Hi Evan
Hi Evan,
Yes the Kirby 515 got here just fine. I've been a little tied up at work, I replied to your Mom's email address with a short note. Here it is...
"Hello Evan's Mom and Hello Evan!
The Kirby 515 arrived Monday last week (September 17th) and in good order. No problem with the packing and everything inside was fine. I got things out of the box and assembled and upright and this is a good looking "Classic" vacuum -- a bit more of that "vintage" style than my Dual 80s and a lot different from my 2009 Eureka.
I didn't have any extra time for the Kirby last week but this weekend I had a chance on Sunday (the 23rd) to do some cleaning. This vacuum really is in good shape, Evan certainly found a good one. His polishing on the rug nozzle looks great and I'm looking forward to polishing up the rest of the case and handle.
The bag is in great shape, the paint on the Kirby logo is a little worn but otherwise the bag should be with the vacuum for a long time. I detached the bag Sunday and turned it inside out for a good dusting. Vacuumed the inside with the shop vac and one of those pet wheels on the end of the shop vac hose. Even from the inside the bag hardly looks used. I don't think the bag is 1955 original but it is from right around that time -- maybe the original owner traded the Kirby when it was a few years old and the vacuum shop put a new bag on it to resell it. It certainly adds to the classic look.
Cleaned up the felt seal on the emptor tray, soaked and cleaned the emptor in the sink -- the emptor will look great polished too. The cord is fine and cleaning up nicely -- I'm using "Goo-Gone" (adhesive remover) which is mostly lemon oil, also some lighter fluid sparingly on a few tough spots, and the Goop mechanics hand cleaner which is very mild. The Goop is also working on the bumper and red rubber parts.
I got the screws for the wheels all loose and got the wheels off and cleaned in the sink. I like that hard black rubber, I'll have to see if some of my hot-rod and custom car buddies have any ideas about how to fix the cracks. I may have found some gray wheels to use. And I might look into making some reproduction black rubber wheels on a lathe using some hardware store wheels to start from -- I found some conveyor belt wheels that look close. I can keep the originals for display and use the reproductions for the housework.
Motor runs fine, the motor commutator brushes look good too but I'll be getting some spares for those, and a new brushroll so I can clean and store the original. The 515 is such a nice vacuum it deserves a modern brushroll after all these years. ;')
I'm very pleased with the Kirby, Thank You! I'll take good care of it and it will have a good home here in Colorado. I wanted to get some pictures with the Dual 80s but got the 515 apart to clean up the bag before I thought about that. I'll send some along when I get a chance.
Before I go here's a suggestion for something for Evan to look into if he continues to be interested in taking things apart and putting them back together.
"
For Evan and the others on Vacuumland who like working with their hands here's a fun web site I visit a lot:
Google for "hackaday.com" -- Hack-a-Day is a computer and electronics hobby web site. A lot of fun, interesting, and sometimes unusual projects for folks who like to fix things and make things.
I'll post some pictures of the Kirbys in this thread, or maybe a new thread if this thread closes (archives). Would like to get the 3 Kirbys together. For the guys working on dates and models this 515 has an original data plate on the bottom of the fan housing with "Model 515" on it, also a 10-blade fan, and I'd say the black wheels are original too.
Evan, I laughed-out-loud when I saw your post in the eBay thread on the "Evans" vacuum. Nice discussion in the Kirby Years thread too! ;')
The Kirby 515 is a Terrific Vacuum, Kirby should make a small machine like this again for smaller homes.
Jack
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