Post by JW on Mar 15, 2015 22:32:37 GMT -5
So since I got paid this week and it was spring break at the school I teach at I decided to scour Craigslist for Originals. Hit on two listings that did not disappoint:
First, this pair of Reversaires.
They are brown with brass swivel canopies and brass Reversaire brackets. They are two-speed, parts still labeled R&M, with the black "Since 1886" tag and a date code of F (what year is that?) They came on black three-foot downrods which I have since removed... they were installed with lamp cord. The owner said they hung 16 feet up in the air, and when I got them home it became very obvious that they had NEVER been oiled except for when they were first installed... the bearings were extremely greasy and one had caking in the oil cup, at the bottom of the shaft preventing the rotor's removal at first, and all the way up the groove (I had to use a razor to get it out!) After soaking the bearings in B12 Chemtool to get the gunk off, the B12 looked like COFFEE. I cleaned them both up last night and tested the less grimy of the two tonight (might not get to the other one for a while). They both still need quite a bit of cosmetic work and I'm planning on converting them to 3-speed.
I found the three sets of blades at Texas Ceiling Fans while I was down there... matched them out of the used display blades pile. Being TCF they were still quite pricey, but I needed Original blades badly and I wasn't about to pay eighty bucks per set of new ones. I picked up one set each of oak/walnut, cherry/walnut wingtip, and distressed wingtip.
The distressed blades made it onto my Adaptair, replacing the cheapo damaged blades I had on it. May be a slight reduction in noise, but I'm going to have to take the hub apart and grease it. To me with these blades it looks like something you'd see at a western wear store.
While I was at Texas Ceiling Fans I caught my first personal sighting of a new Original. I will say again, I like the new brackets, despite what a lot of people say on here. It was outside on their patio so I only got to see it through a glass door and I didn't get to look up into the motor, nor could I figure out how to turn it on. The fan it replaced was sitting in the room I was in - they had obviously just changed it out (actually probably still in the process seeing that it currently has no canopy.)
Then today I went to Dallas and picked up these two out of a VERY nice house that is in the process of being completely torn down - the couple is rebuilding from the ground up. These are my absolute favorite Originals (white/brass 4-blade, late 80s/early 90s) aside from the ornate ones. The first two pictures are from the listing:
The first Original was in either the master bedroom or a game room. In addition to the regular recessed lights, the window you see behind the fan had two individually dimmable recessed lights over it, with one switch under each window at about bedside level. Never seen a setup like that before and I thought it was cool.
These fans are in NEAR MINT condition and the owner said they had hardly ever used them. The only defect I see is that one of the blades has a small nick out of the corner that I will likely just go over with touch-up paint. There are a few missing specks of paint on the motors around the faceplates as well, which wouldn't be noticeable when hung. When I tested them they both seemed balanced. I uninstalled them myself so they are 100 percent complete.
Nice to get a good jump start on my eBay stash for the summer... I currently have nine (six 52", three 36") that I plan on listing pretty shortly after the summer starts.
First, this pair of Reversaires.
They are brown with brass swivel canopies and brass Reversaire brackets. They are two-speed, parts still labeled R&M, with the black "Since 1886" tag and a date code of F (what year is that?) They came on black three-foot downrods which I have since removed... they were installed with lamp cord. The owner said they hung 16 feet up in the air, and when I got them home it became very obvious that they had NEVER been oiled except for when they were first installed... the bearings were extremely greasy and one had caking in the oil cup, at the bottom of the shaft preventing the rotor's removal at first, and all the way up the groove (I had to use a razor to get it out!) After soaking the bearings in B12 Chemtool to get the gunk off, the B12 looked like COFFEE. I cleaned them both up last night and tested the less grimy of the two tonight (might not get to the other one for a while). They both still need quite a bit of cosmetic work and I'm planning on converting them to 3-speed.
I found the three sets of blades at Texas Ceiling Fans while I was down there... matched them out of the used display blades pile. Being TCF they were still quite pricey, but I needed Original blades badly and I wasn't about to pay eighty bucks per set of new ones. I picked up one set each of oak/walnut, cherry/walnut wingtip, and distressed wingtip.
The distressed blades made it onto my Adaptair, replacing the cheapo damaged blades I had on it. May be a slight reduction in noise, but I'm going to have to take the hub apart and grease it. To me with these blades it looks like something you'd see at a western wear store.
While I was at Texas Ceiling Fans I caught my first personal sighting of a new Original. I will say again, I like the new brackets, despite what a lot of people say on here. It was outside on their patio so I only got to see it through a glass door and I didn't get to look up into the motor, nor could I figure out how to turn it on. The fan it replaced was sitting in the room I was in - they had obviously just changed it out (actually probably still in the process seeing that it currently has no canopy.)
Then today I went to Dallas and picked up these two out of a VERY nice house that is in the process of being completely torn down - the couple is rebuilding from the ground up. These are my absolute favorite Originals (white/brass 4-blade, late 80s/early 90s) aside from the ornate ones. The first two pictures are from the listing:
The first Original was in either the master bedroom or a game room. In addition to the regular recessed lights, the window you see behind the fan had two individually dimmable recessed lights over it, with one switch under each window at about bedside level. Never seen a setup like that before and I thought it was cool.
These fans are in NEAR MINT condition and the owner said they had hardly ever used them. The only defect I see is that one of the blades has a small nick out of the corner that I will likely just go over with touch-up paint. There are a few missing specks of paint on the motors around the faceplates as well, which wouldn't be noticeable when hung. When I tested them they both seemed balanced. I uninstalled them myself so they are 100 percent complete.
Nice to get a good jump start on my eBay stash for the summer... I currently have nine (six 52", three 36") that I plan on listing pretty shortly after the summer starts.
