I have a number of working Bialaddin vaporisers but they dont have intact jet cleaning wires at the end. Anyone have a potential solution?
The cleaning wires were sold separately on cards and they do turn up sometimes, but you will probably find knackered vapourisers which have good cleaning wires, that has been my experience and the broken cleaning wires come in useful for fettling other lamps etc., new points can be ground and the wires can be cut to the required lengths.
Base Camp Vapalux,& Bialaddin Lantern Spares Part V49 Or you could try regrinding the tip and building up the brass base with solder to compensate for shorter length. Someone (@Mackburner ???) has described how to on a Tilley. I think they used two diamond grit sharpening plates.
I've got at least one of these cards, complete with cleaning wires but God only knows where they are - haven't seen 'em for years...
From time to time I make a batch up and put them on EBay. I don’t make any money from it but it’s nice to fill a void now and again! If you want to know how I make them let me know?
Well you will need some.... 0.8mm TIG Stainless welding rods Drennan fishing slim crimps 28-40 lbs 7 strand Brass tube Rotary tool Diamond files Crimping tool Good eyesight!! Cut the brass tube to the length of the slim crimps and insert the crimp. Cut the rod to correct length and insert into Crimp. Crimp with modified crimper tool. Set up rotary tool, I use a Proxxon variable speed tool in its own mini drill press but have it upside down. Fashion a steel plate spaced the correct distance away with a 0.8mm hole drilled into it. Fit the pricker blank into the chuck so the tip is just poking above the steel plate. Make sure everything is fixed solidly to the workbench. Once you have this set up it’s east to make up batches if your blanks are all exactly the same size. Start with a rough grit diamond file and take off the bulk of the tip as it spins at a moderate speed pressing one side only. Then as you near the final tip diameter use something like a mini dmt diamond hone in blue then red grit. You have to be very careful as you get near the finished size as it breaks easily. But after a few dozen you get the knack and can produce repeatable identical pricker tips. Just get something with a 0.2mm hole and make sure it fits with no snagging, don’t use an old Vap tube as it’s likely worn a larger hole after being used a while.
Nice work but please may we know more about what this is? "Drennan fishing slim crimps 28-40 lbs 7 strand"
@Henry Plews thanks for the link but it leaves me just as puzzled. I don't see one of those in the finished article so I wondered if it was about the crimping tool to use? Or does one lurk inside the brass tube? Maybe that is it.
Brass tube (slim crimps) would go on the end of the pricker rod where it makes contact with cock (knob for moving pricker up and down). Think I got it right... This is a great idea!
