Have you got your Christmas shopping done?

[electra225]

The wife and I have everything we need and most of what we want. I could use a Bentley and she wants a cruise to Alaska, but, otherwise we feel blessed to be still on the green side of the grass. Being together for the holidays means more the older you get. I am grateful for my friends here on the forum, and for getting to spend a few moments with them. The wife and I buy something we want "for Christmas" just to say we did it. I got the Tolex for my little record player this year. The wife got some "girl junk" she had her eye on.

I hope you all have a nice holiday season and a happy new year.

[TC Chris]

You're right... we all have a collection of wishes, but if we have interests, curiosity, and people to share them with, we are lucky. Sometimes I wish that life might be a little less interesting, but that's not going to happen.

I'm grateful to the site-runners, you guys who keep this going for the rest of us so we can share discussions and experiences, and for all the other participants who contribute in a tolerant and friendly manner.

Chris Campbell

[Firedome]

I'm also appreciative for the friendly advice and information from the folks here.

No shopping as we don't exchange presents, so I got myself 2 re-pop "Cutlass" scripts for the front fenders of my newly repainted '69 Olds! My wife got some clothes things she needed, no idea what was in the box from LLBean.

Christmas is for the young so we concentrate on the Grandkids and make donations to the chosen charities of the rest of the family, none of us need any more consumer stuff.

[TC Chris]

Christmas is for the young so we concentrate on the Grandkids and make donations to the chosen charities of the rest of the family, none of us need any more consumer stuff.

Agreed, as to us old folks. Most of us have all the things we require, plus. I still buy music CDs and clothing for function--winter long underwear for outdoor activities and indoor comfort, or jeans when the old ones go through at the knees. A pair of running shoes per year for the post-work hike. Stuff for house, car, bike, radio, and boat maintenance and repair. Tools now and again.

Beyond that, you can live pretty well off what others put at curbside. Today I finished off repairs on a nice Eureka upright vac. It's the same basic model Eureka made forever, a sturdy and repairable device. My neighbor across the alley put this one out. I waited for somebody else to snag it but when garbage day was nearing, I took it. It needed a new belt and bag, and I redrilled a worn hole for the handle mounting bolt to use a larger size. It will replace a similar Eureka at my cottage, a model without the cleaning-height adjustment the new one has. Then I worked on a new backing board for a big inverted-heart shaped 1930s plate-glass mirror that another alley neighbor put out. The frame needed gluing and the improvised plywood back needed design and size improvements. It was way too nice to go in the garbage truck, so I had waited for somebody else and then snagged it when nobody else acted. This one I'll give away since I have no need for it.

I'm a sucker for good old vacuums; not so much for the modern plastic disposable ones that look like space stations.

When we buy unnecessary consumer goods, just to buy stuff, we just fill up the landfills and encourage those whose job it is to male us lust for stuff we don't need. Better to spend this season enjoying the company of others (safely) and surrounding ourselves with colored lights and seasonal music.

Chris Campbell

[William]

I'm with you, Chris, I'm a sucker too for good old vacuums. I have a Eureka upright that is probably very similar to your curb find. Mines blue, what color is yours? I have more vacuums than I need or can use but I just can't seem to part with any of them.

Bill

[Dr. Radio]

Xmas shopping. Yes, pretty much done. Just have to "wrap up" the last details....

Speaking of vacuums, I still have this one (one just like the one in the eBay auction) in the garage collecting dust. My parents used this in their garage and I remember using it to vacuum out the cars growing up.

Can anyone guestimate a date? I always got a kick out of the color scheme. Metallic pea green with faux wood. Same color scheme on many large station wagons of the late 60s thru the mid 70s!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225279180040?m ... media=COPY

[TC Chris]

My all-purpose garage/sander/boat prep vac is an even older Eureka canister, a garage sale buy many years ago, like this:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/730155898/ ... c-magazine?

Except mine lacks the fancy chromed hose attachment on top. It came with a plastic one that gave up, and oh happy day, a PVC plumbing ell fit perfectly. It has a motor with bearings you can oil. Yay for non-disposable, repairable devices!

Like Bill, I have more vacs than rugs to clean. Out in the shop, taking up space, is a Hoover Sprint upright that's probably destined for parts. If anybody needs parts, please holler. Otherwise I'll have to fix it.

Chris Campbell

[William]

Dr. Radio, your vacuum is from the early to mid 70's and was mid upper-level Eureka. Eureka's from this era, and before were genuine Eureka's built to last. Everything about this vacuum is quality. Can you still buy bags for it?

Chris, your vacuum is from the late 50's into the early 60's. It too was upper-level, very powerful, and built to last. My Mom had one very similar when I was going up. Hers was burgundy and gray, I wish I still had it but as more carpeting was added to the house, she got an Electrolux with a power nozzle, and I do have that vacuum. Can you still buy bags for you vacuum, Chris?

Moms looked like this:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/850787153/ ... ro=1&sts=1

Bill

[hermitcrab]

Even with my feeble memory I can remember something my wife saw or liked months ago that even she will forget ... and will usually get it for her for christmas, I.E. she saw some real minnetonka moccasins last summer and said she would like a pair one day ... so guess what she is getting... other than that... we really celebrate the holiday for the grandkids ... My wife asks me what I would like... I have no idea ... I am just as satisfied with finding a project sitting at the curb as much as a expensive gift... I hope all of you have a great Holiday !

[walyfd]

My list used to be:

A new Cadillac Brougham
A Rockette
A box of cash

Now all I want is a dumpster...

[TC Chris]

Chris, your vacuum is from the late 50's into the early 60's. It too was upper-level, very powerful, and built to last. My Mom had one very similar when I was going up. Hers was burgundy and gray, I wish I still had it but as more carpeting was added to the house, she got an Electrolux with a power nozzle, and I do have that vacuum. Can you still buy bags for you vacuum, Chris?

I did not find bags for mine the last time I needed one. I has just been dumping them out--easy, since they are like a big paper bowl. But finally the old bag got wet and damaged. The solution was to buy a bag for a shop vac at Ace Hardware and cut it open to lay in the Eureka.

The vac also has a cloth bag inside but I figure the added paper one is a good idea.

Chris Campbell

[William]

The cloth bag was like an extra filter to help protect the motor incase the paper bag broke. The model 30 Electrolux only had a cloth bag. Here's a history of the model 30:



The Electrolux Model No. 30 vacuum cleaner, designed by industrial designer Lurelle Guild and produced by the Electrolux Corporation in 1937, resembles a cross between a rocket and a sled with the front portion taking on a train-like form. The overall streamlined appearance evokes the feeling that it is about to launch itself around the house. At the time, the Model 30’s canisters and runners challenged the traditional wheeled, bag-type, upright vacuum cleaner commonly found in American households. Due to this vacuum’s use of a hose and the separation of the motor and suction unit, the versatile Model No. 30 lent itself to different cleaning needs and was light enough that the consumer could also use it as an upright by removing its hose and inserting the wand directly into the cylinder. With its futuristic appearance and use of modern materials, including cast aluminum, shiny chromium plating, and enameled steel, the stylish vacuum conjured up a sense of glamour not often associated with everyday domestic chores. Nearly a million households purchased the Electrolux Model No. 30 within the year following its introduction in 1937. In 1942, the Electrolux Corporation halted the manufacturing of Guild’s design to focus on the war effort. Production of the popular design resumed following the war up until 1954.

I have a model 30 Electrolux that I use in the shop. Having the cloth bag is great because if you suck up something on the bench that you had not intended to suck up you can easily retrieve it. Even though Chris's Eureka has a paper bag, it's an open concept and one can retrieve lost objects easily.

Bill

[TC Chris]

I'll reply to Bil under a new topic.

[electra225]

Thank you, Chris!

[William]

My apologies, I should have started a new topic. I guess I just got carried away. Sorry!

Bill

[TC Chris]

It always happens, doesn't it? We curve away from the original topic, and when we're at right angles to it, it's time to start a new topic.

Chris Campbell

[Dr. Radio]

Dr. Radio, your vacuum is from the early to mid 70's and was mid upper-level Eureka. Eureka's from this era, and before were genuine Eureka's built to last. Everything about this vacuum is quality. Can you still buy bags for it?

Thank you. Not sure if I can get bags and the "filter disk". You use to be able to find them at the grocery stores ("universal fit" type stuff). Haven't look for awhile. My "green machine" doesn't sound too good last I had it running. I think I made the bearings go ka-blewee when I was doing body work on my car in high school (read that vacuuming bondo dust as I sanded!).

I found a hot-rod red one on eBay. Maybe I could Frakenstein the two together?!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/385139839987?m ... media=COPY

[19&41]

We've got all we are going to get. I got my sister a shedload of bananas for her to make nut bread for gifting. My vacuum isn't quite as old as you guys'. My mother gave it to me for Christmas 31 years ago. A Hoover upright. She said she wanted me to have a good vacuum cleaner for my own place. It's done the trick, though I need to replace it's headlight bulb.

[William]

Bondo and drywall dust are very hard on vacuum cleaners. The dust has a tendency to find its way thru the bag which allows the dust to land in the motor and its bearings. You might attempt to clean and oil the bearings. I'm not sure on that motor if the bearings are accessible or not. It depends on what level of Lamb motor Eureka used on that model.

Bill

[Dr. Radio]

Bondo and drywall dust are very hard on vacuum cleaners. The dust has a tendency to find its way thru the bag which allows the dust to land in the motor and its bearings. You might attempt to clean and oil the bearings. I'm not sure on that motor if the bearings are accessible or not. It depends on what level of Lamb motor Eureka used on that model.

Bill

Yes, I was told that was a no-no after the fact. But when I used the vacuum for that, it was already quite "well loved" and past its prime. This post kinda makes me want to pull it out of slumber and take a look see....but, I was just in the garage and the thermometer read 20*F. Not going to mess with it any time soon, especially with temps predicted to drop into the single digits with snow and wind.....

I'll add it to the spring time project list.