Nicholas Denney Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) I jumped on this particular example despite its condition and incompleteness, minus even the guard initially, because I noticed that it was a new variant, as far as I knew. Aside from many extra holes, some of which appear to indicate this is a 3-strut fan rather than one as the other known examples, the base is significantly different. So, here's a "special" fan from the Specialty Manufacturing Company of Indianapolis, Indiana There are FIVE IMAGES of the fan, followed by the 1896 patent and TWO other known examples of this fan to compare. NOTE that my base design more closely resembles the cross section in the patent drawing. If you review the text of the patent 0565772, you will find that the holes in the rim of the base appear to be for the guard mounting. (PDF DOWNLOAD) 0565772.pdf Edited January 14 by Nicholas Denney Patent 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lane Shirey Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Looks like someone drilled a hole in the top to make a lamp out of it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Denney Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 (edited) 7 hours ago, Lane Shirey said: Looks like someone drilled a hole in the top to make a lamp out of it In the realm of possibility, but very unlikely due to the hole being 9/16" while a hole for lamp pipe would be 3/8". As stated in the original post, this fan has more holes than all the later models known, so I won't be too quick to braze it shut. Edited January 14 by Nicholas Denney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Andersen Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 8 hours ago, Lane Shirey said: Looks like someone drilled a hole in the top to make a lamp out of it I bet it was for flowers 🌹🌹 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Butler Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Glad someone here picked it up. It was within driving distance for me but the hole in the top ran me off. It will still display well regardless. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Denney Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 45 minutes ago, Steve Butler said: Glad someone here picked it up. It was within driving distance for me but the hole in the top ran me off. It will still display well regardless. 👍 If it comes to it, the hole can be repaired to the point of being invisible. I've determined that it is the earliest known model from the Specialty Mfg. Company, so I was more than happy to pay what I did even in the shape it's in. 1898 ad below. Based on the similarity to the patent drawings, my example may date 1896-98. Unfortunately what may be the correct guard as shown in both has not been seen or made before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Huber Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Bummer about the hole. Right smack dab in the middle of everything to boot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Huber Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 5 hours ago, Nicholas Denney said: If it comes to it, the hole can be repaired to the point of being invisible. As is, it can be old as the Mayflower, it still has a large hole in it that shouldn't be there. We all want to see your repair to the point of being invisible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Denney Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 4 hours ago, Russ Huber said: As is, it can be old as the Mayflower, it still has a large hole in it that shouldn't be there. We all want to see your repair to the point of being invisible. It's brass which can be brazed shut, then sculpted with Dremel bits. This part of the fan isn't unique so patterns are available, but like I said, I'd rather leave it alone if it's part of the fan's history in use. It's unlikely to be a hole that was made in recent times due to its size. I personally suspect the fan was used with a funnel in the hole as a spittoon. That would make lots of sense historically, a self-emptying spittoon. Every man in town would be jealous of the idea! (Yes, I'm serious - explain why this wouldn't be a useful or practical feature in the heyday of spittoons; it's 1898) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Rathberger Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Take a whiff, tobacco smell is not easy to get rid of, especially tar. It'd pool up somewhere in there. That said, is the shaft frozen or does it turn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Denney Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 (edited) 2 hours ago, Michael Rathberger said: Take a whiff, tobacco smell is not easy to get rid of, especially tar. It'd pool up somewhere in there. That said, is the shaft frozen or does it turn? It will last awhile, but over a century is asking a bit, it's an organic material after all. The motor case does have a brown dust and crust inside it, but it can be iron deposition. (No rusting, remember this is a nickeled brass casting, the water wheel is also brass) The shaft turns very freely, ironically better than most fans I've worked on around this age. It came from the auction with a brass Westinghouse blade, so it had at least two lives as a fan. Edited January 15 by Nicholas Denney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Huber Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kovar Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 And if you want it straight from the horse's mouth... hornerindustrial.com/history 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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