I recently picked up a Tilley X246 Gaurdsman or at least that's what I was convinced it was but I've since looked in the reference gallery and now I'm confused... There are lamps there that are described as just X246 and even an X246A that also look identical. In fact there seems to be quite a variation some slightly different frames etc that seem to come under the same title. So firstly what defines a X246 "Gaurdsman" as opposed to a X246 or are they one and the same? What are the differences between those and the X246A? Here's mine, and hopefully someone can confirm exactly what it is... There are no markings on the tank to date it. Also I noticed in the reference gallery that someone else has the wing-nut style pump on their lamp. Is this actually correct for this lamp? I just gave her a bit of a cleanup and replaced all the washers and she runs beautifully. Unfortunately what you can't see from the pictures is that the hood is completely shot.. One last question... the little ring nuts that hold the burner in place are completely seized, does anyone know the best way of freeing these up as I don't want to damage them?
Your lamp is Tilley X246. It has the later version of the globe and hood frame. Without any marking on the tank, you have one of the older 1950s tanks. The next series of tanks were stamped with date on the bottom and/or the Tilley brand, made in England and the owl on the side. Next came changes to the control cock and after that came the the X246A which has a different cage... As to your pump, I have seen them in pictures but not on an Aussie X246 - but they obviously work ok. The term "Guardsman" was applied by Tilley to the X246. Look in the Reference gallery at some of the advertising around the fifties. Cheers Tony Ps. I forgot to say, nice lamp, Pps. and the hood you have is the older version of that hood: it could be that your lamp has parts from different lamps on it, Ppps. and the book David Shouksmith is reading is a great reference for sorting this stuff out.
Hi Freeing the burner threaded supports can be a pain , but i heat mine till they're dull red with a blowlamp then either put a couple of drops of light oil on the the join to let it soak in & repeat this till you can free them , or if the hoods rotten i quickly quench it in cold water , repeat as needed the Quenching will always work faster but will shock/damage the enamel on the hood The only other thing is if the burner is falling out of the hood this means you won't damage the hood any further giving you unrestricted access to quenching the burner , i quench brass burners in a light citric acid solution ( 1/2 oz to 1 pint of water , cold to quench in then leave to soak for an hour or so in the hot solution ) to strip off all the oxidation as well Be careful quenching as dropping a red hot bit of brass into cold water causes a great deal of steam which can jet in all directions from the air inlets & burner spigot etc Hope this helps Best regards Stu
Yes, as Tony says, your lantern is an X246. This was a series that began in 1946 and ended in 1961/2, going through 6-7 versions during that time. At some point in the 1950s, Tilley started to give their lamps names such as the 'Queen', 'Princess', 'Victor' and so on. I don't think anyone knows why, but I'd venture to suggest it was something to do with marketing i.e. making the various models more easily identifiable to the public by using names rather than model numbers. So, at some point, they referred to their current lantern product as the 'Guardsman'. I don't think anyone knows when this naming practice began and ended. Notwithstanding all that, Tilley enthusiasts refer to the earlier X246 tank with the square shoulders and raised dome in the centre as a 'pork-pie' or, more rarely these days as 'cheese-based'. It follows that an X246 that isn't a 'pork-pie' is generally referred to by enthusiasts as a 'Guardsman', even though it may have been made outside the period Tilley were, themselves, using that epithet. I think that's it in a nutshell, really - the terms 'pork-pie and 'Guardsman' are equivalent to each other and are now, no more than terms of convenience used by collectors to refer to the two major divisions of X246 lanterns, based on tank shape. At least 'Guardsman' was official Tilley nomenclature for a period of time; 'pork-pie' never was. As you've already noticed, in 1961 Tilley queered the pitch somewhat, by stamping the last of the Guardsman-type lanterns i.e. with the four vertical uprights (like real Guardsmen standing to attention) as X246As. Heaven knows why as they're the same as the last X246 models and nowt like the later X246As from 1962-4 which had the cage supports coming from the tank at an angle...
Thanks for clearing that up as much as it can be... clearly the manufacturers don't always help when it comes to demarcation. Thanks for the tips on releasing the screws too, I'll give it a try when I find a suitable replacement hood. It is only the very top of the hood that is rusted through so for the time being it's perfectly usable as it is.
Here are the Tilley X246 variations in order as displayed in the Lamp Reference Gallery: 1st: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/1864 2nd: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/466 3rd: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/467 4th: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/472 4th speculum plated: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/4464 5th: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/4655 X246A: 1st version which looks exactly like the X246: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/42 X246A standard model: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/3097 X246B: http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/4137
Thanks, Graham. I've inserted the lamp in the correct place in the order. I called it 3 because it introduced a substantially different hood - but it's arbitrary really. Cheers Tony
Helpful list Tony... As you say mine does seem to be a bit of a mishmash but I guess that's pretty common with lamps that have been well used.
That is a proper model an comes after the no.4 in the list I have seen more than a few. then comes this model http://0flo.com/index.php?threads/2111 then no.5 in the list.
