Reply and More on the 638.
Thanks everyone for all your messages and really interesting comments. Its great to be on the forum. Yes, I am very happy to own this machine!
I got the 638 and the cleaning tools from the basement of a vac shop in Hampton Wick near Kingston back in 1993.
It was the first of many visits to that basement, now long gone.
I only visited the shop because I was hunting for some new bellows because the bellows on my mum’s 638 had cracked.
(My mum and dad bought the 638 when they got married in 1959. She said they chose the 638 because she preferred the blue colour to the pink of the new cleaner!. The shop must have had both ranges in. (1959 was the year 638 ended and 652 began)).
Anyway, instead of new bellows I came home with another 638, the one in the photos! Was already pretty clean, but I took it to pieces, cleaned it all and put it back together again.
The braided hose is the one which came with the early machines, so it wouldnt have come with this one. By 1957 it had been replaced with the double-stretch hose. Its the only one Ive ever come across - must have swapped over to the double-stretch hose pretty quick!
I did have trouble with the rubber handle - this one has another handle I bought off Ebay (bit of luck that!). the original handle perished over one summer when I had stupidly left the cleaner in the loft. The rubber bubbled and just fell off! Ive learnt from that not to store cleaners in hot places and to spray the rubber parts with 'ArmorAll' Protectant Rubber and plastic cleaner. You can get it from car stores (Halfords in the UK).
Cheers, Jonathan
