An unusual fan with a safety cage not seen in the United States for a good 10 years after this one was made. The "SEW" on the front badge stands for Shibaura Electric Works. It moves a surprising amount of air. This may be because in Japan voltage is 100 and in the United States it is 110. As a result, the blades move a little quicker here in the United States.
The cord is original along with the headwire. Some small repairs were made to the cloth sheathing. The entire cord was rubber coated and painted with a vinyl paint. The original color was closer to a cream color, now it is a medium gray. Still very flexible. The plug is bakelite and is quite old, but can't be sure it is the factory original.
The original paint has been touched up, but the flash from the camera grossly exaggerates the difference in color. From one foot away under normal lighting conditions it is hard to tell that the paint was touched up.
The entire fan was coated in a clear lacquer to protect the paint. It was then deglossed a little with 2000 grit wet sanding.
The blade was also clear coated since some of the chrome plating has worn away to reveal brass underneath.
The back of the blade is in better condition than the front.
The coil assembly has been reinsulated and the wires leading to it rubber coated and labeled.
The bottom ring had old glue which probably had a cork ring. It has been rubber coated. The ceramic assembly is held on with three screws. Notice that two of the holes have a little ceramic chipped off. Very common with ceramic pieces, but causes no issue.
The bottom plate is stamped steel with a paper insert between it and the coil assembly. The rubber feet and brass screws are not original to the fan. Probably better than the original cork. Any drink spills near the fan would not cause any damage.
The stator has been reinsulated and the head wires are factory condition tight. It may look dirty, but is rather clean and only discolored.
The rotor has been polished.
Both ends of the shaft has been cleaned and polished, but not too much. Making it too smooth could hinder it from retaining needed lubrication.
The holes that go through the rotor are twisted in order to promote air flow and cool the motor.
The label has been touched up a little and has a clear lacquer coating to protect it. They must have made more than 5 million of these since the serial number is very high. Have to assume very few of these made it to the United States.
The oil cup seen here is brushed brass and has a new wick inside of it. Oiled with non detergent light motor oil. Detergent oil will gum up over time. It is hard to tell from the image, but one of the tabs on the rear cage is square and not rounded. This square tab needs to be in the 4 o'clock stud position in order for the front cage to line up correctly.
Only two of the screws and nuts that hold the front cage are original. The originals are square nuts with a slotted screws. Very difficult to replace. The blade has the original chrome plated slotted screw that holds it on to the shaft.
All the metal screws have been lacquer coated. The rubber grommets seen here are replacements to the originals and have been glued in place with Gorilla glue. The springs have also been lacquer coated and pop off rather easily when needed. Putting them back on requires twisting with the leading edge of the spring pushing into the rubber. This is somewhat counter intuitive. It has come to UserX's attention that a spanner wrench will unscrew the top of the oscillator and without one you would need to remove the housing in order to lubricate the oscillator. It has been lubricated with synthetic grease and should be good for another 10 years or more. The spring loaded oil reservoir in the back is the only way to lubricate the rear shaft and should be done every few months. Luckily, it needs less than the front which is under a higher load.
There are two holes underneath the oscillator wheel which allows the fan to either oscillate to a larger degree or a smaller one depending on which hole the arm is screwed into.
By pulling on the top oscillator knob you can stop fan oscillation.
The fan is very quiet and even on the slowest setting (number 4) air flow can be felt 15 feet away. This fan is well lubricated and from full speed the blades come to a complete stop in 33 seconds. Very smooth operation.
The wing nut seen here locks the axial tilt. The screw below it allows the user to change the degree of axial swing. There are 2 positions this can be set to. A little work is required to figure where those spots are.
Tokyo Shibaura 12" Chrome Blade, 4 speed, oscillating fan. Catalog Number C-7032, Serial 5092435, Circa 1948
A collection of images from a reconditioned antique electric fan. Tokyo Shibaura was later to become Toshiba. The fan is mostly original including the cord and paint job. There is some difficulty in determining when this fan was actually manufactured. Some sources place date of manufacture during World War II; however, there is some doubt that it was made during this time period. The fan body is heavy cast aluminum, but the motor housing and blade cage is cast steel. The blade is chrome plate over a solid brass blade. Runs quietly on all four speeds. Paint job is 85% original with minor touchup blended reasonably well.
The flash from the camera reveals imperfections and discolorations that can only been seen under magnification and under abnormal lighting conditions. You can zoom in on the images if you mouse over them. During autoplay zoom is disabled. Shrinking the browser window will shrink its contents possibly making it easier to view the gallery.
Valued in the range of $80 - $130.