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Thread Number: 41067
/ Tag: Pre-1950 Vacuum Cleaners
1948 Kirby 508 (shopgoodwill.com) |
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| Post# 435903 12/5/2020 at 17:47 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
This is the newest Kirby added to my fleet, a 1948 Kirby 508! A big thank you to Lesinutah on this one, as he helped me in getting it by paying for half the winning bid in exchange that I mail him the bag and cord from it. I could not have done it without him, as I am broke. lol So, thank you! Sorry for taking so long at getting the photos posted, life has been busy and I keep running out of time in the day every time I try and get something accomplished.
It actually was listed since October 20, 2020 and it went unsold the first couple times and then I bid on it the next time it showed up and lost the bid, then I kept bidding, and was outbid all the way up to $100 or so and I just said forget it. The auction ended and I lost and that was the end of it. ....or so I thought. About a month later, it was relisted again as the previous winner did not pay for it, and it had bids on it right away from one or 2 people. So I commenced bidding again (there was only 2 days left by the time I saw it) and guess what? I won it! The other bidders didn't pursue in bidding on it. So then the next thing that happened after paying for it, something happened at Goodwill and I guess they either forgot about it, or thought it was unsold again and relisted, as 2 1/2 weeks passed with no shipment, then all of a sudden on Monday early in the morning after Thanksgiving weekend it was shipped out to FedEx! I guess someone collecting orders from Thanksgiving weekend had noticed it was still unshipped and got it packed and sent out finally. Luckily because I live so close, the vacuum only took a day's travel in getting here, so that was cool! It came from the Goodwill Industries of West Michigan (Grand Rapids) so if anyone here knew anyone there with a 508, then this is likely the one, lol Here's what the original auction photos looked like from Goodwill. It looked in such a sorry state, and was covered in what looked like industrial dust. Very fine and grainy and thick. Also here's the original forum postings about it for future reference and posterity's sake: www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bi... www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD... | ||
| Post# 435904 , Reply# 1 12/5/2020 at 17:48 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's how it arrived to me on the first. It showed up in a Ryder truck that FedEx rented and the workers were just lollygagging around. I thought I was gonna get robbed or something, lol (That is a true story, when FedEx last rented out Penske trucks people did think it was some kind of package theft scheme, as FedEx never issued any official statement about it)
Photo taken on: 12/1/2020 4:46 PM
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| Post# 435905 , Reply# 2 12/5/2020 at 17:49 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Now, onto the box. What a goofy box! I guess they were really short on boxes at this Goodwill outlet and had to scramble to find something to make a box with. Luckily it survived since it was only on the truck for 27 hours. A shame that they didn't know the handle came apart just by simply pulling 1 pin out, would have made their job a lot easier, but they are not junk experts.
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 12:57 AM
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| Post# 435906 , Reply# 3 12/5/2020 at 17:50 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's what it looked like once the box was sliced open:
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:00 AM
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| Post# 435907 , Reply# 4 12/5/2020 at 17:50 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's part of the vacuum unwrapped from its cardboard sarcophagus.
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:02 AM
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| Post# 435908 , Reply# 5 12/5/2020 at 17:51 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's the original inventory tag they left on it, so you can see when it was originally processed.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:03 AM
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| Post# 435909 , Reply# 6 12/5/2020 at 17:52 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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One thing about Goodwill is, they may be slow getting orders shipped out, but you can be sure they know damn well how to pack what they ship to survive the apocalypse. It took me over an hour to neatly roll up all these sheets of bubble wrap (which I save for my eBay sales) and I have enough bubble wrap to last me practically a year I'd imagine. lol
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:04 AM
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| Post# 435910 , Reply# 7 12/5/2020 at 17:53 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here it is, all unboxed! The finish is in better shape than it looked in the photos, it's just really dirty from sitting for likely a few decades.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:06 AM
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| Post# 435911 , Reply# 8 12/5/2020 at 17:53 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's the handle grip, it's brown with a metal-flake sparkle to it. Kind of pretty actually.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:06 AM
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| Post# 435912 , Reply# 9 12/5/2020 at 17:54 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's the bag that is on it. Les said it wasn't original but he wanted this bag for one of his Kirbys so that's how we set up a deal, since he didn't want the vacuum itself, just the parts on it. It's in pretty good shape, it doesn't feel full, but the lettering is kind of flaking off and faded. It almost looks like it sat somewhere in the sun and the parts not hidden by the handle got faded. If vacuums could talk, right?
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:07 AM
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| Post# 435913 , Reply# 10 12/5/2020 at 17:55 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a front 3/4 shot of the vacuum. The trim is in fact gray, Les thought it might have been green, but it was just all the dirt on it and Goodwill's lighting in the warehouse and the camera they used. It is missing the headlight trim but Les offered to make some for me, so that will be awesome.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:08 AM
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| Post# 435914 , Reply# 11 12/5/2020 at 17:56 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the wheels. The wheels are in fact black vulcanized rubber or Bakelite, Les thought they might have been gray, but it was just all the dirt on it and Goodwill's lighting in the warehouse and the camera they used. The broken piece on it is not shipping damage, it was most likely damaged like that when it was donated. For whatever reason only this wheel has the most damage to it, which is strange. Maybe it was dropped? Or melted to the floor if it was in an attic?
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:08 AM
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| Post# 435915 , Reply# 12 12/5/2020 at 17:57 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the power switch and the end of the cord. The cord I think is shaped like the original, but it looks like it is aftermarket. The cord is definitely a lot newer than the vacuum is, maybe by 35 years newer or so. It looks like maybe mid to late 1970's at the least. It is still very soft and pliable, and the insulation poking through reveals it is multi-stranded synthetic fibers, and not asbestos or a paper wrap, so it is pretty close to modern day. It has sadly suffered a lot of stress and cracking where it was bent around the hooks and along the bottom, likely from heat and age,
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:08 AM
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| Post# 435916 , Reply# 13 12/5/2020 at 17:58 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's the maker's mark on the cord. "CORNISH" appears to be what it says. Never heard of them. I did find an ad with what looks like this similar cord photographed, which is featured in photo #2 in this post.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:09 AM | ||
| Post# 435917 , Reply# 14 12/5/2020 at 17:58 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's the other end of the cord, it has been replaced with a generic screw-down lamp plug that was common around the early 1970's. There was a couple of lamps in my house that were fixed with these plug ends, due to the original cords being smashed behind a dresser and damaged. This I suspect that this cord got damaged by someone that liked to pull cords out of the wall from 5-10 feet away.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:09 AM
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| Post# 435918 , Reply# 15 12/5/2020 at 17:59 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the belt lifter which I was told was original.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:10 AM
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| Post# 435919 , Reply# 16 12/5/2020 at 18:00 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the light bulb. I cannot tell if it is an OEM Kirby bulb or not because the light bulb was frozen inside the socket and I didn't want to break anything (or the bulb) trying to get it out so I left it alone. It looks like it was freshly blown, and it had a electrical kind of solder smell to it getting my face near it.
Photo taken on 12/2/2020 1:10 AM
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| Post# 435920 , Reply# 17 12/5/2020 at 18:01 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Sadly when I was fiddling with the light bulb, a wire popped itself out, and it looks like the solder broke loose from the socket. :( It must have been loose and ready to go to begin with, because I was being so careful and gentle to get the bulb loose that there was no way it would have just ripped out. That might be what caused the electrical odor to the wiring, if it was shorting out the entire time the Goodwill employee was testing it.
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:11 AM
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| Post# 435921 , Reply# 18 12/5/2020 at 18:02 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the bottom side of the brushroll. I was told a metal brush roll like this is rare? It looks like the bristles are kind of worn down, and suspiciously more in the middle than on the outsides, but I guess that is where Kirby's "cushion of air" lifting forces are the strongest too.
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:13 AM
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| Post# 435922 , Reply# 19 12/5/2020 at 18:03 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the fan casing and fan blade. I think the fan is original, and it looks in good shape. It has a couple of nicks but nothing major. Also I just now noticed when typing this that there is alligator-skinning of the fan casting between the blades and the metal of the fan housing along the exterior around the opening is so rough-cut and sloppy with tooling marks all over it. Is that normal?
Was this a Friday Kirby? lol Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:13 AM
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| Post# 435923 , Reply# 20 12/5/2020 at 18:03 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the belt. The belt was completely off the pulley when I inspected it, and I pulled the belt lifter around twice before it caught the belt and pulled it up. Whoever owned this vacuum must have worshiped the manual and properly cared for this vacuum, as they remembered to store it with the belt off. I cannot tell if the belt is knurled or if that is just dirt caked on there?
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:14 AM
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| Post# 435924 , Reply# 21 12/5/2020 at 18:04 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the Sani-Emptor. From what I looked up, this is normal for it to be black, because they used leftover parts from the 505.
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:15 AM
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| Post# 435925 , Reply# 22 12/5/2020 at 18:04 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Also here is a right side view of the vacuum. It looks worse in photos than it does in real life as the camera flash accentuates the dirt coating it and the scratches in the finish.
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:15 AM
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| Post# 435927 , Reply# 23 12/5/2020 at 18:05 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the model tag, it looks like a second generation model tag. I have seen other 508's from members here that have a early 1940's style tag. Anyone know how to date the serial number? Or what the "WS" means? I love that model number, it's a nice clean number of mostly 0's lol
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:16 AM
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| Post# 435928 , Reply# 24 12/5/2020 at 18:06 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Here's a shot of the cord where it's wrapped around the cord hook and has cracked apart, exposing its modern new-ish nylon insulation.
Photo taken on: 12/2/2020 1:17 AM
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| Post# 435930 , Reply# 25 12/5/2020 at 18:08 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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...and that's all! Hope you enjoyed the photos and I hope to get this Kirby polished up and fixed up eventually! Please let me know what is original and what is not, as I hope to eventually get this Kirby back to its original appearance. The final total on the purchase cost was $90.13 so with the 50/50 split we each paid $45.07. :)
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| Post# 435935 , Reply# 26 12/5/2020 at 19:44 (1,236 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina) | ||
Lots of potential there...
That's a nice find and it's great that you and Les were able work a deal that was to your mutual advantage, giving you each what you needed. I know you'll enjoy restoring it. Keep us apprised of your progress. It should be beautiful when you finish it.
I think it's just as well that the folks at Goodwill didn't know how to take the handle apart. They probably would have lost the pin. I had that happen earlier this year when I bought a Kirby Heritage off of eBay and the seller managed to misplace the pin that holds the handle onto the body. Fortunately, he found it and sent it separately after I asked about it. He said he'd been wondering what it was. In the meantime, had bought a carriage bolt at Lowe's that was a workable substitute but I'm very glad to have the original part. | ||
| Post# 435937 , Reply# 27 12/5/2020 at 20:09 (1,236 days old) by Hoover300 (Kentucky) | ||
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| Post# 435939 , Reply# 28 12/5/2020 at 20:53 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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@Hoover300 | ||
Post# 435950 , Reply# 29 12/5/2020 at 22:32 (1,236 days old) by KirbyClassicIII  (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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huskyvacs
The "WS" you found in the serial number refers to it having come from the factory with the 10530 field coil and 10531 armature.
~Ben | ||
| Post# 435954 , Reply# 30 12/5/2020 at 23:46 (1,236 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah) | ||
Original
The bag is probably original. The 6 blade fan is original and pretty rare. The cord isn't original. The handle grip is off a 562 sanitronic. The emptor looks original. I have a black and a grey on 2 508s. You could re solder me wire on the headlight. Just warm up the solder there put a little flux and it probably would stay. The belt lifter is original. It's the rarest belt lifter kirby ever made.
The wheels do occasionally chunk off It happens on alot of machines with those wheels. It is in really good condition for being 72 years old. The nozzle is original you can tell by the metal casting marks. It was a pleasant surprise when you emailed me you won the auction. I was more than willing to pay half. The brush roll is rare to find original. Nice pics. | ||
| Post# 435956 , Reply# 31 12/6/2020 at 00:29 (1,236 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Thanks for the info, Les! Also thanks for the info on the motor, Ben!
What solder should I get for the wire? Is there a special kind or something? Whenever you're ready, Les, just eMail me and I can send you the bag and if you still want the cord I can send that too. I won't wash the bag as I don't want to risk damaging it, not sure how sensitive it is. | ||
| Post# 435968 , Reply# 32 12/6/2020 at 10:51 (1,236 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah) | ||
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Sensitive | ||
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Post# 436623 , Reply# 33 12/24/2020 at 10:13 (1,218 days old) by VacMadMan (Pueblo Co.) |
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Nice 508 | ||
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Post# 436627 , Reply# 34 12/24/2020 at 11:33 (1,218 days old) by KirbyCollector (Columbus Ohio USA) |
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Very cool!  | ||
| Post# 436638 , Reply# 35 12/24/2020 at 14:34 (1,218 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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@ KirbyCollector
Oh hey, well it was good you did anyway. It is living in a good home! A messy home, but a good one. lol I've got all the tools I need just not the area.
Yeah we can trade grips. As far as I know I don't have a 562 so when I restore it the grip would just wind up in a storage bin. It's a little grubby but it doesn't look rotten or cracked. | ||
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Post# 436655 , Reply# 36 12/24/2020 at 20:31 (1,217 days old) by KirbyCollector (Columbus Ohio USA) |
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Sweet | ||
| Post# 436758 , Reply# 38 12/27/2020 at 16:12 (1,214 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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@kirbyklekter
No it's just got single fronts, thick wheels. I think the scratch marks down the middle of the wheel surface give an appearance of having two thinner wheels.
And yeah these wartime Kirbys, or post-war filler models, they had some rough assembly to them. My 510 has the handle sawed at a hack-job angle where it slots into the yoke. I thought that the seller did it to fit it into the box. | ||
| Post# 436760 , Reply# 39 12/27/2020 at 17:33 (1,214 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah) | ||
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Casting marks | ||
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Post# 443171 , Reply# 40 6/22/2021 at 12:45 (1,038 days old) by Vacmadman (Pueblo Co.) |
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508 emtor tray latch
I took note of the fact that the tray latch on your 508 has the teardrop shape to it. If this is original, then the 508 was the first to have that. The way to tell if you have an original 505 emtor is by it's round shape tray latch.
The teardrop shape may have started with a late production 508, but it did start, as I have always believed with the 508. It's surprising how many collectors are not aware of the slight difference. This post was last edited 06/22/2021 at 13:13 | ||
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