After that discovery, he looked for the nonelectrics as well as the electric models. Now his collection numbers some 800 machines. He hopes to write a book about the history and evolution of vacuum cleaners, illustrated with his machines. Kautzman likes to fix things. He estimates that 95of his machines have had something missing or something in disrepair.
Hoses deteriorate over time.
Through trial and error from what he knows about woodworking and metalwork, he tries to repair what's wrong. If a machine is missing a part, he tries to find a picture from an ad or a brochure so he can determine what the missing part looks like and fabricate it. In order to cast aluminum parts he purchased a small crucible furnace. When he was a boy he found plans for a small electroplating machine in an old magazine. That inspired him to make his own, which does copper, nickel, and brass.