There are not too many of these Eskimo fans in as nice as condition as this one. Has a black wrinkle paint finish which was 98% intact and original. Now it is 100% intact and only needed minor touchup. Has a light spray of black vinyl paint with a black acryllic wax top coat to protect the finish. Causes no vibration or rattling while working. The blade set screw is small and requires a fair amount of strength to secure it to the rotor shaft. Rattling is most likely caused by a loose blade. From full speed to full stop takes about 14 seconds with the oscillator running. A very smooth, well lubricated motor.
The rear cone and front badge is chrome plated and both are in excellent condition.
The blade has no dings or deep scratches, is well balanced, and has a soft brushed look to it. The cage looks like nickel plating, but is actually cadmium plated. The lead wire has 2 new grommets (one inserted in to the other) to secure the cord. Inside the motor housing is a zip tie secured to the cord so it can't be pulled loose.
The original switch has been replaced with a new one of the same type.
The bottom plate has been touchup up and coated with a clear lacquer and then smoothed out to take out some of the gloss. The rubber feet are permanently mounted and are in excellent original condition, but have been coated with several layers of synthetic rubber. The label reads : ESKIMO, 105-120V. 55 W, MODEL 1005J 60 CYCLE, BERSTED MFG. CO., FOSTORIA OHIO, OAKVILLE ONT. CANADA
Original disassembly shows the parts in pretty good shape, just very dirty and as a consequence some of the pieces are stuck together.
The rotor has been cleaned up and has a new thick nylon washer in place of the original fiber one that crumbled into pieces. Its purpose is to keep the rotor worm gear from knocking into the back of the oscillator housing. The worm gear needs to be in a nearly exact position so that it can properly drive the fiber gears inside the osillator box. The motor windings are in excellent shape and show no signs of burn or stress. They have been carefully reinsulated. The front bearing was loose and has been pressed back into place. It is a self aligning bearing.
Completed motor assembly. The front and rear bearing wicks have been cleaned up and loaded with a light non-detergent motor oil. The oscillator housing has been completely cleaned and loaded with new white lithium grease. The fiber oscillator gears show no sign of wear. The rear bearing wick has an overflow wick that pours into the oscillator housing. There is a screw and thumb nut for locking the osillator shaft into action that can be disabled for non oscillation use. It looked like the screw end (nut side) was snipped at the factory and had a sharp rough finish to it. It has been rounded and smoothed out with a rotory grinding wheel.
Has a new 8 foot cord and plug. The plug has an additional grommet to keep the wire tight and prevent the cord from coming loose.
The plug is made from a modern hard plastic. The cord is tight inside the plug and is not quite flush in this photograph, but pulled itself flush within an hour or so.
1941 advertisement showing a different model Eskimo fan with cadmium plated cage located on the left side middle of the page.
1949 advertisement with an Eskimo model 1005J shown in the upper left section of the page. This particular one has a chrome plated cage and probably a stamped steel base. The one in this gallery has a cast iron base and is an earlier model than this one in the advertisement.
Eskimo Spider Web (Cob Web), 10 Inch Single Speed Oscillator, Model 1005J, Bersted Manufacturing Company, Circa 1945
A collection of images from a restored World War II era electric fan with a detailed level of workmanship. Has a 2 pole motor with light aluminum blade. The only sound it makes is from the 3600 r.p.m. high speed blade rotation and is much like a prop airplane. Registering in the pink noise range it has some benefit during sleep such as improved daytime memory. The effective range for this fan is 6-12 feet and is a little beyond desktop usage.
Not exactly a collector's item, but people seem to be drawn to the spider web cage (sometimes called a cob web cage). Have seen models like this one go from $100 to $200 in lesser condition.
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Valued in the range of $145 - $160.