Dan Tothill Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 Hello! I picked up these Lasko window fans from Facebook Marketplace last fall and finally got around to setting them up tonight. One runs really smooth and should just need to be cleaned and lubricated but the other has a rattle and I can wiggle the fan blade back and forth on the shaft. Curious how to remove the blade from the shaft or tighten up the connection. I would love to get these back into daily use. any ideas on the age of these two fans? They’re reversible by spinning the fan around. Pretty neat. I’m also curious, do older fans push more air than newer ones? I have a couple standard square box fans and after running this little metal lasko for a few minutes it felt significantly stronger then I remember box fans being. Excited to keep these fans going, and to be on the lookout for good old fans in need of saving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zapf Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 DAN YOUR FANS ARE FROM THE EARLIER 1960S WITH THAT DIAMOND SHAPE BADGING. THEY MADE THESE IN TO THE 1970S WITH THE LATER VERSIONS HAVING A REAR GRILLE THAT WAS PART OF THE HOUSING AND PLASTIC BLADE AND FRONT GRILLE. BELIEVE IT OR NOT WITH ALL THAT METAL WORK YOU CAN FIND ADS FROM "BACK IN THE DAY" WHERE THEY SOLD FOR $9.97 OR SO. THE WEAK POINT IS THE MOTOR AS THE SHAFT DIAMETER IS VERY SMALL AND THEY SPUN AT HIGH RPM . PEOPLE RARELY TOOK THEM APART TO GET OIL IN TO THEM AND THE BEARINGS WEAR EASILY. IN EACH MOTOR END CAP IS THE TINY BUSHING WITH AN OIL RESEVOIR AND LITERALLY A PIN HOLE TO GET OIL IN THERE SO YOU HAVE TO BE CREATIVE. REMOVING THE MOTOR CAN BE A PAIN AS THE WIRING TO THE SWITCH IS SOLDERED. THE BLADE SCREWS ON TO A THREADED END OF THE SHAFT. SO AS YOU FACE THE FAN FRONT THE SHAFT WILL SPIN CLOCKWISE TO KEEP THE BLADE ON SO TO LOOSEN, YOU HOLD THE BLADE AND YOU HAVE TO GET THE SHAFT TO TURN COUNTER CLOCKWISE*****WARNING**** THE "HUB" AND BLADE ARE ONLY PRESSED TOGETHER AND IT IS VERY EASY TO ACCIDENTLY LOOSEN THE BLADE FROM THE HUB DURING THIS PROCESS. I AM ALL IN FAVOR OF TRYING TO GET OIL IN TO THE TWO BUSHINGS & END CAPS WITHOUT TAKING A WHOLE LOT APART. IF YOU REMOVE THE REAR GRILLE, MOTOR AND BLADE AS AN ASSEMBLY IT IS MUCH EASIER TO GET OIL IN IT. I HAVE 2 OF THOSE AND HAVE HAD MANY OVER THE YEARS. THE ONES I STILL HAVE ARE IN VERY GOOD CONDITION AND THE HOUSE I GOT THEM OUT OF WAS THAT OF A MECHANIC OR MACHINIST AND HE KEPT THEM OILED. THE UNIT YOU HAVE WHERE THE BLADE AND SHAFT HAVE "PLAY" MIGHT HAVE THE FRONT BUSHING/BEARING WORN . ...GOOD LUCK WITH THEM.... I LIKE RUNNING MINE ON A VARIAC TO KEEP THE RPM DOWN 1/5 FROM FULL...JUST MY 2 CENTS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Tothill Posted July 19, 2022 Author Share Posted July 19, 2022 Thanks so much Tom! I took my clunky one apart tonight and the blade is firmly attached to the shaft, the whole shaft moves back and forth a tiny bit. I tried tightening some nuts to see if that would help but it was still there. How involved is changing a bushing/bearing on one of these? They look so good and push a lot of air. I’d love to get them both working well again. One runs well but needs some cosmetic work, the one that’s in better cosmetic shake is the one with the rattle. is there a modern variac I could buy now to protect the fan while I search for a vintage one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Zapf Posted July 19, 2022 Share Posted July 19, 2022 the guys here can advise on a variac....regarding changing the bushing they are so tiny i am not sure, i wonder if you could find the motor or motor end?..it sounds like yours is definitely worn and the end part comes off so easily (blade...not so easy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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