David Kilnapp Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 (edited) Good morning friends. Very cold here in Massachusetts this morning (17 degrees). No significant snow here (yet). Supposed to be low fifties and rainy tomorrow but we are expecting 4 inches of snow on Friday. You may recall that I acquired a "parts" fan on one of my fan gathering forays. It was missing the cage, the porcelain switch, bakelite knob and brass pointer and coil so I was able to convince the seller (who wanted $500) to part with it for $200. Here are some before pictures. I put power to the posts in the back when I got it home and it fired right up though very slowly so I cracked the case and cleaned fifty years of crud and dust. Upon closer inspection, the rotor spindle was badly worn (presumably) by a hardened oil wick. I haven't seen that too often. I disassembled it completely and took a quick look at the underside of the base, which was heavily pitted by rust. I put the coil aside for some future attempt to find the broken wires which were not immediately evident. Then I removed the hardened rubber feet. This fan had been sprayed with a rattle can at one time so there was no chance of bringing any shine to the japanne which was buried under the spray paint. I thought about sending the parts to my expert japanner (Rick Powell) but then, I decided to try a local metal worker (Advanced Finishing) who is only three miles from my home, to see if he would give me a price to strip and powder coat the four pieces. The heavy pitting on the bottom of the base contributed to my decision not to japanne. And I was curious as to what kind of job my local guy would do. Within a week, I received an email with a picture, showing the completed powder coating job. The results were better than I expected and the price and turnaround time were quite good. I got the pieces home and since I had already had the brass refinished and polished by my friend Ron Bethoney, I began the re-assembly. The powder coating needed to be removed from the edge of the nose so I could get the oil slingee to fit snugly on the nose. Other than that there was only some minor tweaking needed of the holes where the plastic grommets fit in the base. The new coil arrived from Sartron (it took about a month to get it vs. immediately getting one from Antique Fan Parts). I have never installed a five speed coil in a pancake before but the instructions were very clear. I would caution folks to note the location of the "center sweep" on the side of the switch that faces up so you can properly orient the wiring directions that come with the coil. Here is the underside of the fan awaiting the new coil. It took no more than thirty minutes to solder in the new coil and the fan fired right up on five distinct speeds. You may notice that I replaced the center steel washer (between the base and the yoke) with a brass washer for a little bling. I also replaced the steel set screw with brass set screw. Darryl Hudson supplied these to me some time ago (I always buy extra from him to make it worth his while and to keep some in my inventory for future use). I'm pleased with the way this turned and I enjoyed working on it. Edited January 4, 2022 by David Kilnapp 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Lindsey Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 Nice Job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 I should have mentioned that kudos go to Ted Kaczor for his marvelous reproduction cage. The quality is always exceptional and Ted turned it around in record time. Thank you Ted and also Chad and Linda at Antiquefanparts.com. They are wonderfully responsive and lovely to deal with. Also thanks to Darryl Hudson who is always available to meet my needs for various bakelite grommets and brass parts - a very good guy indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Kaczor Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 My pleasure David. You're a GE Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Ray Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Absolutely beautiful fan David! Great write up on the process. I've had a couple fans powder coated and have been really pleased with the results. If you find a powder coater that does good work, stick with them. I've got one guy that does beautiful work and a couple others that will never see my fans. Certain guys pay extra attention to detail and know that they are working on something special like one of our fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Nyman Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Thanks for the great chronology, and I did not know powder coating could produce those results. I've never been involved in that process but now that I see the results I won't fear going that route in the future. I also didn't know that cages were being reproduced, much less so well done...Beautiful work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Huber Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 A talented good powder coater makes a huge difference, and it appears you got a talented one. He shot the castings nice'n-even. They are great family or bedroom fans. This is what Dave looks like with two eyes. It's all in the suit you wear! 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Gaines Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Looks really great David! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 Thanks. I don't wear a suit too often these days, being retired. Society has gotten a lot more casual these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Huber Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 7 minutes ago, David Kilnapp said: Thanks. I don't wear a suit too often these days, being retired. Society has gotten a lot more casual these days. Based on what I see of you here, and on the web, you appear to be quite the philanthropist. Nice to have you here, regardless of what you wear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kilnapp Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 You re very kind with your flattery, Russ. I owe a lot to many people so I must be about the business of repaying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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