Hoover pre-war rubber bumper/protectors

[ohiovacuums]

I've made them

I find rubber floor mats that are the same or similar..try Home Depot/Lowes.
I made them for old Hoovers and they look almost identicle.

 

[heinzelmann-hh]

What kind of rubber mat should this be? A mat does not have such a striped shape as a bumper.

 

[scoover]

Funny this should get picked up on five and a half years later as I dug the patterns out and finished them off a couple of months ago.

If you've read the original thread I had plans for two different styles of Hoover logo but somewhere over the years the smaller set of logo's have gone missing so they are all the same now.

I have made pattern strips for the 541, 700-750, 400, 450, 800 and 825 (the 800 and 825's have two types, with and without reinforcement triangles!). They are mostly made from photographs and gnarly perished stumps so they are not true to life replicas, though they are pretty close.

I reckon I could put in the reinforcement strings without too much difficulty.

That doesn't mean I am anywhere near finished. I need to make silicon moulds from the patterns and I need a vacuum chamber to get the moulds bubble free. I made one of these a while ago but I've lent it to someone and it'll be later in the summer before it comes back.

I've also identified a much cheaper substitute for Devcon but I am not sure I'll be taking orders for these.

I can't imagine there is going to be a huge demand for them and definitely can't imagine anyone paying what it would cost me to make a single bumper, post it off and charge enough to break even.

Once I've got the moulds done I'll start experimenting and if they work out OK then maybe..

 

[scoover]

Funny this should get picked up on five and a half years later as a couple of months ago I dug out the existing patterns, finished them off and added a couple more to finish off the set.

If you've read the original thread, I had plans for two different styles of Hoover logo but somewhere over the years the set of smaller style logo have gone missing so they are all the same now.

I have made pattern strips for the 541, 700-750, 400, 450 (can't remember if the 475 was the same), 800 and 825 (the 800 and 825's have two types, with and without reinforcement triangles!). They are mostly made from photographs and gnarly perished stumps so they are not true to life replicas, though they are pretty close.

I reckon I could put in the reinforcement strings without too much difficulty.

That doesn't mean I am anywhere near producing a finished bumper. I need to make silicon moulds from the patterns and I need a vacuum chamber to get the moulds bubble free. I made one of these a while ago but I've lent it to someone and it'll be later in the summer before it comes back.

I've also identified a much cheaper synthetic rubber than Devcon.

Not sure I'll be taking orders for these though, can't imagine there is much demand and don't think it would be cost effective to make one offs and ship them.

However, once I've got the moulds done I'll start experimenting and if they work out OK then maybe.. Watch this space.

 

[repairman]

This is similar to what Mike Balda was doing for older Kirby units a few years back. He would make custom wheels, outer bags, and many other parts. While there probably aren't as many people lining up to buy coffee-can Hoover parts, you could probably make a batch of say 10-25 and they would sell instantly.

I currently need a bumper for a 575. It's the only part that I don't have the means of making. I also thought about making a batch of bag spreaders in conjunction with a sheet metal place, but again, there may not be as much of a demand.

 

[heinzelmann-hh]

It is quite possible that the demand for such special spare parts is very limited. Nevertheless, those collectors who are desperately looking for wear parts such as rubber buffers, cloth bags or the special scissor-shaped bag spreaders for the model 700 would certainly be very grateful for a visually acceptable replacement solution that comes as close as possible to the original.

 

[scoover]

Not great pictures to be fair but this is the current state of the patterns for my bumper strips from top:

1/700/725/750

2/all models prior to 700

3/425

4/800

5/800 with reinforcement pads

6/825

7/825 with re-inforcement pads

8/450

When I started on these I was very taken by the rivet re-enforced versions of the 800/825. Not so much now. I think you can see the difference in the 825 version made a while ago and the 800 version made recently.

They still need a bit of cleanup round the logo insertion and as I said earlier they have varying degrees of accuracy.

I need to work out what happens on the reverse. Some originals had distinct cut outs for wheel nuts etc. whereas others just had a long concave curve. I'll add that in to the mould closer.

Feel free to comment (as far as you can see from bad pic) on accuracy or whatever.

 

[huskyvacs]

As long as you advertise it where people can find it, I think there would be a demand. When people here were were making Kirby bags, they sold out virtually overnight, and people still ask about them 6+ years onward who is making one (nobody is anymore).

Maybe make 10 and then see how they go, and if it goes good maybe make a reservation list and once you get so many names, run off a batch.

Alternatively one also could make a metal branding iron of the old Hoover logo and sell it so people could stamp the "Hoover" logo into their own bumpers. Some have managed to find rubber door seal strips that are markedly close to the original Hoover ones, they just lack the "flair" of the original Hoover logo to complete the picture.

 

[heinzelmann-hh]

@scoover

The models look very promising. Compared to the simple square shaped rubber strip that I have attached to my model 700 one of these copies would be much more authentic.

I would definitely be very interested to buy one from you when you are ready to produce them.