This project took way too long! But I am in the mood to finish up some of my UFO's (Un-Finished Objects), because I want the space back. This fan project started with a box fan that I had inherited from my Great-Aunt Marie. It worked well, but over time the plastic grating on the front and back began to disintegrate leaving openings large enough for little fingers or dog noses.
The fan is probably from the late 70's judging by the font on the dial plate. I took it all apart.
You can see from the pictures that there was a lot of scratched up paint. I took a picture of the fan motor, so I would remember the correct order for the wires.
I sanded, primed, and then sprayed the entire metal case bright orange which I did not take a picture of.... so moving on. I chose a 1/2" hardware cloth for the new protective screening. I folded under about 2" all the way around.
I had to crimp each wire individually to get a flat fold.
I attached the screen to the fan box using sheet metal screws that were longer than the original screws. The screws go through these cool large washers and then through a felt washer that I made out of wool felt. I thought there might be some vibration problems, so I added the felt washers. Maybe overkill, but it works well and is quiet.
The I had to replace the handle, as the original plastic handle disintegrated. I used the heavy belt webbing. I tried initially to use rivets through a set of the big washers. The spouse assisted with this part.
Unfortunately the rivets were too small and pulled through the belt webbing. So I switched to machine screws and these capped nuts.
Ta da! The finished fan... in all its blowing glory!
