I am 70 and I have been a repair man all my life and is great to see a young guy like yourself working at something to preserve the past. In fact it is great to see a young person working. You can be proud of restoring things The creators guidebook even talks about learning from Romans 15:4 'writings from earlier times are for our instruction' and Deuteronomy 32:7 says to 'remember the days of old, consider the years of all your ancestry. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders and they will tell you' So you are doing as the creator has instructed us, caring for the past and restoring it for the future. May the Creator bless you and keep you may he look on you as a father does a child and give you his grace and peace.
When I was in high school in the early 80’s, my friend lived in garden apartments and I found a fan just like this in the trash room in the basement of his building and I took it home. It was very heavy and I brought it into my kitchen and put it on the table and started to try and clean it up and decided to take the base off like you did. With my mother watching, I unscrew the base and as soon as I pull it off, about 300 cockroaches come streaming out and my mother is shrieking on top of her lungs and they are running everywhere and we are trying to kill them but about a hundred run under the stove and my parents had to hire an exterminator and after that I was forever forbidden to ever bring anything like that home again.
He was lucky last time I opened our juicer and around 299 small roaches spread all over and I sprayed the juicer inside body twice and dried before any work
If I had read this before starting that fan, I would never have opened it. Haha, that story had me laughing. I wouldn't try and kill them, I would be out of there so fast.. The fly thing I found in the motor housing scared the life out of me when it moved. I had to go and get my mates... Haha.
Outstanding job! Simply amazing that you were able to get all the pieces together again,and correctly too. I don't know how you remembered where they even went! Had fun just watching you. Thanks
Just found your channel. One of the few times I've actually agreed with UA-cam's "Recommended for You" section. Wow, just amazing work! Seeing that fan brought back so many memories of seeing my Great Aunts. They were born and died in the same house. House was built in 1890's, and so were they. :) Walking into their house in the early 1980's was like stepping back into the roaring '20's. Sure makes me wish I could've gotten some of their antique fans, heaters, kitchen utensils, etc. after they died. The vast majority of it all was labeled "junk" and tossed in a land fill. Breaks my heart.
The value of your work put into restoring the stuff is immeasurable and you bring out the beauty of the history. I only can call it an ART...... Beautiful work man!
I am currently restoring a Jaguar V12 engine, but the parts are bigger 😁 Could use some help. You are much faster. Greetings from Osaka Japan, Bernhard Did not forget that 👍👍👍
Just amazing the level of machining and planning that went into that fan almost 100 years ago. All the parts were hand drafted on blue prints, and casted. Really amazing. All by hand. What other country in 1922 could produce and manufacture something like. UK, France, Italy, Germany, and the US. The
What a superb transformation, from a dirty, dusty piece of junk into a fully working thing of beauty, an extremely talented young man, thank you for the pleasure that you bring to others.
You know you can make a good business restoring items like that that are vintage there’s a market for it in those things for fetch high dollar can make a good living doing that I’m just saying it’s a business opportunity you can think about it for granite I will help you generate income
I really enjoyed this video. Restoration of anything makes me happy, this was such a diamond in the rough you had! Preserving history and seeing how well we used make things in this world is always an eye opener. Thank you for the video and for saving a piece of art!
@@RestoreIt Really one of the fan designed by a great engineer greetings from Abruzzo Italy Ps per tutti gli italiani che anno o stato guardando questo video possono rispondere sotto
What a beautiful fan, well done! I am so fond of table fans for some reason and this is really a piece of art. You brought it back from the dead really nice. Thanks for a good vid of an amazing project.
People used to take such pride in making fine pieces like this fan. It is indeed a work of art and it had a wonderful use. Oh to go back to those days. I love your videos, my Dad would've loved this too!! He was a recycler, as a matter of fact he used to rewire armatures and motors and was an artist in his own right when he was machining.
That´s not a fan. A fan is something, you get for say 19.99, probably made in China from cheap plastic. That is a machine. And now, after restore, it´s again a piece of art.
Fantastic and magnificent video!!! Great work and well done. Really appreciate your work. Many thanks for making this video. Have a wonderful life without any injuries. I am always greeting you. Keep it up 👏 👏 👏
A great restoration of a beautiful object! Marelli was founded in 1891 and it changed its name to Magnetti Marelli in 1919, so that fan is well over 100 years old.
Very nice job sir. I just want to take a moment to thank you for being a professional in this quality of restorative work. It’s amazing, I clicked on it because my high school English teacher had one similar that I always wanted. It was unbelievable, the fan was the same size and pushed more air than I thought was physically possible, 100% silent as well! Being a teenager I never liked anything old or antique, I always thought the older something is, the worse it is. That one fan opened a crack in my brain to allow me to think antiques as something I actually want and not frilly lady things like I had always thought. Great job restoring, that goes without saying. I really want to let you know that the editing of this video was again perfect. So many times you’ll find a video that isn’t sped up at all, and the people doing it feel like they get their 15 minutes of fame making a video montage like the beginning of a DIY tv show. They always suck! People are so attention starved nowadays, you didn’t say a word throughout, but did give any relevant information needed at the bottom in text. No ridiculous music! No ridiculous person talking for 30 mins without a breath, which is only topped in my pet peeves to hear someone breathing on top of a mic, that and chewing type mouth noises. Long and winded but it’s a compliment that I hope you enjoy reading, and that your extra work is greatly appreciated, please continue with the same fantastic workmanship! Best wishes.
I'm loving your paint shop setup and spray area. You are clearly very serious about that aspect of the work. Most impressive. Some of the machined components on that fan are WAY beyond anything people would use now for a simple fan. Perhaps consider building in some type of earthing safety into the rebuild. It is a fully metal bodied device. I was also conscious of the complexity of the shooting and edit of the video. That must have added many hours to the project. Lovely work. If you live in the right areas (like around Sheffield) you can often find substantial old machine tools about to be scrapped for a fraction of their value. The place is full of old factories and workshops. Some are being closed down. So many substantial tools can be rescued and refurbished. If you have a place to do it. Because they weigh tons and were built to last. They are mostly just covered in dirt and some botched repairs. I have stripped and repaired a few older pieces of heavy equipment. Tools like a 1930s Holbrook Lathe; or a 48" DoAll bandsaw my friend in Sheffield bought cheap. We had to strip and totally rebuild the two speed gearbox on the bandsaw. The floating gear on the main shaft had been welded in place; to make it single speed (God knows why). So we split that appart with an angle grinder. Then setting up the main shaft between centers on the small lathe. By building the shaft up with weld; we managed to reinstated that part of the system. We had to remove and replace almost all the bearings which were totally destroyed. We cut new gaskits and rebuilt the gearbox. Then the rest of the bandsaw itself; with new tyres and belts. It works properly now. We cut up large diameter Stainless Bar with an auto-feeder we saved. We also cut up Sheet stock on it. Another tool saved from the scrappy.
Supplementary electrical notes: 1. Electrical wires is a slowly consumable item, just like paint. 2. The wires could probably be disconnected from that plug using tiny screws or similar, consider how they assembled it 100 years ago. 3. Because live electrics are so close to the metal, this really needs a 3rd protective earth wire added. Unfortunately that means a different plug that will differ by country, Italy has a particular design that looks a lot like the original plug only with an extra middle pin. 4. The paint that faces towards naked electrics should be of a type that's really good at electrical isolation, perhaps with a contrasting color as lower coats to make failing isolation easier to spot for future restorers. Except of cause where electrical connection to the protective earth is needed, there tight metal to metal contact is required. 5. After assembly check that all exposed metal has a low resistance (single digit ohms) to the earth pin in the plug and that the resistance between the two live pins and the earth pin is many megaohms at 500V test voltage. Check that the 500V test didn't damage the earthing low ohms (that would mean something sparked dangerously then the broken earth messing up the other tests).
Another hint: These cables move if the fan swings. Therefore you are required not to solder the connections ( makes the cabld stiff so it will break) but to crimp these instead - as did in cars and washing machines.
@@orangmakan best way would Have been to replace all Wires, just My 2 cents. But hey it's not like it Will Be used alot so i wouldnt pay too much attention.. Maybe a Note saying only For professional use haha
Depending how it was wired it could be a live chassis with the neutral as the ground to the chassis. If it were me I would of replaced as much wire as I could with modern Rubber/Silicone/Teflon coated cable and put some heatshrink on places I couldn't since that old wire probably only has cloth as the insulation. Use a two prong polarized cable (I live in the states) If anything I would of also added some mica sheets to areas where the high voltage is close to the metal for added protection.
A joy to watch as always! Great job, it looks fantastic. You really improved in doing electrics. You spotted your own problems, so that's ok. Mistakes happen to everyone.
I'm trying the same thing with a 1922 Emerson 9-inch fan. It was used in a pie shop from my wife's grandfather. The video really helped spark ideas and is providing quite a bit of motivation. I really don't want to dork this up, I'm taking tons of photos as I go.
@@RestoreIt I love these restore videos you and several others put out, I just hope all the love you put back into these projects is appreciated and preserved by those who end up owning them after you're done. Keep up the good work, I'll be waiting for the next one.
Great job. I would replace all 100-year-old wire. Also, look up "lineman's splice." That's what you should do with wire before soldering it together. Also, a heat gun will do a neater job than a lighter on heat shrink. I love your channel!
You would be very correct doing so L. I will do a more complete job next time I come across something like this. Thank you for the advice, it's much appreciated.
man thanks for that info much aappreciated i didnt know how to search for that, that's the best way but at least the method he's using is ok because the contact surface on the wires is greater than just wraping them on
one thing that blows me away about these restoration videos is how you guys remember where each of those screws and parts go when piecing the thing back together. I know you probably have some system, but it always runs through my head. Other than that its always such a nice and relaxing thing to watch.
I watched this whole thing to see if it would spin on its own again. Many times these darn old devices, the transformers will short out and fry everything or the brushes would be so worn the motor wouldnt spin. Im glad to see it run. They just dont make stuff to last anymore. Well done dude.
For splices like these you will find that you get much cleaner results with a linesman splice rather than the mesh splice you attempted here. Also, when you are soldering the wire, you can prevent the heatshrink from shrinking prematurely by wrapping a damp cloth around the tubing.
myadler why not just replace the entire flexible cable length end to end by resoldering in an entire new length where it terminates? Any sort of solder and heat shrink repair mid span on the visible portion is going to compromise it's vintage appearance. I suspect this fan may have had a working oscilate function at one time which makes it even more important to replace the wiring completely. Flexible cables are intended to be flexible by purpose and design and placing a rigid solder joint or line splice in it will compromise that function.
when you started to polish the Marelli signature panel i sat here thinking, hmmm that brown is even across the surface why are you polishing that.... then i saw the bronze underneath and was like :O Holy crap!
Hi to all, the fan is from my family, I am grateful to Steve for this restoration. It seems that my grandfather brought this fan home from his imprisonment in India at the end of the Second World War, but we are not sure. it has been used for years in its barber shop, and it was positioned very high, probably for safety. If we succeed, we will try to follow your advice to make the electrical circuit safer. Thanks again to Steve and his fantastic channel. Greetings from Italy, Claudio.
Thank you again Claudio for sending this in. I learned a lot on this project and really enjoyed the process. I hope you get the fan electrically sound and cooling you for years to come.
Sir, I think you should contact the CEO of Magneti Marelli or Marelli Motori in Italy and propose them to buy your restored fan for eur.5,000. So they can keep it on the desk and show the legacy of their old company..... :)
Kerbango fiji its a nice idea but i suspect a company of this size will have a tech museum of some description containing the full evolution of their product line. Despite their scarcity they are still not exactly unique as they were manufactured in quantity for export meaning there will be other surviving examples in this or better condition. I could well imagine the CEO already has such items on his office desk or in a reception area.
@@RestoreIt It is even possible to restore it down to the point of rewinding all the original electrical motor and transformer windings if needed as these would have traditionally been hand wound wire components made by humans well before the days of factory robot automation. I noticed that the armature ran in bronze sleeves that have lots more life left in them yet. This thing is beautiful and combines art and engineering in one visually stunning package. It is well worth the effort expended on it so far!
For what it’s worth, you might consider investing in a small Metal lathe. Some of the Bearing brass parts should have been replaced. An old unimat lathe would be good for that. The fan would have run much quieter with new bearings.
Kinda with you there, not so much with switches... but once you start replacing wiring, perhaps you should just replace all of the wiring. (Except perhaps motor windings and whatnot).
During the 1920's there were many hot cats attracted to Mirelli fans. Those that survived the indignity of being rushed to the Vet for urgent tail re-attachment became known as the *_Mirelli Nine Lives,_* and those that wouldn't re-grow were of course the well-known *_Mirelli Bob Cats._*
nice job. Use some solder flux on the wire ends and then tin them. Once tined, touch the two ends together, add some heat and they solder together. It will save you a lot of time and will produce a better connection than what you had in the video. Just a suggestion. I should know because I soldered just like you before I learned how to do it correctly.
Please don't do it this way. Any wiring splice needs a mechanical connection. Relying on the solder is just bad practice. Using a linesman's or Western Union splice is the safest way.
Too bad they don't make products with this kind of craftsmanship anymore. Today's appliances are disposable items after several years of use. I own several of these older fans. They never go out of style.
At one time people took pride in making things out of good quality metals and made them a thing of art now it's mass produced and profit .you do good work.
I wouldn't say 'over engineered'. I would say it was effectively engineered and manufactured with available and affordable materials for the time period. Now as far as what we would call 'over built'. Yes. Over built. If you bought this when it was manufactured, I bet you would also have the mindset that this is then fan you want for a certain room in your house and you expected it to be the last fan you would ever have to buy and it would work for the rest of your life. And you would probably be right.
I'd say not over engineered, but overbuilt certainly. If you buy a good industrial fan for a 300$ budget (this is about what it cost new, or a bit more, adjusted for inflation), you'd get something on better than this this one (well, except at looking vintage), with a more engineering like optimized blade shape, actually engineered materials instead of cast iron and a motor optimized for the fan. Back then all the engineering had to be done by hand, so it was mostly "it *will* be strong enough" rather than "that's how far we can push this design with this budget."
Seeing the quality and the construction mentality of this fan compared what is now available to the current consumers. It arrives to give chills as everything stopped being really good. 98 years and still fulfills its function.
ATD..attention to detail....amazing work....looks great...I've got a $25 China knockoff that works but doesn't look half as great as that one...the restorers on UA-cam never cease to amaze me with their and craftsmanship......thank you for showing your skills...
Loved the build, but tell the truth, that fan looks like it could chop your finger off if say I was a little drunk and tried to turn it on. neat cat too. Thanks for the cool video.
Why over engineered?? It was made just with common sense and basic mechanic parts to last more years than all the garbage plastic things of today... NOW it's over-engineered to brake as soon as you unbox it ! It's more complicated for engineers to make things now, because it doesn't have to be resistant for years.. so they have to make non-sense and crappy design. Btw, good video as usual !
In summer I bought a floor standing fan made in RPC (all fans in the shop where from RPC). There was some dust on the floor stand so I took a piece of absorbing paper with some alcohol, then I brushed. All the paint disappeared: plastic was not pigmented while molding it: it was just painted, with a crappy silver paint. Expense was something like 50 $ but I feel like having thrown money in the W.C. While turning, the fan spreads also smell of mech grease and of burned electrical chord... Hooray...
Eman Emanrus I don't get it. You paid 50 bucks for a fan and you're complaining it's shit. What did you expect? Gold pressed latium blades surrounded by a titanium grill? If you want quality go to a premium store and get yourself a Dyson fan for 300 bucks.
@@Inimbrium you pointed it. In shops there are either the few bucks shits or the dysons. Nothing in the middle. For 300 or more I would evaluate to purchase an a/c rather than a dyson fan.
Very satisfying video. Just love the old quality. How satisfying to remove the gunk and dust and see the gleam again. Another century of life. My only issue (and I see this on many restoration videos) is that to me it is often a shame to strip and repaint. The time worn finishes and patinas are also a part of what I want to enjoy. I don't want to see fresh paint. I want to see and feel the wear and tear of history. Obviously there is a sweet spot - I'm not saying leave it as is - just that the process of time that has accumulated onto objects is also valuable. This is what links me back to the origin of this item - to feel back through time through the qualities time has layered onto the object. It's not only the mechanical quality that attracts us to these objects, but also their distance in time - they are a thread linking us back - time machines. The slightly worn finish is lovely and warm with the years of use. Neither would I remove all the patina that has accumulated on the blades. Just polish it up a bit. Let us see the brass gleaming THROUGH the patina that carries that layer of time. Any way, my thoughts. Don't mean to be negative - just want to raise the question as to what we are removing in these cases. Overall I love the care given to this project.
Good heavy gauge metal which can take a good sand blasting and still have a lot of metal left over unlike today's crap which is either plastic that breaks apart when you try opening it or if metal, then it is so thin that the slightest of rust will make a hole in it
You may not have the bell on dude. Check the video page it hasn't been that long. It's becoming winter in England and it's getting harder to work. I'm trying to move to Spain right now so I can get on with videos all year round at the same pace.
Envinite bring it back i say as it may yet get rid of some more of the stupid post millenial generation. At least it will stop them eating tide pods and nappies whilst burning themselves with lighters. Perhaps you could get Colin Furze to mod it further with spinning filleting knives. Darwinism is in the house! Bring it on dude!
vintage fans are the best. They break, you just fix them. Plus they look great not running. So you can leave them in one spot all year.. They are all I use.
I am 70 and I have been a repair man all my life and is great to see a young guy like yourself working at something to preserve the past. In fact it is great to see a young person working. You can be proud of restoring things The creators guidebook even talks about learning from Romans 15:4 'writings from earlier times are for our instruction' and Deuteronomy 32:7 says to 'remember the days of old, consider the years of all your ancestry. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders and they will tell you' So you are doing as the creator has instructed us, caring for the past and restoring it for the future. May the Creator bless you and keep you may he look on you as a father does a child and give you his grace and peace.
When I was in high school in the early 80’s, my friend lived in garden apartments and I found a fan just like this in the trash room in the basement of his building and I took it home. It was very heavy and I brought it into my kitchen and put it on the table and started to try and clean it up and decided to take the base off like you did. With my mother watching, I unscrew the base and as soon as I pull it off, about 300 cockroaches come streaming out and my mother is shrieking on top of her lungs and they are running everywhere and we are trying to kill them but about a hundred run under the stove and my parents had to hire an exterminator and after that I was forever forbidden to ever bring anything like that home again.
He was lucky last time I opened our juicer and around 299 small roaches spread all over and I sprayed the juicer inside body twice and dried before any work
If I had read this before starting that fan, I would never have opened it. Haha, that story had me laughing. I wouldn't try and kill them, I would be out of there so fast.. The fly thing I found in the motor housing scared the life out of me when it moved. I had to go and get my mates... Haha.
It's like the story of the Trojan Horse.
Lolololo you funny man
The cockroaches "fanned out" haha
Outstanding job! Simply amazing that you were able to get all the pieces together again,and correctly too. I don't know how you remembered where they even went! Had fun just watching you. Thanks
You are a true artist, the people who assembled that fan in times gone by would be proud and honored the way you fixed it up again.
Just found your channel. One of the few times I've actually agreed with UA-cam's "Recommended for You" section. Wow, just amazing work! Seeing that fan brought back so many memories of seeing my Great Aunts. They were born and died in the same house. House was built in 1890's, and so were they. :) Walking into their house in the early 1980's was like stepping back into the roaring '20's. Sure makes me wish I could've gotten some of their antique fans, heaters, kitchen utensils, etc. after they died. The vast majority of it all was labeled "junk" and tossed in a land fill. Breaks my heart.
The value of your work put into restoring the stuff is immeasurable and you bring out the beauty of the history. I only can call it an ART...... Beautiful work man!
Thank you dudadeda! I really appreciate it.
Oh god, I would loose track with all those tiny parts, very impressive. Never thought I would like a restoration video better than a movie 😁
Thank you bernhard! Too kind :)
I am currently restoring a Jaguar V12 engine, but the parts are bigger 😁
Could use some help. You are much faster.
Greetings from Osaka Japan,
Bernhard
Did not forget that 👍👍👍
Just amazing the level of machining and planning that went into that fan almost 100 years ago. All the parts were hand drafted on blue prints, and casted. Really amazing. All by hand. What other country in 1922 could produce and manufacture something like. UK, France, Italy, Germany, and the US. The
So true.
Yep but for an average worker the sell price was maybe like 1 month of work. Now its 1 hour.
Would love to have been a fly on the wall to watch the original team design/engineer this fan.
Japan. And not only fans. But Hitachi fans from that era are beautiful.
What a superb transformation, from a dirty, dusty piece of junk into a fully working thing of beauty, an extremely talented young man, thank you for the pleasure that you bring to others.
I love the 1920's, 30's, and 40's, you did a fantastic job on this!!!
Can always count on you to remind me of the quality things of the past are made off! Keep up the good work man!
Thanks man. Appreciate it!
You said it best. I couldn't agree more.
Welcome To The Madness Brooo i see your m3 vids and that 2jz project😍
You know you can make a good business restoring items like that that are vintage there’s a market for it in those things for fetch high dollar can make a good living doing that I’m just saying it’s a business opportunity you can think about it for granite I will help you generate income
Survivor bias at its best.
Nice restore work !
This is from when children were disciplined and taught about hurtful things.
There's something magical about all the antique machinery... Love your videos, keep up the good work!
Thanks for bringing this beautiful craftsmanship back to life, and please thank your cat for allowing you to grace us with his/her beauty as well.
Haha thank you Sharkbite! You're too kind.
I really enjoyed this video. Restoration of anything makes me happy, this was such a diamond in the rough you had! Preserving history and seeing how well we used make things in this world is always an eye opener. Thank you for the video and for saving a piece of art!
I can't say enough how impressive your skills are. You have true talent. I know your electrical skills will become as masterful as your other skills.
Thank you Lydia! Super appreciate this comment!
@@RestoreIt Really one of the fan designed by a great engineer greetings from Abruzzo Italy Ps per tutti gli italiani che anno o stato guardando questo video possono rispondere sotto
What an absolute piece of art, beautiful !
What a beautiful fan, well done! I am so fond of table fans for some reason and this is really a piece of art. You brought it back from the dead really nice. Thanks for a good vid of an amazing project.
People used to take such pride in making fine pieces like this fan. It is indeed a work of art and it had a wonderful use. Oh to go back to those days. I love your videos, my Dad would've loved this too!! He was a recycler, as a matter of fact he used to rewire armatures and motors and was an artist in his own right when he was machining.
This is the very first antique fan with a oscillating gearbox and a switch in my life, nice restoration btw👌👌👌
That´s not a fan. A fan is something, you get for say 19.99, probably made in China from cheap plastic. That is a machine. And now, after restore, it´s again a piece of art.
Very true, a steady machine at that.
but it looks like a fan to me
+
:)
desig italiano.
Fantastic and magnificent video!!!
Great work and well done. Really appreciate your work. Many thanks for making this video. Have a wonderful life without any injuries. I am always greeting you. Keep it up 👏 👏 👏
I am a big fan of this
This blew my mind
Ba dum tss
You really restore well. I saw you attend to all details. I enjoy seeing people who like to keep quality old pieces alive.
Wow, that Marelli fan definitely has its own style! You restored a piece of art and history. Thanks from Italy. :) Never seen one of those before...!
I really like your videos. Relaxing sounds - no shitty background music. Makes me wish I had any patience at all. 👌
Any at all... Haha Thank you Perdehi!
Beautiful restoration. I’m always amazed that all the parts go back into place.
Thanks John, me to on this one Haha.
A great restoration of a beautiful object! Marelli was founded in 1891 and it changed its name to Magnetti Marelli in 1919, so that fan is well over 100 years old.
Oh, damn good to know!! Thank you, Robert, and thanks for telling me this.
Ah, mi sembrava centrasse qualcosa con la magneti marelli!
You've kept our glorious italian-style plug instead of replacing it with a crappy american-style plug. You sir are a blessing. Congratulazioni.
Great dedication and neatness, congratulations on this restoration!! 👏👏👏
Some of these ones arrived at Argentina too.
Greetings from Buenos Aires
Always loved seeing the before and after of all the different laid out parts, awesome work! 👍
I should always add that in should I. Will do from now on :)
Very nice job sir. I just want to take a moment to thank you for being a professional in this quality of restorative work. It’s amazing, I clicked on it because my high school English teacher had one similar that I always wanted. It was unbelievable, the fan was the same size and pushed more air than I thought was physically possible, 100% silent as well! Being a teenager I never liked anything old or antique, I always thought the older something is, the worse it is. That one fan opened a crack in my brain to allow me to think antiques as something I actually want and not frilly lady things like I had always thought.
Great job restoring, that goes without saying. I really want to let you know that the editing of this video was again perfect. So many times you’ll find a video that isn’t sped up at all, and the people doing it feel like they get their 15 minutes of fame making a video montage like the beginning of a DIY tv show. They always suck! People are so attention starved nowadays, you didn’t say a word throughout, but did give any relevant information needed at the bottom in text. No ridiculous music! No ridiculous person talking for 30 mins without a breath, which is only topped in my pet peeves to hear someone breathing on top of a mic, that and chewing type mouth noises.
Long and winded but it’s a compliment that I hope you enjoy reading, and that your extra work is greatly appreciated, please continue with the same fantastic workmanship!
Best wishes.
Wow. Thank you Ristube! One of the best comment I have received so far.
I just LOVE seeing rusty pieces of crap turned back into fabulous, fully functional machines again! GAWD how I wish I had restorative skills!
I'm loving your paint shop setup and spray area. You are clearly very serious about that aspect of the work. Most impressive. Some of the machined components on that fan are WAY beyond anything people would use now for a simple fan. Perhaps consider building in some type of earthing safety into the rebuild. It is a fully metal bodied device. I was also conscious of the complexity of the shooting and edit of the video. That must have added many hours to the project. Lovely work.
If you live in the right areas (like around Sheffield) you can often find substantial old machine tools about to be scrapped for a fraction of their value. The place is full of old factories and workshops. Some are being closed down. So many substantial tools can be rescued and refurbished. If you have a place to do it. Because they weigh tons and were built to last. They are mostly just covered in dirt and some botched repairs. I have stripped and repaired a few older pieces of heavy equipment. Tools like a 1930s Holbrook Lathe; or a 48" DoAll bandsaw my friend in Sheffield bought cheap.
We had to strip and totally rebuild the two speed gearbox on the bandsaw. The floating gear on the main shaft had been welded in place; to make it single speed (God knows why). So we split that appart with an angle grinder. Then setting up the main shaft between centers on the small lathe. By building the shaft up with weld; we managed to reinstated that part of the system. We had to remove and replace almost all the bearings which were totally destroyed. We cut new gaskits and rebuilt the gearbox. Then the rest of the bandsaw itself; with new tyres and belts. It works properly now.
We cut up large diameter Stainless Bar with an auto-feeder we saved. We also cut up Sheet stock on it. Another tool saved from the scrappy.
Restoring so many old tools.
This man could be a prop supplier for the film industry.
Very flattering thank you Briseur!
Supplementary electrical notes:
1. Electrical wires is a slowly consumable item, just like paint.
2. The wires could probably be disconnected from that plug using tiny screws or similar, consider how they assembled it 100 years ago.
3. Because live electrics are so close to the metal, this really needs a 3rd protective earth wire added. Unfortunately that means a different plug that will differ by country, Italy has a particular design that looks a lot like the original plug only with an extra middle pin.
4. The paint that faces towards naked electrics should be of a type that's really good at electrical isolation, perhaps with a contrasting color as lower coats to make failing isolation easier to spot for future restorers. Except of cause where electrical connection to the protective earth is needed, there tight metal to metal contact is required.
5. After assembly check that all exposed metal has a low resistance (single digit ohms) to the earth pin in the plug and that the resistance between the two live pins and the earth pin is many megaohms at 500V test voltage. Check that the 500V test didn't damage the earthing low ohms (that would mean something sparked dangerously then the broken earth messing up the other tests).
I very much appreciate this comment John. I will take all of this into account. I'm not sure this fan is that safe to be honest.
@@RestoreIt It sure ain't electrically as it stands right now but mechanically it scares me even more :D
Another hint:
These cables move if the fan swings. Therefore you are required not to solder the connections ( makes the cabld stiff so it will break) but to crimp these instead - as did in cars and washing machines.
@@orangmakan best way would Have been to replace all Wires, just My 2 cents. But hey it's not like it Will Be used alot so i wouldnt pay too much attention.. Maybe a Note saying only For professional use haha
Depending how it was wired it could be a live chassis with the neutral as the ground to the chassis. If it were me I would of replaced as much wire as I could with modern Rubber/Silicone/Teflon coated cable and put some heatshrink on places I couldn't since that old wire probably only has cloth as the insulation. Use a two prong polarized cable (I live in the states) If anything I would of also added some mica sheets to areas where the high voltage is close to the metal for added protection.
So much parts just for a fan, I love it.
I love it to now that its finished!
it's not a fan, it's a piece of art
A joy to watch as always! Great job, it looks fantastic. You really improved in doing electrics. You spotted your own problems, so that's ok. Mistakes happen to everyone.
Thanks, man, I really appreciate this comment. I'm trying to get better, and people like you really motivate me :)
I'm trying the same thing with a 1922 Emerson 9-inch fan. It was used in a pie shop from my wife's grandfather.
The video really helped spark ideas and is providing quite a bit of motivation. I really don't want to dork this up, I'm taking tons of photos as I go.
videos like these make me thing what would it feel like to work as a restorer, satisfaction you get from doing this must be truly immense
i dont know why i like more of your vídeos than the others youtubers. i think the lack of music is a feature. :)
Thank you guilherme, this means a lot to me.
A piece of art work both yours and the manufacturer!
Thank you Joebainter!
@@RestoreIt I love these restore videos you and several others put out, I just hope all the love you put back into these projects is appreciated and preserved by those who end up owning them after you're done. Keep up the good work, I'll be waiting for the next one.
Those old fans are awesome.
The bigger ones with speed control sound like a 747 taking off as the speed ramps up. And they're very powerful.
Cheers Ben! Haha you got that right.
Amazing result. Had no idea these fans had that many parts. 🤘🏻
Thank you I appreciate people do restoring things like this for the future to see how things should be built
built like a tank! awesome work!
That fan is gorgeous, I've always loved 20's design and wanted one. Nice job!
It is a beautiful thing.
Great job. I would replace all 100-year-old wire. Also, look up "lineman's splice." That's what you should do with wire before soldering it together. Also, a heat gun will do a neater job than a lighter on heat shrink. I love your channel!
You would be very correct doing so L. I will do a more complete job next time I come across something like this. Thank you for the advice, it's much appreciated.
man thanks for that info much aappreciated i didnt know how to search for that, that's the best way but at least the method he's using is ok because the contact surface on the wires is greater than just wraping them on
one thing that blows me away about these restoration videos is how you guys remember where each of those screws and parts go when piecing the thing back together. I know you probably have some system, but it always runs through my head. Other than that its always such a nice and relaxing thing to watch.
I watched this whole thing to see if it would spin on its own again. Many times these darn old devices, the transformers will short out and fry everything or the brushes would be so worn the motor wouldnt spin. Im glad to see it run. They just dont make stuff to last anymore. Well done dude.
I see through your clever ploy. This channel is just a ruse to get us to look at photos of your cat
Shhh!!!
A very clever cat, pre-coloured to encourage workshop hands to stroke & pet.
What cat??
@@mklik4 There is a cat at the very end.
@@RestoreIt Your CAT was the best part of the video, BEAUTIFUL family member !!! Use your Cat at the end of EVERY video, TY!
Very gorgeous fan. Nice job!
Thank you, Jade.
What a beautiful fan
I have never seen a video of yours before and I have only one word for your work....
Respect.
That's what I call ART!
Great job sir , I hope you're not lose your accuracy of the little details because details all mater.
Thanks bro.
Amazing restoration. I wish I could see it rotate back and forth.
I'm a FAN of your channel man!! lol
Waheyyyy! Haha thanks man.
you make the work seem like a breeze!!
Now that’s a nice fan. The black looks wonderful with the blades. Sometimes old is definitely nicer.
Very nice. Somehow, it just feels good to be in the company of nice restored vintage stuff. Every day item were so pleasing to the eye then.
AND THATS WHY THINGS WOULD LAST
For splices like these you will find that you get much cleaner results with a linesman splice rather than the mesh splice you attempted here. Also, when you are soldering the wire, you can prevent the heatshrink from shrinking prematurely by wrapping a damp cloth around the tubing.
Oh dude thank you for this advice, seriously appreciate it.
Good call on the Linesman splice, I thought exactly the same thing lol.
myadler why not just replace the entire flexible cable length end to end by resoldering in an entire new length where it terminates? Any sort of solder and heat shrink repair mid span on the visible portion is going to compromise it's vintage appearance. I suspect this fan may have had a working oscilate function at one time which makes it even more important to replace the wiring completely. Flexible cables are intended to be flexible by purpose and design and placing a rigid solder joint or line splice in it will compromise that function.
True enough; different splices can yield better results. remember...variety is the SPLICE of life *rimshot*
when you started to polish the Marelli signature panel i sat here thinking, hmmm that brown is even across the surface why are you polishing that.... then i saw the bronze underneath and was like :O Holy crap!
Hi to all, the fan is from my family, I am grateful to Steve for this restoration. It seems that my grandfather brought this fan home from his imprisonment in India at the end of the Second World War, but we are not sure. it has been used for years in its barber shop, and it was positioned very high, probably for safety. If we succeed, we will try to follow your advice to make the electrical circuit safer. Thanks again to Steve and his fantastic channel. Greetings from Italy, Claudio.
Thank you again Claudio for sending this in. I learned a lot on this project and really enjoyed the process. I hope you get the fan electrically sound and cooling you for years to come.
A labour of love to restore a machine from the Age of Art = brilliant!
Sir, I think you should contact the CEO of Magneti Marelli or Marelli Motori in Italy and propose them to buy your restored fan for eur.5,000. So they can keep it on the desk and show the legacy of their old company..... :)
Now that's thinking proper..
Kerbango fiji its a nice idea but i suspect a company of this size will have a tech museum of some description containing the full evolution of their product line. Despite their scarcity they are still not exactly unique as they were manufactured in quantity for export meaning there will be other surviving examples in this or better condition. I could well imagine the CEO already has such items on his office desk or in a reception area.
They can probably find one on ebay for cheaper tbh
I think It's better to replace all electrical components... But good job keep posting videos!
In the future I will replace all old wires.
@@RestoreIt Hey next time please restore a car! Your videos are amazing!!!
@@RestoreIt It is even possible to restore it down to the point of rewinding all the original electrical motor and transformer windings if needed as these would have traditionally been hand wound wire components made by humans well before the days of factory robot automation. I noticed that the armature ran in bronze sleeves that have lots more life left in them yet. This thing is beautiful and combines art and engineering in one visually stunning package. It is well worth the effort expended on it so far!
For what it’s worth, you might consider investing in a small Metal lathe. Some of the Bearing brass parts should have been replaced. An old unimat lathe would be good for that.
The fan would have run much quieter with new bearings.
Kinda with you there, not so much with switches... but once you start replacing wiring, perhaps you should just replace all of the wiring. (Except perhaps motor windings and whatnot).
During the 1920's there were many hot cats attracted to Mirelli fans. Those that survived the indignity of being rushed to the Vet for urgent tail re-attachment became known as the *_Mirelli Nine Lives,_* and those that wouldn't re-grow were of course the well-known *_Mirelli Bob Cats._*
Haha that's crazy.. at leas thr cats are safe now.
Great sense of humour lol 😆👍🏼
Back when things were built to last. Quality Italian fan.
Fantastic job.They don't make em like they used to.I really didn't expect that old motor to work
Neither did I, until it did! Thank you!
nice job. Use some solder flux on the wire ends and then tin them. Once tined, touch the two ends together, add some heat and they solder together. It will save you a lot of time and will produce a better connection than what you had in the video. Just a suggestion. I should know because I soldered just like you before I learned how to do it correctly.
Thanks, Bricktop I'll take this into account next time.
Please don't do it this way. Any wiring splice needs a mechanical connection. Relying on the solder is just bad practice. Using a linesman's or Western Union splice is the safest way.
It's if you have reached through a portal of time and pulled it from when it came off the production line very impressive mate :3
Thank you as always Lord!
@@RestoreIt you are welcome :3
I loved the cat bit at the end
Oh good, I'm glad I added it :)
Quite a tour de force, congratulations: dedication, patience, skill, tenacity, you are deserving of very high praise, well done !
Mr. Marelli is now applauding this incredible restoration work on his tomb 😁😂 Very good job!
I see your "supervisor" showed up to inspect your work.
As always... Such a tough boss, always on my case.
Awesome job. Thank you
Thanks Kenneth.
Too bad they don't make products with this kind of craftsmanship anymore. Today's appliances are disposable items after several years of use. I own several of these older fans. They never go out of style.
How could I watched 24 min video without loosing a one second concentration. Bravo
At one time people took pride in making things out of good quality metals and made them a thing of art now it's mass produced and profit .you do good work.
Thanks David and very true.
"This shaft and it's balls are what grip onto the gear"
giggity
Over Engineered LOL that's the understatement of a lifetime lol
Some people dont think it is at all! It is compared to today's standards.
I wouldn't say 'over engineered'. I would say it was effectively engineered and manufactured with available and affordable materials for the time period. Now as far as what we would call 'over built'. Yes. Over built.
If you bought this when it was manufactured, I bet you would also have the mindset that this is then fan you want for a certain room in your house and you expected it to be the last fan you would ever have to buy and it would work for the rest of your life. And you would probably be right.
I'd say not over engineered, but overbuilt certainly. If you buy a good industrial fan for a 300$ budget (this is about what it cost new, or a bit more, adjusted for inflation), you'd get something on better than this this one (well, except at looking vintage), with a more engineering like optimized blade shape, actually engineered materials instead of cast iron and a motor optimized for the fan.
Back then all the engineering had to be done by hand, so it was mostly "it *will* be strong enough" rather than "that's how far we can push this design with this budget."
So, you’re doing fanservice now?
Well well.
Haha oh yeah.
I see what you did there XD
Seeing the quality and the construction mentality of this fan compared what is now available to the current consumers. It arrives to give chills as everything stopped being really good. 98 years and still fulfills its function.
ATD..attention to detail....amazing work....looks great...I've got a $25 China knockoff that works but doesn't look half as great as that one...the restorers on UA-cam never cease to amaze me with their and craftsmanship......thank you for showing your skills...
Loved the build, but tell the truth, that fan looks like it could chop your finger off if say I was a little drunk and tried to turn it on. neat cat too. Thanks for the cool video.
Haha yes, handle with care and preferably not when you're drunk. Thanks, Darren, much appreciated.
@@RestoreIt There should be some little notches on it's base somethere :)
guard is probably there to protect the blade and not your fingers.
Schöne Sache :) Ich hätte die Kabel aber komplett ausgelötet.
remarkable 🏆
You are a creative person who preaches things of beautiful time. Something very wonderful. This is the best of the past
Thanks mustafa, too kind.
I love these kinds of videos. They’re so relaxing when you see the change.
beetle
???-2018
press f to pay respects
It was actually a fly of some sort. And it was alive! Just alive.. I had to put it out of its misery. For the UK and for it. :/ Haha
@@RestoreIt A fly? Who tf cares then? Flies are assholes.
That thing is terrifying... But it looks nice.
Haha, exactly what I thought when I got it working.
Why over engineered?? It was made just with common sense and basic mechanic parts to last more years than all the garbage plastic things of today... NOW it's over-engineered to brake as soon as you unbox it ! It's more complicated for engineers to make things now, because it doesn't have to be resistant for years.. so they have to make non-sense and crappy design. Btw, good video as usual !
Thanks! And yeah, I think I meant over engineered by today standards.
In summer I bought a floor standing fan made in RPC (all fans in the shop where from RPC). There was some dust on the floor stand so I took a piece of absorbing paper with some alcohol, then I brushed. All the paint disappeared: plastic was not pigmented while molding it: it was just painted, with a crappy silver paint. Expense was something like 50 $ but I feel like having thrown money in the W.C.
While turning, the fan spreads also smell of mech grease and of burned electrical chord... Hooray...
Eman Emanrus I don't get it. You paid 50 bucks for a fan and you're complaining it's shit. What did you expect? Gold pressed latium blades surrounded by a titanium grill? If you want quality go to a premium store and get yourself a Dyson fan for 300 bucks.
Ja, that fan wasn't ''100 years'' stuck, it was high quality machining and manufacturing stuck
@@Inimbrium you pointed it. In shops there are either the few bucks shits or the dysons. Nothing in the middle. For 300 or more I would evaluate to purchase an a/c rather than a dyson fan.
Just purchased one of these for £5, will be using this video to help with the refurb of mine. Great video thankyou.
Very satisfying video. Just love the old quality. How satisfying to remove the gunk and dust and see the gleam again. Another century of life. My only issue (and I see this on many restoration videos) is that to me it is often a shame to strip and repaint. The time worn finishes and patinas are also a part of what I want to enjoy. I don't want to see fresh paint. I want to see and feel the wear and tear of history. Obviously there is a sweet spot - I'm not saying leave it as is - just that the process of time that has accumulated onto objects is also valuable. This is what links me back to the origin of this item - to feel back through time through the qualities time has layered onto the object. It's not only the mechanical quality that attracts us to these objects, but also their distance in time - they are a thread linking us back - time machines. The slightly worn finish is lovely and warm with the years of use. Neither would I remove all the patina that has accumulated on the blades. Just polish it up a bit. Let us see the brass gleaming THROUGH the patina that carries that layer of time. Any way, my thoughts. Don't mean to be negative - just want to raise the question as to what we are removing in these cases. Overall I love the care given to this project.
Good heavy gauge metal which can take a good sand blasting and still have a lot of metal left over unlike today's crap which is either plastic that breaks apart when you try opening it or if metal, then it is so thin that the slightest of rust will make a hole in it
So true...
Dude, where have you been away for so long? post more videos man. I can not wait until you post something. And how is it with the Bimmer?
You may not have the bell on dude. Check the video page it hasn't been that long. It's becoming winter in England and it's getting harder to work. I'm trying to move to Spain right now so I can get on with videos all year round at the same pace.
Someone need to make a research of how many people become crippled from using this fan back in 1920
Haha!! I can imagine more than 10.
Envinite bring it back i say as it may yet get rid of some more of the stupid post millenial generation. At least it will stop them eating tide pods and nappies whilst burning themselves with lighters. Perhaps you could get Colin Furze to mod it further with spinning filleting knives. Darwinism is in the house! Bring it on dude!
Thank you for your excellent video, I found it very helpful for the restauration of my great-grandfather's Marelli Verno. Greetings from Paraguay
As italian I'm very proud of your work! Awesome!
vintage fans are the best. They break, you just fix them. Plus they look great not running. So you can leave them in one spot all year.. They are all I use.
Very true!
I never thought of it that way. An appliance that is such a work of art it ALWAYS belongs in the room.