Hi All, I have a Blanchard 1397 which I am thinking of either selling or restoring. If I sell what sort of price would be fair and if I decide to restore it what sort of costs are involved? Many thanks, Al
Hi Aldo and welcome to the forums... We don't do valuations of any sort here, mainly because 'value' depends on a wide range of factors and can fluctuate markedly. All I can say is that your lamp is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it...
Hi Aldo, It's hard to say what sort of costs would be involved in restoring your Blanchard 1397. It will all depend just how compleat it is, and what parts if any are missing. Dose it have it's globe to start with?. Can you post some more photo's of this lamp showing the underside of the lamp and burner please. If i can be of any help give me a shout. Jim
Thanks David and Jim for your helpful replies. I also have a 1215 (see attached) and after a few PM's I think there is more work involved in getting these lamps up to scratch than I thought (I do suspect that as with classic cars the restoration is 90% of the fun) so I will probably be letting them go at some point because any little spare time I get after my business and family is taken up on my classic cars (2 911's and a BMW Z1). It is a shame as I love the look of these things so maybe I will hold onto them until I get more free time one day. Thanks again, Al
Yes Blanchard lamps are not the easiest to fettle. They require some special tools and parts are difficult. For instance I have had to learn how to make pricker needles to fit these burners because the real thing was just not available. I have also had to make a tool to remove the jets because there are no standard wrenches that will reach in there. Mind you they do run well if you get it right. They can be falling apart and look like a pile of junk but you can still get near enough the rated power. That is a rare piece of lamp and whilst I would love to persuade you to part with it you should keep it and maybe one day get it fettled and running. You will not see another in a hurry. ::Neil::
Hi All, Thanks very much for all the replies it has helped me understand just what is involved with these lamps so although I love the idea of finding the time to restore the two ones that I have I know that in reality that time will probably not be available until my two little girls leave home or I become rich enough not to need to work and both events seem a very long way off. So I decided to sell the them. The 1397 has already gone to a good home with a forum member so you may get to follow its restoration. The other is for sale on my website here Blanchard 1215 at a price that I think will mean it will not sell quick and may make me have to keep it Thanks again for your time and if it sells I will pop back and let you know as it will help you get a feel for the market if it does not sell by the time my girls who are 1 and 4 leave home I will be back to talk restoration so either way I will be back . BTW: These lamps that I got are not the first oil lamps I have seen as we have a architectural salvage company and come across cool stuff all the time so if anything oil lamp wise pops up again I will now get them and post the pics here. Thanks again, Al
I am now the proud owner of Al's 1215 and he was kind enough to deliver it to me personally all the way to Stevenage this evening. I didn't actually find it via the forum but a Google search as I have been keeping my eye out for a "proper" Blanchard ever since I found that [url=http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/2598 lamp.
Hello Al, those are 2 fine lamps which will probably be restorable and it's great that they are now with keen collectors!
You got to be about the closest member to me. You have to be around 14 miles away. I have all the tools and such to fettle these and I can make any new priocker needles if any are wanted. I have fettled quite a few Blanchard burners. Might be an idea to bring it here and I can show you how to dismantle them and maybe we can make them run. ::Neil::
