A cheap , small measuring tape was the only thing I had that measures in metric , mine is the same across , 357mm . The top hinge is not bent out of shape and lines up with the housing hinge but my lens does not open a full 180° and hits against the hood
That's the right measurement for the door. Now... The retaining ring for the glass on the door should have 6 holes, as should the steel frame it sits in. The positions should evenly spaced starting at 12 o'clock, but with no screws/nuts at 3 or 9 o'clock. Why your steel door has more holes than that is still a mystery to me... But I'll ask around. Tony
I greatly appreciate that , the door should open far enough to stay open/upright on its own correct ?
I'm almost at the point of just lining 2 holes up and drilling 8 more , really not wanting to ruin this copper ring if I can find the correct steel frame or vice versa.
@D_Vernon , I am a real stickler when it comes to keeping things original but if it was adapted by a railway worker decades ago then it would just be part of the history of the lamp.
So am I down the correct ventilator nut and print on globes and RR story beats the "crock of crap" I got from the seller but still doesn't explain 10 holes vs 6 when all 10 are identical , spaced and shape
Not a bad price… I must say, though, these are floodlights, rather that spotlights. It’s the Tilley SL1 that was used as a spotlight. But the FL6 was used extensively during the war. I’ll keep asking about the 10 holes… Cheers Tony
I knew what it was and it's purpose before buying it , they or pretty much any Tilley rarely show up in the US and I've wanted one for a while and actually that was the listing price , I was sent an offer for $100 off listing price
@Anthony , I'm still having a hard time believing it (the outer steel frame) was modified by anyone after it was made , all 10 holes are identical , evenly spaced and shape . Id hate to drill 8 more holes in the copper ring only to have found a frame with 6 screw holes . I also want to get the housing , lens frame , and base cradle off to get media blasted , and have the cradle powder coated.
Was there ever some sort of different retaining system for the lenses , I kinda expected to see an unfaded ring from the copper but in the sunlight I noticed most all of the 10 holes on the inside look like it may have had 20 square "L" brackets or something similar
If you look in the ref gallery at the later silver floodlites some of them has glass retained with small metal brackets
Indeed, @D_Vernon, @pete sav and @Anthony. I’ve never noticed that example of @R100 with the 10 brackets fittings. That probably means the door is not original to a WWII FL6 - or there are WWII FL6s made that way that I have not seen. What do you think, Pete and Anthony? Tony
Now what , highly unlikely I'll find 10 original brackets so I'm currently faced with drilling 8 new holes in the copper ring and having 6 empty that don't line up with anything , cut the copper ring into 10 "L" brackets , or hope for the best and someone has the brackets to sell me. Either way I think I'd like to keep the 10 hole steel lens frame
There are lots of these available online? You could always make some little “L” brackets to sit under them? Regards pb seems a shame to cut the copper ring though so maybe make some out of galv sheet?
Ultimately I'd like to stay all original. I can find most any "L" bracket in my local hardware store but so far they all have pre drilled holes on both ends and holes are too big
@Tony Press i once had a silver floodlight like the one from R100 probably late 60s with these 10 clips holding the glass. But there were other differences also. The straight sided tank was steel with a brass bottom. The door was held with a kinda springy clip type arragement. The reflector was aluminium with some kind of plating to make it shiny like the SDR reflectors are Cannot be many around like this as i have had and seen many of these fl6 lamps and this was only one i have seen. Why vernons floodlite has this later door i have no idea maybe its a later replacement but why no silver paint strange. Cheers pete
Thanks, Pete. I have two silver FL6s (in the Reference Gallery) that have the springy steel clip for latching the door, but have the 6 holes for the screw/nuts. Cheers Tony @pete sav
I wasn't aware of that. I've a couple of very late FL6s (from memory, early '70s) and I've clearly not looked at them well enough. Next time they resurface...
I went through the Reference Gallery again, carefully looking at post-1960 FL6s. My observation concurs with the view that the move to 10 holes with L-brackets to hold the glass in the door was feature of FL6s made in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland after the move from Hendon. Thanks, James Virgo. Tony
I may or may not , maybe the right door but wrong retaining system or vice versa. Just for fun or to see if I could I made another hinged locking bracket , I don't care for it and won't use it if I can get an original
