in a won auction. It is in an acceptable state, even the mantle survived the post transport. I gave it a clean over and changed all washers. And it lit immediately. It came with an original Pyrex marked holed globe. There is a little variation with the cage construction. Can you spot it? Normally the rod going up above the cock opening hits the upper ring right between the two bail screws. Here it meets a bail screw, which causes a 90 degree turn of the hood. The cock opening and the stampings are not lined up. Is this a special feature of the 1944 production? Some pics are following. Matthias
That is cracking, you must be pleased, she is in good condition. To do nothing but change the seals, to get her to light, is a testament to the original construction. Nice lantern, would love one.
@LatMag49 Matt, fine looking lantern. These are a great runner, too. I have a couple and they work without a problem. My one 300 (1943) has a steel tank and it did leak but I fixed it using POR-15 and no problems since.
Thanks for your comments. But with the 90 degrees turned hood, has anybody knowledge of this variation? Was it intented or just an error? Any explanation is welcome. Matthias
My favourite lamp of all, lovely stylish design. I bet the turned hood was just an error at the factory. Probably happened on a Friday afternoon. My lamp (in avatar) is from 1944 and stamped, but it has the normal hood/cage
Yes, that's a good explanation. But I would rather think of a Monday morning problem. Yours looks very attractive. And the fount is repainted? Matthias
Wartime, in a hurry, little off center but still a workable lantern, and that's all anyone could as for considering the times!
@LatMag49 Hi Matthias, Yes the tank is repainted and the cage, When I got the lamp it was in a terrible mess, it had to be stripped and re painted. I know a lot of people love the original old wornout look, but this lamp had to be re furbished. The whole lamp was painted in some kind of heat resisting paint that could only be taken off with a grinding wheel... yes it was that bad, paint stripper would have no effect on it.
The paint Willis & Bates used is bloody hard to get off! I've used two different types of stripper and there's always a sticky residue left that can't be dispersed by any thinning agent I've got... not cellulose thinner, petrol, kero, meths... even acetone won't dissolve it. Lots of hard work is the only solution that worked for me.
@LatMag49 Here is a better picture of the lamp with her Sunday best hat on and below a picture of the 1944 and crows foot stamping
@ColinG @LatMag49 I have another lamp that has the red vapalux paint on it and it is very sticky to remove..., the blue paint on the above lamp was painted much later I think by a previous owner... weird stuff with a kind of rough sand like texture in the paint... Nothing would touch it . I had to use a dremel and sanding wheels and a fine touch, Ouch! The tank is of course steel, so no big deal and can take a pounding. The cage is also steel, so that had the same treatment. They had painted over the original peeling paint and rust even painting the red bakelite control cock knob... that was a joy to remove I can tell you, lots of delicate scraping with a sharp scalpel in the grooves. I did replace all and fired it up once and it is fully functional, after another cleaning and removal of the mantel to clean the burner it remains a shelf queen as I like it so much.
It's all up the owner, but I really like to restore mine. I had a Vapalux E41 that looked it went through the "Blitz" and I really felt I was doing the lantern a disfavor by not restoring it. It turned out just great, but, like I said, it's all up to the owner! I try, however, not to overdue the restoration. Just do what I think is necessary to "bring it back to life!"
