Thread Number: 27419
Treasure unearthed in St. Louis
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Post# 420996   3/6/2010 at 17:12 (5,136 days old) by Saltysam ()        

or at least for me it is a treasure. lol Was talking to a guy I work with at our annual management Christmas party and he had heard that I have an interest in old appliances. I guess people had been talking about me again but oh well, lol. Anyway he told me about an old machine that had been sitting in his parents basement and came with the house when they bought it 60 some odd years ago. He didn't know what kind it was but knew it was bolted to a concrete pad and that it was a front loader and that they might want to get rid of it. Of course I jumped at the chance! Ladies and Gents, presenting the baby Bendix. With the help of Christfr here in St. Louis we got it unbolted from the pad and loaded into the bed of my truck. The outside is in pretty rough shape but the mechanicals are pristine! Couldn't believe how clean the inside was when we got the front cover off to unbolt it from the pad. It is going to take some elbow grease and some paint to get the outside looking half way decent but the inside will just need new hoses and of course I will go through all the wiring and replace anything that has broken insulation and such. All the seals are still pliable so hopefully there won't be any leaks but testing it will come later. The timer sounds in excellent shape and has a good firm click on each cycle when you advance it. Here are a couple of pictures.
Mark





Post# 420997 , Reply# 1   3/6/2010 at 17:13 (5,136 days old) by Saltysam ()        
Inside

the drum

Post# 420999 , Reply# 2   3/6/2010 at 17:14 (5,136 days old) by Saltysam ()        
Timer

Like I said it is going to take some elbow grease to get it cleaned up and such but I think it will be a fun machine once I got through it.

Post# 421001 , Reply# 3   3/6/2010 at 17:20 (5,136 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
mark congratulations!! That's the machine that started it all for me, much to my mom's chagrin.

Post# 421037 , Reply# 4   3/6/2010 at 21:06 (5,135 days old) by rickr (.)        

rickr's profile picture
Great find Mark! You may have to have the cabinet bead blasted, but it sure looks solid!

Post# 421038 , Reply# 5   3/6/2010 at 21:25 (5,135 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia)        

ronhic's profile picture
Looks FAB!

Post# 421090 , Reply# 6   3/7/2010 at 01:38 (5,135 days old) by westingman123 ()        
bead blasted

Is that similar to sand blasting? Any guidance as to where to look for a shop to do this? My Westy slant set could use a beauty treatment; I've been asking around no avail. Shoulda known to ask here first, eh?

Post# 421141 , Reply# 7   3/7/2010 at 08:46 (5,135 days old) by dnastrau (Lords Valley, PA)        
Rust remover

Maybe something like this would work to remove the rust...

CLICK HERE TO GO TO dnastrau's LINK


Post# 421142 , Reply# 8   3/7/2010 at 08:48 (5,135 days old) by dnastrau (Lords Valley, PA)        
or this...

...that can be applied as a spray. I may get some of this for my project.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO dnastrau's LINK


Post# 421143 , Reply# 9   3/7/2010 at 08:55 (5,135 days old) by dnastrau (Lords Valley, PA)        
Here is more info...

...on the first one. The only negative thing with the first one is that it can't just be sprayed on.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO dnastrau's LINK


Post# 421156 , Reply# 10   3/7/2010 at 11:15 (5,135 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)        

christfr's profile picture
yep mark found a fun new toy. it was really dirty and icky and im sure mark had a real good time getting me all dirty.. but she is in good hands and i cant wait to see her all back up and running again. really solid machine

Post# 421313 , Reply# 11   3/7/2010 at 20:32 (5,134 days old) by trapperjohn ()        

Saltysam:

A little off-topic here...but, I was checking out your old Bendix (which is a great find) when I noticed that you're from Festus MO.

It was the starting place & hometown of one of my favorite bands and musicians...Brian Henneman of the Bottlerockets. I'm sure you've heard of them being from Festus.


Post# 421361 , Reply# 12   3/8/2010 at 00:06 (5,134 days old) by alr2903 (TN)        
Saltysam nice find...

Looks like the fill flume goes right into the additive chute, up top. I remember a discussion we had about the standard model that had a spray directly into the drum, did all of the square cabinet bendix machines fill like the one pictured? After thinking about this bendix being in the basement for over 60 years, I am thinking there are probably more out there, bolted to the floor in unfinished basements in older communities. Sam best of luck with your new bendix. alr2903

Post# 421394 , Reply# 13   3/8/2010 at 07:46 (5,134 days old) by Saltysam ()        
Thanks guys!

This one really took me by surprise for sure. Yeah, it's going to take some work but that's all the fun of it, right?

Rick, you're right about the cabinet going to be needing to be bead blasted. But, the good thing is we have a bead blaster at work.

Westingman, yes bead blasting is very similar to sand blasting. The only difference is the media used to take the paint, rust, etc off the metal.

Christfr was a trooper for sure, and yeah it was fun watching Chris get all dirty. lol Love ya buddy and thanks again for the help!

Trapper - I have heard of Brian and the Bottlerockets but can't say I have actually heard any of their songs. or at least I don't think I have.

Alr, I'm not sure about the different fill flume designs that were used on these machines. This one is definitely a strange bird for me.

Would anyone know about what year these machines were produced or would anyone have any literature on them? Thanks again guys!

Mark


Post# 421405 , Reply# 14   3/8/2010 at 09:08 (5,134 days old) by Jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
Nice find Mark

jetcone's profile picture
I'm sure it will shine up in your hands. I'll dig out the wiring diagrams I have for you scan them in and put them up here.
That is an early production model I can tell by the fin baffles in the drum, they went to the more modern stamped baffles with holes later on.


Post# 421409 , Reply# 15   3/8/2010 at 09:31 (5,134 days old) by Saltysam ()        
I'll dig out the wiring diagrams I have for you scan the

Thanks Jetcone, That would be awesome and very much appreciated!
Mark


Post# 421410 , Reply# 16   3/8/2010 at 09:40 (5,134 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)        

swestoyz's profile picture
Mark - I recently scanned the Tumble Washer service lit, which would include the wiring diagram for this model B. I haven't sent it to Robert to post yet, but I could post it in Google Docs and you could grab a copy of it if you'd like. It is a cleaner scan than the one available in the Service Manual section on this site. Let me know. Jon - yer off the hook! :D

In other cool-related news: I walked through a ritzy home in my neighborhood during an Open House yesterday afternoon. The house was built in '24 and was in phenomenal shape and quite original. When I walked into the basement, I turned to the laundry room and gasped in delight when I saw an original cement pedestal for a bolt-down Bendix! I've only seen them pictured in the service lit, but never one in person. The home owner had no idea what it was for and was excited when I told him that it did serve a purpose at one time.

Ben


Post# 421414 , Reply# 17   3/8/2010 at 10:19 (5,134 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
Imagine!

mickeyd's profile picture
Not knowing what a vacant cement pedestal in your basement was for. Some people !!! (laughs). Some days it really pays to be an Aworger.

What a cool old war horse. Bet you'll have her looking as beautiful as the Bendix and the Lady at the waterfall in the POD the other day.

Best of luck on getting her up.


Post# 421416 , Reply# 18   3/8/2010 at 10:44 (5,134 days old) by mistereric (New Jersey (Taylor Ham))        

mistereric's profile picture
Lovely find! I just scored one of these a few weeks ago, need a new bearing. Good luck with yours!

Post# 421435 , Reply# 19   3/8/2010 at 12:25 (5,134 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        
Everyone should have one - at least once.

gansky1's profile picture
I found a local sand-blasting shop in the yellow pages a few years back when I had a Frigidaire washer tub done. Not very expensive and it does save a ton of sanding and mess.


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