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Thread: Well, it's been quite a while ....

  1. #1
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    Well, it's been quite a while ....

    ... since I've bored youse dufes with my estate sale finds, but this one is pretty dang cool! I went to a sale recently and it was obvious the old guy had been a tinkerer. He had a "shop" set up in a shed beside his garage. He wasn't much of an organizational type, obviously, as crap was scattered everywhere and the place was generally a total mess, but those are actually the kinds of places I like. The "hunt" is half the fun for me. Anyway, I start digging through piles of junk and realize this guy was a "project" guy. "Projects" were all over the place. He was VERY good at taking stuff apart, but seemed to lose interest when it came to putting stuff back together. I'd find boxes of parts and pieces, but unless you were an expert on a particular item, it was like a used jig-saw puzzle and who knows what or how many parts are missing, OR what was wrong with the item to begin with to make him disassemble it. The chaos carried over to his tool chest also, he had LOTS of tools, but the tool chest was practically empty. Why? There were a bazillion tools scattered all over the shop. He not only wasn't good at finishing projects, but he was also lousy with putting tools away once he finished with them. That's an interesting thing about some of these estate sales, you can kind of "get to know" the people by the way they lived and operated. I got the feeling he just enjoyed spending time in the shop "tinkering" and could care less if he really accomplished anything.

    Ok, enough of that! I love discovering old electric fans. Of course, who in Florida didn't have fans back in the days before a/c? So, this area is a bit of a goldmine, but they're getting harder and harder to find these days as there's a huge collector market .... ESPECIALLY for the old brass era fans (brass blades and sometimes cages as well). The brass era ended with WWII due to all the brass going to the war effort. I've probably sold 50-75 old fans over the years. My biggest sales have been a few Emersons in the $400-$500 range and an old 13" General Electric for $750! The others have been all over the map price-wise, depending on the piece. I probably have 25-30 fans here as we speak, I just need to get around to doing something with them as I tend to push the higher priced items out first.

    Anyway back to the subject of this post. As I was digging through the cluttered shop, I started finding bits and pieces of an old Westinghouse Rotaire. These are super cool old fans and were mostly used in the retail market back in the pre-a/c days. Department stores, barber shops, retail outlets, etc. They were suspended from the ceiling and rotated 360-degrees. Pieces of this thing were scattered everywhere throughout this shop. I just grabbed a box and started throwing parts in it whenever I came across one. Once I found all the parts I could, I asked the guy how much he wanted for the "pile of junk" and he asked if I'd pay $3.00 for it. I shelled out the cash and brought it all home. Well, I've completed laying the pieces out and believe it or not, EVERYTHING is here! Today, I'll be wiring the motor up to see if it works, then put it together for some pics. It won't take much as they are large pieces and the parts themselves (like the motor) have not been disassembled. Heck, it even has the down rod and mounting hardware. The real bonus is, it has the original switch! Many of the original switches were broken or replaced over the years and these are very hard to find. I just checked and found where one (switch only) sold for $125.00 FOUR years ago. I plan on putting this one back together (fairly simple task) and hopefully it'll be in working condition, then throw it up on "The Bay". I've seen these fans sell for $1800. All-in-all, not a bad deal for $3.00!

    Here are a few pics of these fans in some old phone company photos - Notice the "egg shaped" switches hanging from the fans (pic 3 is the most noticeable):


    rotair1.jpg rotair2.jpg rotair3.jpg
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

  2. #2
    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) HideHunter's Avatar
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    very cool.. As I've said before. much of what you do would be impossible here.. but... I do see just a few more "estate" sales showing up.. *me*... I'd get "burned" at every turn.. if I liked it - I probaly couldn't sell it. really interesting the "stuff" you've found that has value.. I'm impressed..
    If you turn a dog loose to hunt – you’d better to be ready to deal with what he trees.

  3. #3
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    Hidey-Ho, what you have up there that makes me jealous, is farm country. There is a huge disadvantage down here at estate sales as it's very difficult to find "old" stuff. Yankees get old and can't take the winter weather like they did when they were younger. They sell out up north and move to Florida to spend their retirement years. The problem is, they move here with nothing, buy a small house and purchase all new furniture, etc. They leave the old stuff with family or have an auction/estate sale before relocating. Plus, people with barns tend to never throw anything away, they simply "throw it in the barn". I would LOVE to dig around some of the old homesteads up your way as we just don't have much of that down here. It's very rare to find an original "cracker" around here as 99% of the state are transplants who filled their houses at Rooms-To-Go and Walmart. Sure, I find the occasional gold mine, but they are far and few between. You just have to adapt to the area and focus on what's more commonly available in your area. I love old tools but here it's really hard to find anything without Craftsman embossed on them .... or "Made in China/Taiwan". Unfortunately, retirees down here LOVE Harbor Freight. Old farm and blacksmith tools are cool ... but rare here.
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

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    Senior Member (too much time on their hands) Bwana's Avatar
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    Yet another interesting read, thanks Kribbs!

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    Administrator BarryBobPosthole's Avatar
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    Interesting stuff Thumper!
    Viva Renaldo!

  6. #6
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    Here's one a guy restored for his house. Mine has a 3' long down rod, but it appears he's shortened his for home use.


    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

  7. #7
    pUMpHEAD SYSOp Thumper's Avatar
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    I started a new post and was going to refer to this old fan, but thought I'd posted about it before. I did a search and found this old post, so I figured I'd simply resurrect it by adding to it. BTW, I got side-tracked and never did list the old Westinghouse discussed above. I guess I need to drag it out and get it done.

    Anyway, I still buy and sell old fans and STILL have 20-30 old fans here to list ... the same as I had a year ago according to the above post. It seems I sell a few, then find a few more and my "inventory" numbers don't change much over time. But, to the subject of this post. I was researching a fan I picked up at a sale a while back and stumbled on this eBay listing that just sold a few weeks ago. DAMN!! I honestly believe this guy had no clue what he had here. By his very basic description, no model number even, it makes that pretty obvious PLUS he had no reserve (no bid over minimum that had to be met before it would be sold). Half the cage is missing altogether and many of the remaining spokes are broken loose from the frame. To add insult to injury, his starting bid was $1.00!! Here's his (very basic) description:

    The blades did not turn, the motor moaned at different levels when I moved the lever at the base. Note: two parts of the cage are missing and others are detached. Cage is about 14 and 1/4” in diameter.

    So, it wasn't in the best condition in the world and with his description, I'm sure many interested parties never even found the ad in the first place. He got lucky as the few buyers who DID stumble upon the listing obviously knew what it was! It sold for $20,185.00! Ya' may wanna check grandma's attic when you get a chance.

    westinghouse.jpg
    "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness" - Mark Twain

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