Thank you!
Oh guys, thank you for your kind comments and responses. I wish I could say there was a natural talent that goes along with diving into a project like this, but I truly believe that everyone is capable of learning how to work on our mechanical wonders. They really are the best place to start in terms of building up mechanical knowledge and touch, IMO. I've always felt that coding or electronics/microelectronics are far more difficult to master than turning a wrench and reading through a service manual. Anyone can do this if they put their mind to it and are okay making mistakes and learning along the way.
Ok - a few answers to some of the questions:
Mickeyd - Jon and Dan are spot on. The cleaning ability of the narrower 1963/1964 three ring agitator column seems to be better than the 1965-1969 Deep Action/Jet Action agitator. The side by side shot above of the two shows how the narrow center of the earlier style will swallow items into the circulation, vs. the later style relies on zones of current on the periphery of the tub to turn items over. I'm also proving that the later, narrower pulsators work just fine to turn over big loads, and even slow things down just a bit compared to the earlier 1955-1964 pulsators. And yes, Dan is correct. The earlier agitator is MUCH quieter.
As for writing. I cringe when I read back through my posts. At typos and grammar issues. I often have a great narrative in my mind of what I want to say but I don't have a lot of time to get it down on paper, let alone having time to go back and read through my thoughts with the lens of a proof reader/editor. Throw in shooting video footage on my phone, editing it over the course of an evening, and trying to be a husband/dad with a full time job. It's a wonder any of this actually gets accomplished.
Patrick/Agiflow - I really need to shoot a full cycle video of the 350 Blackstone. Coming soon!
John L - While I do love a good Rapid Dry Rollermatic, I really warmed up to to the idea of saving/restoring a middle of the line machine, especially an early one. Considering how unique the design and engineering is of these, restoring the bread and butter version felt just as important as having the fastest car/spinning washer off the show room floor.
And - to follow up on a few things I mentioned during the thread. I did measure the agitate wheel spacer gage for both the Rollermatic and the 1-18:
Agitate Wheel spacer gage 12934-1 - Rollermatic - 0.125 / 1/8"
Agitate Wheel spacer gage 14405 - 1-18 Rollermatic - 0.060 / ~1/16"
Also, the piece of steel bar stock that I used to help press out the agitate wheel bearing was 1/8" x 1", cut to about 5 inches in length.
Otherwise, the only specialized tools that are an absolute must would be the bellows pliers and the tub nut wrench. Outside of those, all other tasks technically can be done without any other specialized tools, baring that a shop press makes bearing removal and assembly so much easier, as well as a gear puller for the drivers and motor upper bearing. [this post was last edited: 2/21/2025-16:14]
