repairman
Well-known member
After going through the pile of vacuums that Jon Durfor didn't want, I snagged this Westinghouse Upright. Despite how bad it looked (Sorry. No before pictures), the machine was complete and the brushroll looked to have been rebristled.
I took the thing apart down to the last screw as the wiring fell apart in my hands. The dry rotted cord was replaced with one that was scavenged from an Oreck Magnesium that was thrown away at work. Thankfully, the original strain relief was in great shape and I was able to reuse it.
The wiring coming from the field was a challenge however. It was cloth covered wire that was as brittle as spaghetti. Since there was some good wire right before it went into the field, I was able to amputate the brittle wiring and solder on some fresh cord using heatshrink afterward.
One of the screws holding in the handle fork was also broken off. One cut with a Dremel gave me a slot to be able to remove the screw with a screwdriver. The unit received a buffing job and was all done. So I thought.
I went to power on the machine and the bag had literally burst in half since the stitching was so fragile. Ray came like an angel from heaven and graciously sewed the bag back together using his serger which completed the project.
Upon seeing the fabric tube attached to the coupler, I had the idea to take a bag connector from a Sanitaire F&G outer bag to use paper bags. Now I can use Hoover C bags which are just the right size.
I took the thing apart down to the last screw as the wiring fell apart in my hands. The dry rotted cord was replaced with one that was scavenged from an Oreck Magnesium that was thrown away at work. Thankfully, the original strain relief was in great shape and I was able to reuse it.
The wiring coming from the field was a challenge however. It was cloth covered wire that was as brittle as spaghetti. Since there was some good wire right before it went into the field, I was able to amputate the brittle wiring and solder on some fresh cord using heatshrink afterward.
One of the screws holding in the handle fork was also broken off. One cut with a Dremel gave me a slot to be able to remove the screw with a screwdriver. The unit received a buffing job and was all done. So I thought.
I went to power on the machine and the bag had literally burst in half since the stitching was so fragile. Ray came like an angel from heaven and graciously sewed the bag back together using his serger which completed the project.
Upon seeing the fabric tube attached to the coupler, I had the idea to take a bag connector from a Sanitaire F&G outer bag to use paper bags. Now I can use Hoover C bags which are just the right size.
