remove hardened rubber feet from GE 6" Series F

[Patrick Pierce]

Hi All,

I am beginning to restore a GE Series-F 6" fan (only my 2nd restoration!).  This one has 6 rubber feet that have hardened brittle, and I'm hoping for some advice on removing them completely. 

I scraped off what I could, which was just what's on the surface.  (I was hoping to find screws beneath.)  But the base is stamped steel, and it seems the whole upright cone is crimped permanently all around the bottom disk.  This makes disassembly impossible without lots of damage.

I hit 1 foot with a heat gun, which softened it, and I scraped out what I could with a bamboo skewer, but there is still some rubber left stuck inside-- just where I will want to install its replacement.  Since I can't get the base apart, I'm hoping one of you more experienced members has fought this fight before, and won!  Any advice?

Best,

Patrick

[Russ Huber]

These come in handy (link provided below) for scraping hardened rubber or crud off of painted surface with minimal abrasion or damage to surrounding finish. They come in handy in many ways during the restoration process.  In the past, I cut the rubber extensions off of stem bumpers ordered from Mcmaster Carr and used for Westinghouse tank feet and glued them in place. There are other options you can dig up similar that will do the job. 

Fiberglass Solder Aid and Spudger Probe (specialized.net)

Edited March 15 by Russ Huber

[Russ Huber]

2 hours ago, Russ Huber said:

In the past, I cut the rubber push in extensions off of stem bumpers ordered from Mcmaster Carr and used for Westinghouse tank feet and glued them in place.

You can order the same push in stem bumpers in bulk, or exact number for your needs if you choose this route. Darryl Hudson stocks them as well.

Westinghouse Tank Motor Rubber Feet Set of 5 - Antique Fan Supply Co (antiquefanparts.com)

push-in bumpers | McMaster-Carr

[Trevor Andersen]

I just get a dremel deburring tool in the center and punch through and wiggle it back and forth once it digs in and eventually the rubber fractures and I can pull enough out that the base plate can be freed. If the plate is crimped in this can be used to clear it out enough for a new foot. I use a narrow steel brush like these. https://www.acehardware.com/departments/tools/power-tool-accessories/multitool-accessories/2493450

I purposefully "ruin" these kind of brushes and make them form a ball from pressure. Once they are ball shaped they are rigid enough and without sharp edges so perfect for digging out small spaces without cutting into metal. I use cheap ones off of amazon though because they dont last too long if youre puting pressure on them in a small space.

Edited March 16 by Trevor Andersen

[John Landstrom]

Russ,

Any pics/tips for him on -  (I’m curious too)

1.  Taking the base off.  It looks like the base plate just slips in the conical base.  Correct?   Are there screws from above that secure the plate?  **
2.  Is there a pic somewhere of the original feet (or new replacement version) for perspective on what he’s dealing with?  
3.  Is there anything directly above the feet that could be damaged by using a tool like an exacto knife or similar.  Wires?  Any pics of the inside ?
 

** It does look like he’s got a dent in the base that may need to be fixed.  I’d be tempted to use a drift punch to fix that.  

[Russ Huber]

3 hours ago, John Landstrom said:

Russ,

Any pics/tips for him on -  (I’m curious too)

1.  Taking the base off.  It looks like the base plate just slips in the conical base.  Correct?   Are there screws from above that secure the plate?  **
2.  Is there a pic somewhere of the original feet (or new replacement version) for perspective on what he’s dealing with?  
3.  Is there anything directly above the feet that could be damaged by using a tool like an exacto knife or similar.  Wires?  Any pics of the inside ?
 

** It does look like he’s got a dent in the base that may need to be fixed.  I’d be tempted to use a drift punch to fix that.  

I know I have another one in my stash, I can't find it. It has been so long since I worked on one, I can't remember for sure if the bottom plate just comes off when the feet are removed or not?

[Steve Rockwell]

 

                        Plainly, the worse for wear... hence original.

       Archival photos do not depict the bottom view,

and that suggests the base plate is not easily removed... since there's little reason to separate them (no internal parts) I'd wonder at the necessity of ever removing the base, particularly since I'd always assumed the pieces in question to be of this ilk:

 

     Divots on mine:

 

 

     No wires involved, and seemingly no screws... what Trevor writes suggests there is a screw function to the rubber pieces, I just don't know...

 

        so take the plunge, and publish.

Edited March 16 by Steve Rockwell

[Patrick Pierce]

Awesome input, guys.  Russ, that fiberglass probe is the exact shape of the bamboo skewers I've been using.  John, thanks for noticing the dent; I've started on that with a drift punch.  It's much lessened from the bottom, but I may need to use some filler on the edge.  Steve, thanks for the pix & the push-in bumpers link.  I have a feeling that's exactly what these are.

And for anyone that reads this in the future, I think swaged should have been my word for how these two steel clamshell parts of this tiny GE base are permanently smushed together... never to be parted. 🙂 Someone correct me if this base is actually some secret GE puzzle box, and to gain entry I need to speak the Elvish word for friend.

I think I have a plan, though, for the stuck-inside remnants of these crumbly feet.  I'm gonna gently heat up a thin screw with my torch, and screw it into each rubber remnant, and then let it cool.  Then pull the screw out, and those pesky rubber remains along with it.  (And of course this will work perfectly, because things always do, right?)  Well, likely there will be some cleanup, and Trevor, I've already got some of those tiny Dremel wire brushes, so those should work nicely.  I'll post again about how things go.

Thanks again for your replies & pics!  My first real antique-- I can use all the help I can get!

Gratitude,

Patrick

 

[Patrick Pierce]

Here’s an update.  My hot screw idea worked, um, not at all.  I didn’t take into account how shallow the space is above those holes— so there was no ‘meat’ for the screw to bite into.  But I did eventually scrape those rascally feet clean out.  I clamped a sharp (thread-cutting) wood screw into a tiny Vise-Grips and kept digging.  Then some dental picks finished up the task.  

For an additional, and I thought interesting, FYI… each rubber foot was adhered on the inside to a small square of burlap:  It looked as though each foot was hot-formed into its hole using some sort of injection process.  Weird!

Edited March 26 by Patrick Pierce