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Sean, It really does pay to shop around.

The difference between what that seller wanted for the shag rake and a few other pieces at 29.00 and what Kirby Classic III got for half his price says it all. So are you going to work on the 508 when you go home for Christmas?
 
Ebay can be a challenge because the parts are a usually decent price but the shipping is where it gets expensive. Thankfully, this was free shipping so I figured I better take it while it was there. I figured that these tools being semi rare and being that I wanted one I better take it. I could find the other model Shag Kings separately but they were the wrong color. I want the tools to all match. I do plan to at the very least look closer at the 508 and see if I can make it turn on. If I can get it that far I can do the rest this summer. If I get it to turn on I can verify the condition of the motor without tearing it down initially, although I do think that that may be inevitable if the bearings are going to be serviced. Like I said before, I have not smelled anything amiss while looking at it before, but I am not sure that is the greatest indicator of condition. I am excited to great-grandma's vacuum fully functioning.

-Sean
 
My items arrived today. I have a Shag King, Crystalator/air inlet, tank for a Rug Renovator,hose for a Rug Renovator, a crevice tool brush, a screen for the Suds-O-Gun and an assortment of Rug Renovator protection pads. The tank looks like it has been glued together so it might leak. What are the protection pads for? Do they have a purpose? I have seen them before but I am not sure what is/was done with them. Thanks for everything.

Sean
 
seanoliver77

Sean,

The Rug Protector Pads were designed to be placed under certain articles of furniture to avoid getting rust spots on them while the rug was being shampooed with the Kirby assembled with the Rug Renovator.

~Ben[this post was last edited: 12/12/2018-22:10]
 
Ok. That makes sense. I can see why such an accessory would be helpful. Yet another reason why Kirby is a pretty good company. They seem to think of just about every use and or option for their machines. If only the sales people were not so pushy and sometimes dishonest.

-Sean
 
Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a great Christmas holiday and New Years. I did some work with the Kirby 508 while I was home, however I did not get very far. I took the switch housing off of the side and tried to remove the switch. I am assuming that the main switch could be the source of my problems as it seems a little loose which could lead to a poor or nonexistent connection between the two contacts. I am able to remove the one screw that holds the switch in, but the other one is not budging. I ended up stripping the head so I am trying to come up with another method of removal. The switch makes it hard to get in there with anything besides a screwdriver. I tried to spray some kind of penetrating oil on the part of the screw and housing to make it come loose. No luck. I think a small drill would work to get the head taken off, then I could get the switch out and then I could get on the stub with a vise grip pliers or similar tool. I don't have any other ideas. I looked closer at the floor nozzle and compared it to the floor buffer and the scripts on the belt lifters are different. The floor buffer has the original "Kirby" script in cursive and the nozzle has the later style, not cursive, so I am assuming somewhere the belt lifter or whole nozzle was replaced. I do not know, I do know that it is all trimmed out in red so it must have been changed out many years ago. What do you all think?
-Sean
 
Sean,

If you haven't already drilled that screw head off, try using an impact wrench. I bought one about 20 yrs. ago at Sears for ab out 8.00. You can google it to see what it looks like. You strike the end with a hammer and it ratchets the screw bit just a tad in either direction. Good for breaking a stubborn screw loose. Used it many times on many a Kirby, especially on the blower housing. Good luck. You could also try just putting a screw driver on the screw and while tapping with a hammer, twist on the handle. That's after you've let the penetrating oil soak in for a while, even over night. Bill
 
Thank you for the tips,
I will have to look into a tool like that for next time. It probably would have worked pretty well. The first time I tried to take it apart I got a little impatient and stewed the head, not as bad as I have seen but bad enough that a regular screwdriver wouldn't work. This go around I just made it worse. It involved chisels and at the end an air chisel which made the head almost smooth. I hope that the screw is now easier to drill out. I am not particularly happy with myself. I guess it is because I am used to working on farm tractors where you can try and force things more (to a point, I have broken things on them as well). I am still learning. I will go after it more this summer. It all boils down to poor technique. The hard part is to not destroy the switch. I have discovered that new ones are hard to find. I have found several on ebay but no guarantees on them working. I was thinking I could try and somehow fix the switch with either soldering or some other way to tighten it up. If it turns out to be the problem. Thanks again.

-Sean
 
...."If you haven't already drilled that screw head off, try using an impact wrench".....

What has worked for me in the past with some screws is using my cordless drill (with screwdriver bit) on the `hammer` setting.
 
Thank you. Another thing to try for next time so I don't mess up the slot in the head. If I would have been more patient or careful when I tried to take it apart the first time. I would not be in this situation. I definitely have some more learning to do, and new tools to find/purchase. Thank you for the tip.

-Sean
 
Neat. I like looking at attachments. They are fascinating to me. All of the different tools and their unique purposes. I do not know how many were actually used, but there are certainly a lot of different options. The interesting thing is what parts go missing and why. Even the standard set of Kirby Attachments is impressive, then you add on Rug Renovators and the Handi-Butler on older models. Are there certain attachments that are in a standard set that are rarer than others? What all are you missing? I can see the swivel attachment, curved wand attachment and straight wand are missing. What others are not there? At least you have a Tradition manual. The manual that I have is from a Legend. Two attachment sets and neither one has the correct manual. What do you think about the blue plastic case that these attachments come in? I have heard mixed reviews.

Thanks
-Sean
 
seanoliver77

Sean,

Yes.

On the Classic 1CR and Classic Omega 1CB, a special attachment was included with the Handi-Butler: the "Swedish Massager."

The missing tools in my Tradition basic tool set are:
1 - long extension tube
2 - curved extension tube
3 - shoulder strap
4 - Suds-O-Gun cap
5 - utility air nozzle (black one currently filling in)
6 - dusting brush (gray one - for models 508 to 515 - was in this)
7 - swivel tube for surface nozzle

~Ben
 
Hello,

Thank you for the list. There is a partial set on ebay for $23.95, free shipping. It has some of the attachments you need. It had the curved wand, utility air nozzle, crevice tool, medium floor head with brush, upholstery brush, massage cup and blower tool. Most of them were duplicates.
There is another listing that I found, it has a lot. They are $18.99, shipping not included. It includes some parts for a Classic III as well. There was a Handi-Butler and a hose and Shag-Kings. A lot of stuff in general. Another listing has a handle and shoulder strap for $16.95 and free shipping. I have an extra Suds-O-Gun cap from when I bought my Shag-King. If you want it let me know. The only thing about it that is less than ideal is the screen. It has been replaced with a red one. The body of the part is blue but the screen is red.

Thanks,
Sean
 
Hello,

I am getting ready to head home for the summer. I hope that at some point I get to work on the 508. There may not be time but I will figure something out. I know that I will vacuum out the bag on the Tradition. It needs it. I purchased a new hose for the Heritage II and am looking forward to using it. Ben, did you find any of the attachments that you needed? I still have a couple that you can have if you want.
-Sean
 
Hi,

The extra attachments that I have are a suds-o-gun cap that has the red screen, tank and hose for a Tradition Rug Renovator and an air intake guard. The Rug Renovator tank screen is also red and has fallen apart. As a side note, I also went on ebay and purchased a NOS apparently, foot switch for the 508. Is it NOS? I do not know. It said it is that does not mean it is. I figured for $15.00 it couldn't hurt. I will get a picture of some of these things and send them to you.
Thanks.
-Sean
 

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