I'm part way through a Fettle for someone in the village who has been collecting lanterns for a while but has never really done much apart from store them in his shed. He's a history professor who specialises in Highland life and culture and Tilleys are pretty common up here as a lot of remote crofts and houses didn't get electricity until the 60s. Anyway, he asked me to resurrect one of his Tilleys, a 246A with this stamp underneath... ...which I assume refers to May, 1964. When it arrived, the gold paint was damaged and scratched and it had obviously been dropped at some point as 3 of the 4 frame securing bolts had been knocked inwards. One of the benefits of having collected so many different tap and die sets is that I had the correct die - BSF 5/16 - so I was able to make a simple jig that allowed me to gently pull the bolts out and back into position. It's difficult to see but the indentation is still a little noticeable but it's a hell of a lot better than it was. (I forgot to take any before images, sorry) Although the tank had been speculum plated, we decided to strip the paint which was badly worn anyway to reveal the plating but the original process obviously hadn't worked that well... It will have to be sprayed again which it probably would have been anyway but it might have been nice to have a shiny surface! Also, the embossed company name is different from the ones I've seen as it doesn't indicate the model number 246A. Was this because they were trying to save money again? When it's finished I'll post an update.
Hello Colin, you got the date right, but I'm not certain why the logo would be different and that tank is what was called a failed plating, hence the paint job. Happy fettling!
Thanks for the info Jeff. I was disappointed when I saw the bare brass sections as it would have looked great but it'll be no worse than when I started. I've never seen a 246A without the model id so it is a little strange, then again I've only handled 2!
Hi @Buggerlugs ! Has your lantern got a date mark at all? @ColinG The only decent x246a I have doesn’t have any markings either and may be even later
Yes, exactly like both of those @Buggerlugs and @Gary Waller ! I haven't done much to it recently but I'll have to finish it soon then I'll post the results.
@ColinG Yes it does the 8/64 and my other one with no model number is the 7/64. 1/64 and 2/64 have model numbers on them so some time in 64 they stopped putting model numbers on the lamps.
Typical Tilley.... but seriously, how much time/energy did ommitting the model number save them... if anything? Just seems like skimping for the sake of it rather than genuine cost cutting.
The model number appears to disappear towards the end of the model run. The stamping on these is the same as the early X246Bs, I wonder if they simply changed tooling with the new model in sight.
