making, and I have a rather nice 19th century machine shop. BTW, I am the cook, she likes collecting firewood with a chainsaw & a tractor.

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Anachronism

WOW!!! I'm totally blown away by both of your capabilities and totally jealous!!! I love the simple archaic way of using tools and basically using yourself as a tool! It's a true art form! My husband does metal work and I do shrinking and tucking by using a log with a concave circle carved into it. So far all I've made is a bowl. It was made from a flat sheet of 20 gauge galvanized steel that I beat the bejesus out of with different body hammers strategically. Hence, I was shrinking and stretching the metal to form it into a bowl. There are no hammer marks in it either. It looks like a metal bowl you would buy at the store! I want to get into making different three dimension flowers as well, plus this summer I'm gonna start learning how to do chainsaw carvings! I love watching WYCC channel 20 it's a PBS station out of Chicago and the show is called "The Woodwright Shop", he makes stuff with treadle machines or foot powered. It's amazing!!! I'm really drawn to wood and I want to learn how to do wood carvings, but do it the old school way, no electric power tools!!! I used to live in Minnesota and my parents' are friends with a guy that makes his own harnesses for draft horses. I know he makes saddle bags, probably anything that's leather related. Very cool!!! I would love to see more pics of the stuff you guys do!!! Thanks for sharing!!!! :) -Michelle
 

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