David Kilnapp Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 Hello fan friends. Cool and wet up here in the northeast! Good day to work on a fan. Rick Powell was kind enough to sell me a 1916 Peerless front oscillator (model FF19?). It is a BEAST...very heavy! It easily came apart. Rick said that the spiders were free of charge. The parts were in pristine condition. After some cleaning, I determined that the japanne on the case was in fair condition with minor paint loss. I replaced the headwire with three conductor that Tony Clayton made for me (slightly heavier and thicker) which was perfect. The switch was in good shape, just needed some adjustments and cleaning. The japanne on the base was too far gone and rusty so I shipped it back to Rick for his expert japanning. In the meantime I looked for some pictures of this fan in the old gallery. Apparently, there was a metal cover with felt on it that attached to the bottom of the base (see above picture). My fan is missing that so I'll be looking to replace it. Also, my fan is missing the badge. I seem to recall that someone in the club made these badges (with the thumb screw on the back) though I can't recall who. Perhaps someone can remind me? The fan now sits on my bench waiting for the newly japanned base and the completed brass refinishing. I'll post additional pictures when the fan is complete. I hooked up the new headwire to the reconditioned switch and it ran super smoothly on three distinct speeds! This is a very nice fan and may be the heaviest of any twelve inch fan in my collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Rockwell Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 (edited) David, Can you (or can anyone?) speak to the Colonial/Peerless style designations? I've not seen any systematic INFO posted. Your FF19 and my CB1.8 might suggest year of manufacture, but that would not require a decimal point, and I don't believe they'd have done anything so easily comprehensible... Edited October 1, 2022 by Steve Rockwell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 1, 2022 Author Share Posted October 1, 2022 This Peerless and the two below are the only Peerless fans that I own so I am not informed enough to opine on model numbers or year of manufacture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Carmody Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 Very nice!I really like the Peerless cage badge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 If only I could find one for the twelve inch. Russ Huber has emailed Donald Coleman who once made these badges. Meantime, the restoration of the twelve inch has brought up another question. What is the correct orientation of the struts? The top picture is in the old forum gallery and the bottom was one of Steve Stephens' fans. Which is the correct orientation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Lindsey Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Lindsey Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Campbell Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Dave, how ON EARTH did you get the struts off that?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Gaines Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Great Job David, I had the same question about the struts when I restored my 12" Colonial. Have seen them both ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 Sure is pretty, Bobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 7 hours ago, Sean Campbell said: Dave, how ON EARTH did you get the struts off that?! Hi Sean. The fans came to me disassembled so they were already off. I would use a long thin screw driver and if the threads are stripped, simply pull on the strut as you back the screw out. Then find another screw and hope that the threads in the pot metal front of the case aren't stripped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Rockwell Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 I'm enjoying this thread, seeing these Peerless David..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stephens Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 (edited) 14 hours ago, David Kilnapp said: Meantime, the restoration of the twelve inch has brought up another question. What is the correct orientation of the struts? The top picture is in the old forum gallery and the bottom was one of Steve Stephens' fans. Which is the correct orientation? As far as I know the strut orientation on my fan pictured here- the bottom fan- is original as was the whole fan. I'll add that this is an earlier cone base model and the only pot metal I think was the neck piece. The entire motor, gearbox, gearbox cover were all cast iron and magnetic. This is the only fan like this I have had to compare with and I find it strange how the strut orientation is so different on your two fans. Can you rotate your struts so they fit like mine? I'll be away from my computer until later in the week. Edited October 2, 2022 by Steve Stephens more clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 The struts fit either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Lindsey Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 If you google Antique Peerless fans all of them have the struts toward the rear with the tab pointing to the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Stephens Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 It's possible that I reversed the struts on my fan. In any case I thought that worked better, looked better, and seemed to be the way they should be installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 I guess it's a matter of personal preference though for historical accuracy, I will face the struts with the tab pointing forward, which is identical to the eight inch Peerless fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Morris Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 David, I have that exact fan FF 19. The tabs are facing forward. If I run into any fun when restoring it, I may have to pester you for information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Mike Morris said: David, I have that exact fan FF 19. The tabs are facing forward. If I run into any fun when restoring it, I may have to pester you for information. The 12 inch came apart very easily even though I don't own a spanner wrench, which is the tool you need to open the gear cover with the two holes. Darryl Hudson gave me a tip on how to do it without spending the money for a spanner wrench. Here is what he said (and it worked like a charm). Find a drill bit whose non cutting end fits snuggly into one of the two holes on the gear cover. Then take a small nail set and using a small hammer, tap the base of the bit so that the cover will turn in a counter clockwise direction. It only takes a couple of taps to get the cover to begin turning. Neat trick! I wasn't able to separate the oscillator wheel from the bottom gear and I didn't want to risk damaging the brass gear teeth by putting a wrench on the gear to hold it still while I unscrewed the oscillator wheel from the shaft. There didn't seem to be a need to take it apart since I was able to clean the gear (below) and the japanne without having to take it apart. Steve Stephens cautionary advice on using the pipe method to get the stator out is well founded. I was VERY careful not to blow out the back of the case and I sprayed the inside of the case where the stator made contact with liquid wrench which helped the stator move when I very slowly tapped the PVC pipe on my cement floor to get the stator to slide out. After removing the stator, I run the outside of the stator across my stationary belt sander to clean all the crud off and then I apply some wax to the outside so that the stator will slide back into the case without too much effort. It helps to take a dremel to clean the four contact points on the inside of the head case too, after thoroughly degreasing the inside and outside of the case with Krud Kutter. Wear breathing protection when using this as it is tough on the lungs. I highly recommend Tony Clayton's three conductor thick wire. He made some especially for me to more closely approximate some Emerson wire at my request. It's perfect for this application. This is a much easier fan to work on than the little cousin to this fan, whose small size and brushes makes it much tougher to work on particularly when replacing the headwires (which requires soldering to the brush holders inside a very small space). As far as I can tell, the only pot metal on the 12 inch fan might be the neck pivot piece. This exact fan is for sale on eBay right now for a very reasonable $425 (link below). And it has the parts I'm missing (the bottom cover and the badge). https://www.ebay.com/itm/374285293714?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201018205123%26meid%3D92791dbb8e1841f48df39a6d7cdc69d7%26pid%3D101286%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26mehot%3Dnone%26itm%3D374285293714%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26algv%3DWatchlistVariantWithMLR%26brand%3DPeerless&_trksid=p2380057.c101286.m47999&_trkparms=pageci%3A4467a5b0-429f-11ed-9b14-cafc6692e4a3|parentrq%3A9ac1c3451830a44c18984b1cfff94e7e|iid%3A1 It is interesting to note that the struts on the eBay fan are facing the opposite way which I believe to be correct. Also, the style number on the badge is FF2. I wonder how that differs from the FF1? Edited October 2, 2022 by David Kilnapp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Morris Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 (edited) David, for what it's worth the struts on mine are as found. I haven't touched them, that's not to say the previous owner didn't reverse them at some point. Unfortunately quite a number of these fans have had "work" done on them at some point in the past. Not everyone has the same "attention to detail" that David and many other collectors have for these fans. I hadn't noticed the direction of the struts on my fan, I was just happy to find it intact for a reasonable price. Seems my attention to detail needs improvement. That being said... Some of the fans I have found in various places, have convinced me of a few things 1. Some people don't pay attention when disassembling things. 2. If you have to bend it a little to make it fit, then that must be the way it goes together. 3. A little smoke and heat never hurt anybody 4. Great condition means no more than 50% rusted away 5. There are people that can break a steel ball bearing in a bucket of grease with a rubber hammer. I say this tongue in cheek, as a kid learning about mechanical and electrical things, I did some pretty sketchy things.............drove my dad nuts Edited October 4, 2022 by Mike Morris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Lindsey Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Mine is an FF2 and it is 16". Not sure that means all FF2's are 16" but this one is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Morris Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 I checked my little Peerless OP-114 and it is the same way. Tabs point to front on motor and the retainers and screw heads face the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted October 4, 2022 Author Share Posted October 4, 2022 4 hours ago, Mike Morris said: I checked my little Peerless OP-114 and it is the same way. Tabs point to front on motor and the retainers and screw heads face the rear. Thanks Mike. That seems to be the correct orientation so I'm going with that. I just bought the correct badge (with the wrong style number) from Chad Baker (below). When I get it, I'll clean it up and bring it to a local machine shop that I have worked with in the past. Maybe the owner knows someone in the trade who can reproduce them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.