Vortalex Restoration

[fllaw No.441451]

Hey guise, need some help restoring an old fan that I've had for years. It was one of those projects that I got started on, put in a closet, and forgot about for a while.

Its a late 1940's GE Vortalex fan. Pictured is the knob and switch. Apparently these breaking is a common problem. Basically, instead of using a non-circular shaft with press-on knob like most are today, the knob was in two pieces; one half was the actual "knob" on the outside of the fan, and the other half was a sort of actuator that locked into the switch mechanism. My best guess is that the knob and actuator had some sort of fingers or teeth that meshed together so that once you screwed the knob on, it moved as one piece.

Those fingers/teeth are gone. How can I rebuilt them?

I've thought of epoxy, epoxy putty, jb weld, etc. Basically, build it up then grind it down into what i think the original shape was like (doesnt have to look original, just has to work).

I will bump with more pics of fan, and a pic of a restored fan (not my work) which is what I'm working towards.

There will be stripping, painting, felting, wiring, soldering, greasing, assembling, and all sorts of other fun stuff going on.

inb4 replace whole knob, use different switch, etc. replacement assemblies are like $40 that's ridiculous, and id like it to look original from the outside.

[fllaw No.441452]

Here's a pic of what the fan ought to look like post-restoration.

Cool, no?

[fllaw No.441456]

here is the inside of my fan. everything looks rusty and nasty but its actually in pretty good shape. you can see the switch installed and the big layered thing at the bottom is the choke coil which controls the fans speed.

[Anonymous No.441460]

>>441452
Man, why does everything look like shit today? That fan has more style than anything in my house.

[Anonymous No.441478]

>>441460
because you are a cheap bastard.

[teka No.441494]

bakelite knob, right?

lets see, in order of difficulty-

easiest would be ordering a thirty buck switch replacement that uses a modern plastic outer lever that follows the same style but replaces the internal switch. Would totally work. Restorers do this.

From there the difficulty ramps quickly.

Getting bondo to stick reliably will be a real pain in the backside. Expect the switch to break somewhere else. Cost depends on the price of bondo and your time. May or may not work (dunno if bondo holds up to shearing/twisting force.

You could use the original pieces along with bondo/plaster/jeweler's wax/whatever to sculpt a new interface then cast and mold the pieces for replacement. Would mean you have to tackle leaning molding/casting. cost more then 40 bucks.

as a middle ground, you might be able to fill in/reinforce the outermost segment of the knob and add one of those irregular/D-shaped slots to interface with a new switch. Something of a hybrid option.

[fllaw No.441540]

so my current idea is to use jb weld or regular epoxy putty to build up the actuator and the knob, then dremel the fingers/teeth out of the built up material.

I figure that if I place a small rod covered with a release agent like Pam or kiwi shoe polish in the center hole I should be able to shape the putty into a cylinder around it then grind down the end into the desired shape.

I am also debating just doing the putty on the actuator half first, shaping it, letting it cure, then applying release agent to the cured putty. I could then repeat the process on the knob and simply push it onto the cured half to shape it perfectly to the actuator.

thoughts? I'll pick up some putty on the way home tomorrow and try it tomorrow evening after work.

once this is done I'm going to move on to the stripping and painting. that's going to take the longest. next the felt base. easy. then, the wires coming off the stator. I'll have to sort out my cloth wire situation at that point. once that's done, I'll begin assembly, greasing, hook everything up and test it out.

[fllaw No.441542]

>>441460
agreed. they just didn't have the technology back then to make things as cheaply as they do now.

these were pretty much the cheapest or only way of making things. the materials are so much more durable that all the important parts are still working 65 years later. pretty amazing.

but I have to say it does seem like a lot more thought went into making something like a fan more attractive than we put into it today.

[fllaw No.441892]

picked up some supplies and got my work area ready.

got some jb weld, a buffing wheel, some jewelers rouge, 3 in 1 oil (blue label), paint stripper, paint, and a plug for the cord.

still need cord, my buddy has the grease, and some shoelaces.

about to get to work on the knob. wish me luck.

[fllaw No.441989]

ok, so, this jb weld is taking forever to set.....

its still the consistency of like...toothpaste....

i couldnt find the correct epoxy putty at the hardware store, all they had was plumbers putty. any ideas?

[fllaw No.442296]

SUCCESS!
after fiddling with it for an hour last night i sort of figured out how to work with regular JB weld.

you have to mix it up, and let it sit for an hour or two until its partially set. at that point its a lot more like a putty. then, roughly shape it into what you want. in my case, i put a small screwdriver into the hole in the part, wrapped in clear tape (see previous pic). then i mounded the epoxy around it in the cylindrical shape i wanted. then i quickly wrapped clear tape around it in a tube shape to hold it in place.

the actual knob bit was harder, i had to mix some cornstarch with the epoxy to thicken it up enough to form without running everywhere.

well, if everything goes as planned, ill have fixed the knob for $5.

[fllaw No.442500]

well, fuq. jb weld no go, too weak.

the switch is constructed in such a way that it requires quite a bit of torque to get it to change speeds, which puts too much stress on the knob.

sigh on to the next part