My Introduction

Greetings. As my name suggests I am addicted to Wurlitzer and Ruth & Sohn Band/Fairground organs and real music pretty much, although my music preferences really span from about George Friedrich Handel or not long before(Baroque music) to Swing music from around 1920 - 1960. However I am a British bloke with multiple passions of which have all surfaced on my YouTube account, which throughout the past 7 years has been known as "CBF1", and I am most famous for my cuckoo clock collection of May 2018 video of which currently has 2.4 million views.(It's the video with the pink cuckoo clock in it, along with a black one and a musical one with an accordion man).

My passions include:

Band organs, quite obviously, as well as church organs
Real music as mostly stated, which constitutes from anything before 2000 I would say(Even though I like Baroque to Swing music, I do like Running in the 90s or Never Going to Break my Stride, as well as Queen or the Beatles and Abba), and orchestral instruments
Cuckoo clocks and Rhythm and Seiko musical motion clocks
Waterfowl
Campanology and church bells
Gothic and baroque and other similar aesthetical architecture, Salisbury and St Paul's Cathedral for example(Although to date, I've never gone to St Paul's. I will in the future, but I have been to Salzburger Dom, which too is an early baroque cathedral.)
Ski lifts(I have been struggling for years mentally to get any of my videos of those uploaded since 2018, but that is changing and a new video will come out soon about that passion of mine, as it is in grave danger)
Antique american carousels as well
Doing the right thing really, including against economic matters(Quite like how a lot of people do here with their washing machines)
Cars from 1900 - 1980 and from 2000 - 2020(A few exceptions are the TVR Scerbera, the Lamborghini Diablo, and the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph most of all)

And most importantly, I am a washer collector and I have, along with cuckoo clocks, been into washing machines since I was 3 years old. I liked spinning things and the drama of hearing a brushed motor make an entire theatrical jet-engine like noise and go faster and faster. But later I grew to like all the drama of all the water splashing everywhere as well and all the different ripples each washer creates, as well as the different ways in which washers behave during washing and rinsing.

Every single thing that is a part of my passions is different: No 2 things are the same. No 2 cuckoo clocks, no 2 bells, no 2 band or church organs, et cetera. And CERTAINLY no 2 cathedrals either.

My washing machine collection includes:

1. A 2009 Bosch Maxx WAE24470GB which I forcibly stole from my parents.
2. A 2015 Daewoo wall-mounted DWD-M301WP(I'm not joking. I have videos of the thing on my channel for proof!)
3. A May 2000 Miele Novotronic W906.
4. A September 1997 Miele Premier Novo W806, essentially a downgraded W906 with only 3 spin speeds instead of 5 and no lit up control panel.
5. A Royal Twin Tub washing machine from 2013, a tiny little thing sold under multiple trademarks.
6. A OneConcept SG003 camping washing machine from 2014.
7. A White Knight 28009W spin dryer from June 2014, which is simply an argentinian Koh-I-Noor spin dryer rebadged and sold in Britain by White Knight.
8. A 2014 White Knight C3A tumble dryer which is the only dryer I've ever had entirely to myself.
9. 2 more OneConcept spin dryers. One of which has never even spun anything and I have considered selling it.
10. A 1959 Hoovermatic 3174. Which is in a pile of parts at the moment and I'm in serious need of help with fixing it because I fricked up with that one quite badly.
11. A collection of 21 toy washing machines, some of which are on my YouTube channel.

And I also have many desired washing machines as well, such as the Miele Automatic 410 and 416, the Bosch VT590 or a Bosch of a similar era, a Maytag A700, a Maytag A806 or similar, a Hotpoint 1504 or 1509, a 1956/56 Kenmore, the 1957 Speed Queen, ALL frigidaire Unimatics and Pulsamatics and pretty much every single GM Frigidaire Washer and Dryer from 1947 - 1980(The 1947 one I desire ESPECIALLY), a Miele Navitronic W2888 and a Miele W487, a Gorenje WA65205 and Gorenje WA63170(Which Maturasigma did a video of it doing 1800rpm, to then be deleted in November 2017 or privatized, sadly), a Zanussi ZWC1301, a Maytag Neptune which thank all of goodness has been sold in Britain, a Hoover Keymatic 3224 or 3226, a Hoover A3060 or A3190(They are similar, just with different control panels and different door designs as well), a Bosch WAS32466 or WAS32469GB Logixx, a Whirlpool Portable Belt-drive from the 70s up to the early 80s, preferably an avocado green one(Like the LHC490 that Pete Maz once had, and later listed on Ebay), as well as a Whirlpool Direct Drive portable from the 90s, a 1937 or 1938 Bendix(ACTUALLY FOUND ON ON EBAY LAST YEAR. DAMN IT THAT IT'S IN THE STATES.), and a Bendix Gyromatic which to my blessing was sold in Britain(But it's MEGA rare) and I do actually have an original instruction manual for from it's time of manufacture.

Goodness knows how much posts I will do. I'm mostly seeking assistance for my Hoover 3174 repairs, and will likely seek assistance on my conquest for my desired washing machines, no matter how rare they are. Including a new flange for the spin dryer which will certainly be needed. I have many washing machines which I aspire to have, and I will pursue them like how Robert(Unimatic1140) pursued his Apex for 13 years. Especially the 1947 Unimatic, a Pulsamatic(1955 preferably but any will do), and a Gyromatic. My washing machine collecting has stalled due to space and I will only pursue the extremely rare ones for now of which are damn hard to find, much like a Rolls Royce Phantom 4 of which 16 exist of 18 made, and a Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ of which 11 exist of 24 made.

That's pretty much all one needs to know about me today. I wouldn't mind an Apex either by the way although I'm not especially mad for that one. But I would have one certainly given the chance.

We may well be related. My musical taste is pretty much exactly the same time frame and heavy on classical organ and harpsichord. I've been fascinated with them since I was a child and I'm near 70 now. I had until a couple of years ago my last organ, a rebadged Hohner Wurlitzer, there's an old youtube of it, terrible video sound quality. Lately I've been pondering setting up a couple of keyboards for a virtual pipe organ a la Hauptwerk . I begged for a cuckoo clock when I was about 9 and got one as a present and I still have it today, along with a few other chiming wall clocks etc.. Right now is a great time to find all these things for free or next to nothing. In fact I just saw a beautiful compact pipe organ for sale on marketplace here, not too far, free, but I have to be realistic at my age.. I'll find the link and post it here at the bottom. well I could go on and on but I'll leave it at this for now... welcome,,, pictures are great and there are a lot of people on here with the same passions. https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...place_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

I remember the ads that had a little boy saying to his father "Gee dad! It's a Wurlitzer!" In the 1970's, I bought a Wurlitzer spinet player piano.

Welcome to the forum, and nice to know about your love for the organs.

petek said:

We may well be related. My musical taste is pretty much exactly the same time frame and heavy on classical organ and harpsichord. I've been fascinated with them since I was a child and I'm near 70 now. I had until a couple of years ago my last organ, a rebadged Hohner Wurlitzer, there's an old youtube of it, terrible video sound quality. Lately I've been pondering setting up a couple of keyboards for a virtual pipe organ a la Hauptwerk . I begged for a cuckoo clock when I was about 9 and got one as a present and I still have it today, along with a few other chiming wall clocks etc.. Right now is a great time to find all these things for free or next to nothing. In fact I just saw a beautiful compact pipe organ for sale on marketplace here, not too far, free, but I have to be realistic at my age.. I'll find the link and post it here at the bottom. well I could go on and on but I'll leave it at this for now... welcome,,, pictures are great and there are a lot of people on here with the same passions. https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...place_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks

Click to expand...

I had my first one when it was 5, a battery operated one which is still made today(It's the Widdop & Bingham W6760 cuckoo clock). That same year I had my first mechanical one for Christmas. It was a Anton Schneider model 92/9. Neither of these clocks exist any longer, and we stupidly followed the idiotic throw-away society then but by 2015 I stopped throwing anything away entirely, including a broken Miele Softronic toy washer that I still have(It has since been replaced with an identical one, which I have a video of on YouTube). I later had a chalet clock with dancers, a Hones 2-door cuckoo with an accordion man, and a pink Acctim/Walplus cuckoo clock made out of plastic. Then a Hubert Herr painted flowers one and then my last cuckoo clock for a long time was another Widdop(A W6757) which, from my original collection is the only one I have left.

My current collection includes now 38 cuckoo clocks of nearly every kind. From the non-Black Forest battery operated ones to some of the most rare and desirable victorian ones, namely 3 from Gordian-Hettich-Sohn(One of which is in my September 3 2018 cuckoo collection video). I have replaced the Schneider, Hones and pink clocks since with identical ones which too are in my current collection and I intend on replacing the Herr and dancer and other Widdop clocks. In 2015 I lost the interest in clocks entirely, regaining it in 2017 after remembering a video titled "Antique Quail & Cuckoo Clock" by Bill Stoddard. I had wanted a quail cuckoo clock for about 6 years until 2017 when I finally got one. Initially I was going to get one instead of my 2nd Widdop clock but my parents deemed it too expensive. I saw an identical Widdop clock in a shop in hastings once when I was little and I saw it on Amazon and decided to have it(Because I liked it to begin with, and still do like it. It's just in the condition it is in when I got it).

When I finally got one in 2017 it was my first ever second-hand clock. I initially thought it was from the 50s but it is actually from around the 1910's - 1920's, it's mechanism is the same as the one in Bill Stoddard's video and it is a different shape to the 50s one which is a little more common, though neither clocks are really rare at all though the 50s one(Which was produced for over 70 years) is more common. Another thing with older quail clocks is that the cuckoo only activates on the hour and not the half hour, unlike probably those from 1940 or after. 4 of my 38 cuckoo clocks are quail ones, the oldest one being a George Keuhl from 1907 and the youngest being the more common 1950's Hubert Herr one(My 1910 - 1920's one is another Hubert Herr). I'm now having a huge gear-grinding about what is going to be my 40th cuckoo clock as I want it to be an expensive one(Which I'm not completely setting in stone) and certainly even more so when I hit 50. I have no idea when I'm going to stop collecting as I have no plans to. I'll just get whatever the frick I like!

rinso said:

I remember the ads that had a little boy saying to his father "Gee dad! It's a Wurlitzer!" In the 1970's, I bought a Wurlitzer spinet player piano.

Click to expand...

Good for you(I hope I'm not sounding rude!). My uncle does have a player piano too, not a Wurlitzer, but it's a pedal-operated one.

Wurlitzer155BandOrgan said:

Good for you(I hope I'm not sounding rude!). My uncle does have a player piano too, not a Wurlitzer, but it's a pedal-operated one.

Click to expand...

X

I no longer have my player piano (I've had two) but would your uncle be interested in 100 good rolls for free? Just pay shipping and mishandling? You didn't sound rude at all.

Good to hear on the "not sounding rude" front, I somehow get the impression that "Good for you" also has a bit of a "Oh, good for you, whatever, I don't care" sort of tone linked to it or something.
I'll have to check the roll frame it has when I'm next there(To see if it's roll frame is the same as your player piano's roll frames). I barely ever see my Uncle's house, last time I was there was in August 2024. It will be a while likely before I return there again.

Welcome from over here! . My Wurlitzer experience is with a 1974 "Funmaker" electronic organ : rotating baffle "Leslie" bass woofer,built in cassette recorder,early ICs with white ceramic packaging...

cfz2882 said:

Welcome from over here! . My Wurlitzer experience is with a 1974 "Funmaker" electronic organ : rotating baffle "Leslie" bass woofer,built in cassette recorder,early ICs with white ceramic packaging...

Click to expand...

My Wurlitzer experience is with 2 Wurlitzer theater organs, one of which is the Thursford one. There are MANY band organs there in addition, my favourites particularly being the Gaviolis and the 84er Wellershaus.

Anyway here's the collection in pictures, in only the order of which I photographed them, except for the Hoovermatic and some other things(Because I forgot them):

The 1997 Miele W806...



2 of the OneConcepts, from 2014 and 2018...



The White Knight(Koh-I-Noor) spinner, the tiny Royal camping twin tub which is the first NOT-toy washing machine that I ever had all to myself, and the other OneConcept, which looks like a bin, has never been used for actually spinning anything, it has always been ran empty or with water for spin-rinsing. I was going to get a Costway EP22761 to go with it, I am still planning to get one. I once considered selling this OneConcept in this picture here.


My 2000 Miele W906, my first full-size washer and my first second hand one. It has had it's motor bearings replaced and it's brushes replaced too(Even though the original ones still had some life left in them), but since it's been repaired every time I tighten the screws holding the motor together it restricts the motor's movement, something in the repair has clearly gone goofed up. Someone did say to me that there is a certain type of washer which goes in front of the front bearing or something. It had the lucky time to be used as the house washing machine as I once moved into a house which didn't even have one!


My so far only tumble dryer. I do wish to acquire vintage dryers from the States(Frigidaire obviously), Parnall, Miele, Bosch as well, and Hoover and many more. Despite hearing from FlorenceBallardA3060 that these have weak heaters I personally don't really mind at all, it has served me just fine throughout the 11 years I've had it since new. It too was used as the house dryer in the same house as the Miele because what was there was a Candy piece of overcomplicated crap which sensed incorrectly every time the dryness of the laundry and just finished every time before it was supposed to.



My Bosch which I seized from my parents and have almost fixed. Drum spider was replaced, and the motor brushes also need replacing.
But given that's a simple operation I just haven't needed so far to reinstall them and haven't bothered yet.




And probably the rarest washing machine I have, and one of the only as far as I know to be sold brand new to Britain, and was my dream machine for 5 years prior to getting it. It's certainly one of the only ones that has been uploaded to YouTube by a brit.
Like a Bendix it has to be bolted, not to the floor, to the wall. It has no suspension at all!




And some ancient Hoover parts, including some Keymatic spin clutch plates(As far as I remember), a bearing, and a keyplate reader.
And a Bosch sump hose part as the original sump hose on the Bosch needed replacing, but the original plastic part which connects to the pressure switch didn't.
And a brand new Hoovermatic timer as well. All really preperations for in the event I manage to get a Keymatic and a Gyromatic, as well as a Hoover A3060 or Hoover A3190 and a Hotpoint 1509. All of those are my current top priorities, as are vintage AEG's, Bosches, and Miele's as mentioned in my first post. I'm in Britain so I'll have to make tons of flying trips to the States to ever get my hands on any of what I want from there, particularly the Bendixes and the Frigidaires and all the other grand old American things which totally were designed to do everything absolutely properly. Even to look good as well! Nobody did better than the Americans in my personal opinion.

And lastly the 1959 Hoover 3174 which is in a pile of parts right now because of how much of a moron I was with it. I have a video on YouTube explaining why I've been moronic with it but I'm getting nowhere. My next thread(if that's what they're called) is to be about the Hoovermatic as I seriously need help with it if I'm to ever fix it again.
This is the only Hoovermatic I ever desire on having so far, simply because it was designed in the 1950s and therefore had the nicest styling. From the late 1960s onwards the British were terrible at styling most of their washing machines. The Americans on the other hand, their style really stopped after about the mid to late 1990s. Other twin tubs I do wish to have are a Servis mark 1 or 2, a Hotpoint, and a Maytag A50(as far as I remember, it is the A50 that I wanted) as well as a 1930s Easy twin tub.

This washer has only ever had 1 owner and it was used from brand new up until I think 2019. I got it in October 2022. Spin pump was seized and that was fixed. A lot of important bits in the wash tub have been replaced, such as the heater seal and the agitator screw-bearing thing. I could perhaps say that in terms of simplicity and reliability I don't think one can go better than with Hoover's wash tub design. It barely consists of any parts at all and it's wash action, despite I've never washed anything in it as of yet, is very powerful.
Some pipes were replaced with garden hose pipes, which simply just fit, and that was with the previous owner, not me. One original pipe still remains and is useable to some extent, probably not for much longer. Wash pump tyre however, is totally done for and needs replacing if it's ever to wash anything at all! As will the flange in the spinner, in the very long term, which does have a few cracks which I don't think are leaking yet but they certainly will in the future, any washer collector will know the nature of rubber and that once it starts disintegrating, it doesn't stop.