Refinishing and misc issues on a Kirby DS-50

[dubis7]

Hi, all. I've been working on a Kirby DS-50 for awhile now, and have it more or less running like new. Three major problems still remain.

The finish has some heavy oxidation. I polished it with Mother's Mag, and large areas shined up nicely, but there are some nasty splotches that polishing by hand isn't touching. What's the correct approach to refinish these areas?

The handle spring seems to have no tension. This was a previous issue, and I went in and rebuilt the handle spring mech, but still the handle falls backwards without any resistance. Is it supposed to have resistance, or am i expecting too much?

The handle stop tab (little slider behind the handle) doesn't do anything. I rebuilt that as well, and it may just be a positioning issue on the metal tab. What exactly is that part supposed to do?

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[human]

Time to get abrasive

Mother's is good for a final polishing but you'll need to use some fine abrasives on those tough spots. Last spring, I did my G5 with Barkeeper's Friend, which is a very fine, non-scratching scouring powder. It took off the oxidation and left the metal with a smooth, satin (not mirror-like) finish. Mother's brought the shine up a notch but still not to a fully mirror-like gleam. I'm considering tearing it down again and polishing it further with Mother's and #000 or #0000 steel wool.

If you look on YouTube, you'll find videos showing metal restorations using progressively finer wet/dry sandpaper, starting with #180 and working up to something like #1600 or #2000. You'll want to keep the sandpaper wet during this process.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

dubis7

The handle lock button was designed so that it keeps the handle locked in the low position, when you so desire, for cleaning under tables.

~Ben

 

[dubis7]

So you push it into position after lowering the handle? That makes more sense, though mine still doesn't seem to move out far enough to engage the handle. Sounds like an adjustment issue.

 

[vacuser]

handle spring tension on kirbys

i have a tool for this & the knowledge of how to fix them. here's a pic. of the tool it takes. you have to take a clip loose & scoot the sleeve over to release it from the notched part then put the tool on & turn it till it has tension then replace the clip. done ! not all that easy.

 

[dubis7]

I actually have the same tool. I noticed it seemed to have very little tension before, and took it apart to check the spring. The spring seemed alright at the time, but I replaced the felt washer and clips to make sure everything had tension.

I think I'm seeing the problem with it now, actually. It had the correct tension at first, but something popped loose inside and the part that the handle slips into is no longer engaged properly. When I first put it back together, I had difficulty moving that piece without having the handle for leverage, and that's no longer true. I'll have to wait to do this work when I'm back from college and have the tool on hand. I don't want to take anything apart now; judging from prior experience I'll just end up with a mess of parts that I can't put back together without that tool.

Are there any suggestions for making sure I do that adjustment correctly, or is it really just trial and error?

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Some Pages for Your Consideration

Take a look at these pages. . .

~Ben

 

[jeschbac]

Handle Lock Pin Position

Dubis7, you probably figured this out from the service excerpts that Ben sent. There are two different ends on that pin: one rounded, one flat. I learned the hard way that the rounded end must be on the sani-emptor side and the flat end on the switch side. This gives the pin enough length to contact the handle. Not only can you lock the handle down for storage (see owner's manual), but by putting the handle up and the sliding the pin to the left, you can lift the front of the machine over cords, door frames, etc by just pushing down on the handle. That's my default position.
Sanding is the only way to go for scratched and pitted aluminum surfaces. I have a bench sander and have recently acquired wheels for sanding. It makes quick work of it. Check out Caswell for various polishing supplies.

 

[dubis7]

Yes! I had that part backwards, swapping it got it to support/hold the handle like it's supposed to.

I haven't had the same luck with the spring handle. But I believe I know why.

Every time I reinstall it, the groove in the yoke that the tooth on the bushing (fill in your own terminology, I may be getting this wrong so I included pictures) is never flat - it's always slightly off center. Inevitably, the tooth slides free over a short period, and the tension is lost.

I believe the metal on the yoke is worn. Instead of having flat sides, the grooves have worn into angles that are allowing the tooth to slip free. I'm going to replace the yoke.

I'm also including pictures of how I've been installing it, in case I'm doing anything horribly wrong.

On a side note, i've got another spring clip that was there when i disassembled this thing the first time. I don't see any mention of it anywhere, so I'm not sure what it is/where it's supposed to go. Does anyone recognize it?

 

[bikerray]

It looks like you have the spring clip on the outside of the housing. When you push the Handle fork spring bushing in, the groove on the bushing should be on the inside of the housing then you put the clip in the groove to hold the bushing in place, holding the handle fork spring yoke in place as well. If you have the clip on the outside of the housing the yoke will never stay in place.

 

[dubis7]

I've been checking to make sure that groove and the spring are in place inside the housing. My method has been: get everything in place besides the spring clip, use the tool to twist the bushing to the center tension position, push in as hard as I can, and push the clip onto the groove on the inside of the housing. As far as I can tell, that should be giving it the tension it needs like you said. However, the top of the groove always seems not be in far enough, making the clip unable to sit correctly. I'm pretty sure the worn metal on the groove in the bushing is allowing the tooth on the yoke to slide slightly underneath it, which is narrowing the groove and allowing enough space for the bushing to slide out of position over time. I've ordered replacements for the yoke and bushing and will see if that solves my problem.

Still unsure how to seat that mystery clip, though.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Josh,

The part you are talking about is the handle fork spring clip, part no. 1005.

~Ben

 

[bikerray]

With the clip in place it should look like this

 

[dubis7]

Fixed it! Replacing the shaft and fork spring clip helped, but the problem seemed to be the worn bushing and yoke. So I guess those parts should be checked when the tension mechanism stops working.

Also apparently the fork spring clip is much easier to get on if you do it while the handle pin is in place.

Thanks for your help, guys!