Hamilton Beach Type C - Introduction

A couple weeks ago, the Bard, the Devil, and I went out doing a little window shopping in Boystown. Well, the Bard and I were window shopping. The Devil, for her part was dildo shopping.

We made several ports of call on that trip, but one stop, Tulip, had a very curious item on an upper shelf.  It was, in fact, an original Hamilton Beach Type C vibrator, with its case, accessories, and warranty certificate. I asked a bewildered 20something employee to get it down so I could look at.

"It's not for sale."

"I know. I'm restoring two similar models, and would like to just see what this one looks like."

"Uhh, Ok." She brings me a stepladder instead to go look at it on the shelf, since she's afraid to take it down.

I had previously seen a couple of them come up on ebay, and was interested, but a bit consumed by the existing project work with the Type A's (HB100, and 831). This one was in rather good shape.

Last week, my first (of what may be several) Type C's arrived. It was not in horrible shape, but not in the best of shape. It had clearly been well used, but reasonably maintained. By far, the biggest relief came at the fact that the motor bushings were tight and free spinning, so someone thankfully was oiling the thing. I started by putting a couple drops of oil down each of the oil tubes, letting it settle and soak into the felt wicks and then put another drop of oil in each, and turned it on. The motor runs, quite well, but a considerable amount of arcing was happening where the brushes made contact. The commutator had a fair amount of caked on carbon from the brushes, which makes the brushes bounce around its surface as the motor spins.

The vibration is quite considerably stronger than the White Cross, and I have yet to experience a properly operating Type A. Once I have one of them finished, I will have a rather subjective comparison test. For reference, The first picture with the White Cross illustrates the size difference. The White Cross is noticeably smaller, and the motor is proportionally smaller inside, too. The other key difference is the feel when they are running. The White Cross is more like a Swiss watch, smooth, precise. The Hamilton Beach, is a bit more akin to a weedwacker. Whether you're holding onto the wooden handle, or the business end, you feel the vibration and have that tingly, numb feeling in your hand after letting go of it. Anyone who's ever used a gas powered line trimmer knows this sensation well.

Here's the "as delivered" pictures.