My old washing machine was at least third-hand (I got it from Bill when he moved; I think Bill had gotten it from Micah; I don't know if it was new then or not--such is the way of things around college and graduate school). Some time maybe a year after I had acquired the washing machine, the agitator didn't. Upon investigation, the agitator itself (a hollow plastic piece which exists mostly for the molded plastic baffles) had been connected to the transmission shaft by way of a two piece coupling. The agitator had square teeth, the transmission shaft end had star teeth, and the coupling itself was made of an outer rubber half and an inner metal half, with a friction joint in between. Now, you'd think someone who created a friction coupling to join two parts subjected to significant torque would offer the coupling independently for replacement, wouldn't you? So did I, but apparently not: it was only available with purchase of a replacement agitator. After several failed adhesive-based attempts (and my surprise at the failure of JB Qwik-Weld epoxy), I cast this replacement part using a clay mold and about a spool worth of pipe solder. The square teeth fit fairly well (at least, nothing a hot soldering iron couldn't fix). The star teeth were narrow enough in gauge that it took a small application of Anthony's law of force ("use a larger hammer") to get it to slide all the way over the transmission shaft, but once that was done, the part worked well for the rest of the life of the unit. The washer itself finally failed when it was handled roughly during moving, causing the water seal at the bottom of the basin to come loose. Note that this was my second attempt at casting this part. The first failed when I ran out of acetylene to melt copper fittings into a similar part. Solder was a bright idea which let me to use the electric element on my stove as a heat source, allowing me to move my repair operation indoors.

Unplug the washer! Then remove the hex nuts across the top of the control panel. (These notes are for my reference. Repairing your appliances can be dangerous. You can hurt yourself or damage your appliance. Be sure you know what you're doing, be careful, and don't blame me if things go wrong.)