Thread Number: 79390
/ Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
Cutting Tools |
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Post# 1032996   5/18/2019 at 20:44 (1,776 days old) by scrubflex (bronx, new york)   |   | |
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What are the best electric hand-size tools that can be used to cut agitator vanes or fins? |
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Post# 1033006 , Reply# 1   5/18/2019 at 23:10 (1,776 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa)   |   | |
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Coping saw to cut the initial profile, followed by a hand file to refine the shape, and fine-grit sandpaper to finish it off?
Anything that cuts with pressure would risk cracking. Anything that saws aggressively would risk flex/fatigue cracking if it bound up. A Dremel would make it too easy to gouge or melt beyond what you wanted to cut. I don’t see power tools making this much easier than hand tools, to be honest. What are you working on? |
Post# 1033017 , Reply# 2   5/19/2019 at 04:24 (1,775 days old) by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula)   |   | |
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The best "electric" tool isn't electric. Pipe saw (that yellow one) or a wire saw. Then use a file to smooth the surface. After that, a Dremel with a fine grinding stone to make the surface even smoother. super high speed (30k+ rpm, ideally 35k if your dremel can reach it) and very gentle strokes so the friction GENTLY melts the plastic and gives a polished finish. |
Post# 1033615 , Reply# 4   5/25/2019 at 19:20 (1,769 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa)   |   | |
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Post# 1033637 , Reply# 6   5/26/2019 at 03:16 (1,768 days old) by scrubflex (bronx, new york)   |   | |
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Thanks guys...LowEfficiency here's a pic I found of the bottom and inside the top of the column of the Super Roto Swirl |
Post# 1033736 , Reply# 7   5/27/2019 at 13:34 (1,767 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa)   |   | |
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Perhaps it is an optical illusion, but I would think that the "base" of the Maytag agitator with the fins removed would be larger in diameter than the inner opening of that Super Roto Swirl agitator... You could of course cut further into the Maytag agitator, since it is semi-hollow with the water channels molded in... but once you cut the cylindrical shell off, you would no longer have anything for your fasteners to connect to. Have you considered instead the option of creating your own adapter without using Maytag parts as a base? You could form a thicker casting of material around the Maytag shaft, and then glue or fasten that into the SRS agitator... Or even have an exact-fit part modeled and 3D printed if you wanted to be fancy. |
Post# 1034142 , Reply# 9   6/1/2019 at 14:54 (1,762 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa)   |   | |
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Ah! I see now. So your plan was to remove the fins, but keep the general trumpet-bell-shaped flare, and attach the two skirts of the agitators together? I've never seen a LoadSensor agitator in person, but it would make perfect sense for it to have a smaller core than the earlier one-piece agitator.
For making an adapter, the Maytag shaft is actually relatively simple to model, so it wouldn't take too much work to make an adapter. Getting the tolerances and alignments correct, however, would likely take several iterations. So realistically it's probably not something you would want to pursue unless you knew someone nearby with a 3D printer, and had plenty of time... Otherwise, the end result would probably cost as much as a washing machine. :D |