Shetland Pony #3309 Hand Vac

[huskyvacs]

My newest eBay purchase! This one, I bought with a purpose - a mission in mind - if you will. I first seen it when looking for hand vacs, something similar to the old pool table vacuums you see on eBay a lot from the 1920's. I wanted a vacuum to be able to pre-clean my glass computer desk and around my PC without scratching my furniture or the glass top of my desk before I polish them. I eventually stumbled upon this vacuum in the search results and as soon as I saw it and seen the horsehair brush on it I said "yes! that's it, that's the one!"

However, there was a catch.

The seller had the only shipping option available as priority shipping. This unfortunately bumped the cost of the vacuum up to well over $30. I could not afford this. I set the vacuum aside in my Firefox bookmarks and never forgot about it, but just kept an eye on it. I was hoping the seller would lower the price at the least.

Sadly, they did not and it got relisted over and over and over again for the next 6-7 months, and it still remained unsold. Finally, this month when I was working behind my videogame cabinet (that I built myself in 2015) re-routing and bundling all the cables with new cable ties that I bought - in the process of sitting on the floor getting leg cramps and covered in bits of foam adhesive and sawdust, I thought to myself "damn, I really wish I had that Shetland vac". Well, as soon as I got the task done and got out of there and sat back in my chair, I clicked onto eBay and I emailed the seller. I said that I would love to buy this vacuum, but wondered if there was a cheaper shipping option available. I had a feeling they would accept my proposition, because I am sure they got sick of relisting it every month for nearly a year. They got back to me with the new shipping quotes entered into the eBay listing, and success! They had a parcel post option for $9!

This new cost brought the grand total of the vacuum right down to a mere $15 price tag (with S&H included, now that I could afford! I bought it right away for $15.75, and here it is!

To my surprise they actually shipped it priority mail even though I selected parcel post. With me also being an eBay seller, I know from experience that sometimes the cost of priority is either equal or not much difference from parcel, so it was a nice bonus that they chose to ship it priority.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a photo of the box as it arrived. This photo was taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:15 PM.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here are a couple photos of the only attachment that came with it, the horsehair brush. I thought it was original to the vacuum, but after doing some Google searching to try and find more information on this vacuum I found a crusty JPEG from 2017 that showed a nearly mint copy of this vacuum that had a totally different set of attachments, and they were a lot smaller.

I cannot find any other photos of this vacuum so I am not totally sure if this is original to the vacuum or not. There are two photos here of the top and the bottom of the brush. I am amazed at the condition of it, it looks virtually brand new! It doesn't even smell! The photos were taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:17 PM.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a photo of the vacuum itself in all its glory. It was A LOT bigger than I expected it to be! I had planned out a small tool bag to store it in to keep it protected and so I could carry it around easier, but that plan is out now! I will have to look for a bigger bag. lol It reminds me a lot of the old General Electric (or Sunbeam?) electric carving knife that my great grandmother used to own. Same color scheme. The photo was taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:19 pm.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a shot of the inside of the vacuum with the bag in place after the nozzle/spout has been unscrewed. It came with a Complimentary Dirt Bag™ which was hardly full, but the contents kind of jostled around in shipping so it made a bit of a mess. The photo was taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:20 PM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a shot of the interior of the vacuum canister with the bag removed. I first thought that it had a pancake of matted pet hair clogged in the motor screen, but I realized that it was just the filter pad. The closest I can compare it to is polyester pillow padding. One of the screws has broken or worked itself out of the frame as well, so I am hoping that that will not be too bad of a repair. Suprisingly for having a lunch bag for a collection bag, it is not all that dirty in here. The photo was taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:21 PM.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a shot of the dust bag. Based on the overall condition of the vacuum, I think this one is original to the vacuum from the factory. The replacement bags I have seen look nothing like this one in the fact that the stitching is different, the cardboard collar is thinner, and are not folded over at the ends. This bag is co comically small, it's cute. It reminds me of the paper bags from Jimmy John's Mini Jimmy's sandwiches! The photo was taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:23 pm.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a shot of the end of the plug. Non-polarized, because safety is just too expensive! (joke). The stain at the base of the prong, I have no idea what that is. I do not believe is a burn mark though, it looks like it is just a random stain that got on there somehow, it is kind of the color of BBQ sauce. The photo was taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:25 PM

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a photo of the model tag. If anyone can date this vacuum, that would help me a lot! The photo was taken on 4/8/2019 3:32 PM.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here is a beautiful close-up shot of the logo. Very utilitarian, but also quite stylistic. The photo was taken on 4/8/2019 at 3:33 PM.

 

[huskyvacs]

To conclude this topic, here is a photo of the front and back of the package of NOS vacuum bags I managed to find for it. This is why I waited to post my find until tonight. I made an offer on the bags for a price I thought was fair, and they accepted! These bags only cost me $7.84. I saved a couple bucks to bring the cost down under $10. These photos were taken on 4/10/2019 at 6:42 PM.

 

[huskyvacs]

The seller even included a couple of Tootsie Rolls with the purchase! I love it when sellers include candy with the invoice, they don't do it too much anymore because people are so paranoid about candy tampering/poisoning. To me, it gives me a taste association with my vacuum purchase, since I usually am chewing on them as I unbox the vacuum and inspect it and admire it. The photo was taken on 4/10/2019 at 6:42 PM

 

[huskyvacs]

To conclude this topic, I intended to buy this vacuum to use as a daily vacuum, or rather whenever I was working on a small building project or repair to the house that made a small mess and needed a quick pick-up without hauling out a big upright. This brought up the issue of getting bags for it. Now in the listing they said bags could be easily found on eBay, but because the listing had been on eBay for so long, those auctions had long since expired and went away. I realized this vacuum must have been rare when I couldn't find any vacuum bags for it when I looked the first time, that factor and the price is also why I didn't buy it right away.

Luckily just at the same time I bought this vacuum this month, someone had probably seen it on eBay and put up some packs of bags for it, never used old stock. I bought those too, but not with the intention of using them, I wanted to preserve them for posterity and the sake of collecting. I intended to open the pack and take a bag out to use as a template to make my own bags for it, but when I got them, I seen the lovely retro 1960's packaging and the Western Auto Stores text, I just couldn't bare to open it.

So instead I will use the vacuum bag that is already in the vacuum and study that one, cut it apart and use it as a template to make my own custom bag (possibly reusable or washable). I won't be using this vacuum that heavily so I think I can get away with reusing a HEPA bag or similar, as it will not get that grubby that quickly. I already have plans in mind on how to make this bag and make it so it can be easily replaced with a new bag if need be, the trick is into making the bag collar perfect, as if you make it too big or too thick, the vacuum will not screw together properly and will make a suction leak and look incorrectly fastened as well.

 

[madman]

Noice!

Also it's basically double insulated, so polarization is not necessary. I'm pretty sure it's not even required.

 

[huskyvacs]

Well it's also plastic too, so you couldn't get any shocks anyway. A metal vacuum might be different (and maybe in my garage where the outlets are wired backwards at the panel).

 

[lesinutah]

Hey

I'm going to guess on date. E would be the month so May. 24 would be the day May 24th. 71 would be the year May 24th 1971. The 3 would stand for how many amps the motor is.
I'm guessing I'm probably right on date and that is a sweet little vacuum. Very nice.
Les

 

[huskyvacs]

Thanks for the help, Les. With you providing a date range, I decided to try using that to search with, and I managed to find it!

I found an ad from Sep. 14, 1970 from the Indiana Pennsylvania Gazette advertising this Pony Vac.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/13745314/

I don't have a membership with that site so I can't view it full size, but it looks like it says it sold for $17.88 at a store called Troutman's. That would be $116.93 today!

 

[kirbyklekter]

I couldn't tell by looking

at that ad,too dark, if they showed the attachments that came with your vacuum. Did you see that dusting brush you were curious about? It sure looks like a couple I have that came with older Kirby's.

 

[huskyvacs]

Oh no, the ad I mentioned finding that showed the attachments was an eBay ad from 2017. Which the photo is here.

The brush that is on mine is a flexible soft rubber, but it fits the nozzle perfectly, no play or wobble or anything.