Regina Model 50 - Restoration in progress

[bob_smith]

I have taken on the daunting task of rejuvenating this neglected Regina Model 50.
I knew what I was getting into, and its certainly been that expected handful so far, from the protective spring for the motor wires falling apart from rust, to the rubber bumper's screws shearing off in the housing. Progress has been steady, however; the housing has been polished, the brush strip rebristled, and new bearings put in the motor. I think it'll be a real beauty when done, no matter how much age it shows.

I do require some reference information, and as such, I am kindly calling on Regina fans to share their wisdom.

1: What were the original dimensions and material of the bag for this model? I'm hoping I can sew myself a replica, but I don't have anything to reference, aside from the hardware. I've seen examples of this machine with black trim and cloth, but mine is a brown shade, and from the fabric scraps on the bag hardware, it was a tan color not unlike the royal bags you find on these, making me wonder if that could have been what it had.

2: On the note of color, the motor badge could use a touch-up. Did the raised lettering happen to have any color on it, or was it all one shade of paint?

3: The handle could also really use a repaint, too many rough spots to ignore, but I'm having trouble tracking down a suitable shade. Its a sort of dark brown "crinkle" finish, as you can see on the piece next to the motor badge, and I'm hoping that someone has done something similar enough on another vacuum.

 

[2011hoover700]

How did you rebristle the brush strip?
I'm asking because I'm currently in the middle of rebristling a modern vacuums' brushroll.
Thanks for your input.
2011hoover700

 

[huskyvacs]

Wow! So that's who bought this vac. I seen it relisted for months but the $50 shipping for a vacuum with very little left to it but a motor on a stick was just too much for me.

I am stunned at how good the metal polished out, that is incredible, and that is so cool you have the ability to make a bag from scratch.


There is an old for sale ad for someone selling a Regina Model 50 in 2009 that might help - it had an aftermarket Royal bag fitted like you described.

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?5793
Wo

 

[myvacsrock]

I’m doing a very similar model in a few weeks. I will share with you what I can as I go along. Most of my help will be in the bag department.
If you’d like to buy a replacement, I currently have one of my best friends who typically works at Hamilton on Broadway setting up shop with recreations.
There will be pretty much anything available as long as we have a reference. If you’d like one made, I will ask and send along the info.

 

[bob_smith]

2011hoover700,
I used the bristles off a nylon arbor wheel, cut to size.
The exact wheel I used is sourced from McMasterCarr, but I got the same thing from an ebay seller. The individual bristles are slightly larger in diameter than the originals, and I can’t speak as to the long term viability of them, but in terms of stiffness it seems to scrub the carpet just fine.


<hr />

HuskyVacs,
Indeed, it was me who finally took pity, and brought it home. I was wondering who else had their eye on it, and how long until that ebay listing was mentioned, hah. For me it cost 50$ total, 15$ for the vacuum and 35$ for shipping, which isn’t that bad at all in my eyes, considering the usual ebay prices for such things. The end result will most definitely be worth the expense.



Aluminum shines up so well, even when that heavily tarnished, one of the main reasons I enjoy working with it. I did the usual process of wet sanding from 400 grit up to 3000 grit, followed by a few rounds of mothers polish, and like you said, it turned out beautifully. As for bags, I’m far from an expert at sowing, quite new at it actually. But as long as you have the hardware and dimensions, I believe you can usually reverse-engineer them with enough patience. Workers put them together at the factory somehow, you just have to see if you can do that yourself.
Funnily enough, I was actually referencing that exact ad when doing research on this vacuum, and is one of the things I was drawing from when I mentioned Royal bags fitting on them.


<hr />

Myvacsrock,
Your Regina already looks great, so I’m sure that it will shine up wonderfully!
I look forward to your input in those few weeks, any information at all will help me out.
I do love the sound of that offer, and they’d very likely do a far better job than I could on my own, especially when it comes to the decal department. Feel free to get in contact with them, I’d like to see what comes of it.

 

[huskyvacs]

Did you polish the metal beforehand to remove most of the grime before sanding? Or did you just go at it? Do you think someone could achieve the same results with a bench-mount buffer and buffing wheels without having to involve sandpaper? Sandpaper always scares me that I might do it wrong and ruin the metal.

 

[bob_smith]

HuskyVacs,


I don't prepolish the metal, I only give the surface a good cleaning before starting, nothing extreme.


You could achieve a decent shine with a buffing wheel, but it'd take a lot more time to achieve the same results.


 


The principle behind the sandpaper is to remove oxidation, and gradually smooth out the grain on the surface of the metal, which is what results in reflectivity. A buffing wheel and polishing compound works on the same principle, only on a much finer scale. Think of removing fine rust with that wheel, you'd get through it eventually, but its much more efficient and practical to "clean" the surface first with more aggressive abrasives. That is also why you do it "wet", so that the water carries away all that removed material.


 


I'd say the best way to get over that fear is to simply practice, and get a feel for how it works. Stuff like old, beat up aluminum cookware or rusty tools are good candidates. The worst you can really do is lightly scratch the surface, which is reversible by sanding it out.

 

[hygiene903]

Hi Bob, looks like your restoration is going pretty good so far. I have two of them, a model 39 (pictured below) similar to Kyle's, and a model 59 that looks completely different. The 39 runs great and just needs a good polishing, the 59 doesn't run. Both of them have attachments, the 39 set being more complete.
The plate on the back of the motor is black, like the one you pictured. The handles on both of mine are black, and the bag is black with orange stripes and silver logo. hope this helps.
Jeff

 

[bob_smith]

I would like to finally post an update on this restoration, several months later.


Life got in the way, and prevented me from working on anything for a good while, but I finally got it all back together this week.


All that remains is to fabricate a bag and touch up some small details here and there, but overall I'm quite happy with how it turned out.


 


This vacuum definitely lived a hard life back in the day. It was ran enough to completely wear out the front bearing, to the point the inner race could be angled a good 15 degrees! The armature had some visible wear on the front end, where it was starting to glance against the stator. Once it started making all that racket, it was stuffed in an attic, and cooked for decades, until it found its way into my hands.


 


Its especially interesting to me how this model has two speeds. I'm not sure what purpose that was included for...perhaps they were touting how you could use the "gentler" suction on your delicate throw rugs, etc.


 

 

[hoover300]

Wow!!

Awesome job!!

 

[hygiene903]

Excellent Work!

It's beautiful!
Jeff

 

[huskyvacs]

It's coming along good!

You can't say people didn't get their money's worth out of an appliance in those days! I'm sure once more sophisticated vacuums came out (and wall to wall carpeting) they upgraded to a Hoover or something.

 

[oreck_xl]

I've never seen a Regina upright in person, and correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Regina one of the last companies to offer a straight suction upright into at least the late '40's/maybe early '50's? I imagine they have to have decent suction especially with the nozzle being so thin.

 

[hygiene903]

You're Right Hershel!

And another company making straight suction uprights was Royal. Even though Royal started building revolving brush uprights in the late 30's, they still offered a couple straight suction models into the 50's, and one straight suction model, the 311, was made into the 70's if I remember right.
Electro-Hygiene uprights, also made by Royal, were only made as straight suction until 1955. Here's a picture of the model 2-230, their last straight suction model.
Jeff

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

hygiene903

Jeff,

That's right: I found one 311 made as recent as this one built February 1979. Two changes: the outer bag was taken from an 880, while the 50' cord replaced the original 35' one in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The 311 was originally introduced in late 1945, to replace the previous 130.

I also found another one made about 1986 (4.5 amp motor) with the dark blue shake-out bag (that with the Royal name printed five times on it), but those last ones are very tough finds. I don't believe it lasted long enough to get the gray outer shake-out or long-zipper bags, though.

~Ben

 

[mjhoshaw]

Your post title really caught my eye!

When I saw "Regina model 50" my heart skipped a beat, and for a moment I wondered if you're a crossover collector. I have a 1905 Regina style 50 music box. For those who don't know, Bob's vacuum was made by the same Regina Co. that made my music box. You'll notice that the stylized "Regina" is the same.When first the phonograph, then radio, killed the music box market, Regina had to create a new product line in order to survive. History tells us they were very successful.


 


Beautiful work on the vacuum! I hope you enjoy your Regina as much as I enjoy mine.


 


Joel

 

[huskyvacs]

very cool, never knew Regina made music boxes. seems like they were trying to become a housewares company and make all kinds of things and just didn't have the production line to do more than one thing at a time

 

[oreck_xl]

I do know that Oreck took over the old Regina plant in Biloxi, Mississippi, and I was privileged enough to tour the factory almost 20 years ago, but what caused the ultimate downfall of Regina? Was it their Housekeeper (which was an abomination)? I did like their bagged Electrikbroom (which Oreck eventually made under their name).

 

[mjhoshaw]

Huskyvacs,

Regina marketed a spinoff of the style 50 that also would play 78 RPM records, but that wasn't enough to save them. What did in music boxes of all makes was the ability of records to present performances by live performers. The fidelity was poor but the buying public didn't care. Radio upped the ante with its ability to magically pull speech and music seemingly out of nowhere. Radio put a hurt on the early record industry, but it survived. One such success story was Victor Records, which merged with Radio Corporation of America to form RCA Victor.


 


I could go on and on but this is a vacuum forum, so 'nuff said. Back to vacuum talk.


 


Joel