Hello all - looks like I've found the authority for all things Tilley here! My father has what you could now call a 'barn find' SDR. I remember it as a kid - especially carol singing in the village in the snow by its light! Since the globe got broken in 90's it's just been knocking about the garage, and it looks as though he's had a go at getting it going with the wrong globe and hood. Since I've found out that these are quite rare, and hence valuable, he's thinking he'd rather have the money than the lamp (he's in his 80s now), so a couple of questions if I may please? Firstly am I right in thinking the hood in the picture is the wrong one? I can't see how the tip reflector would attach. Secondly I guess the chances of finding a replacement globe are minimal - is there an alternative which will fit? Thirdly any idea of what it's worth? I'm in two minds as to stick it on eBay for him, or to offer him what it's worth and keep it for both geeky and sentimental reasons. If I can't find the original hood then I guess the value is really diminished? Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi Dave, welcome to CPL! It should be possible to get it working with that burner, but not sure if the brown 'guardsman' hood sits low enough on the frame? Well worth getting it going anyway if that appeals to you? The working seals are all readily available.. Some of the lanterns had slightly different length vapourisers, and i cant remember which ones.... helpful huh? Dont fret as someone else will surely be along to help further with your lovely rare lamp! Well done! Best wishes and good luck, pb
Hi Dave, nice lamp and one I've yet to acquire. I think PB is probably right, the burner sits lower in the original SDR hood. I have one of the original hoods and glass globe that I managed to pick up a while ago and cobbled together my own version of an SDR. As far as I can remember it still uses the short vaporiser, but the cage required lifting so that the hood sat on top of the cage. Perhaps the brown hood you have would work if the longer 7" vaporiser was fitted? But I can't say for sure, hopefully someone around here will have a definitive answer. Link to my SDR-ish.
Nice find even in barn fresh condition as they are quite rare. The hood is wong and the lamp will not work right with it as it does not sit right on the globe cage. The lamp will work with the longer 169 Vaporiser but that will lift the hood clear of the cage and look rather odd. It really needs the correct brass hood and alloy reflector. I can't remember if a hood has ever been offered for sale on the bay but I think not. Same with the globe which is marked with Tilley 78 or 378. There is a Tilley globe from a profane lamp marked 1081 I think which is a tight fit but will work OK. The original hood must have been with the lamp at one time and it will pay you to try to hunt it down. We don't do values here but I can tell you that the missing hood and globe devalues it considerably to perhaps 10-20% of a complete example. ::Neil::
I did see a glass advertised as a Tilly a while ago, no. 78, by the time i had been in the gallery and checked it had gone, pb
I seem to recall it was 2081. I've a couple around here somewhere but I had a massive clearout just before Christmas and bunged everything in the garage. They'll resurface at some point but it's anyone's guess when that will be. I did put a post on here last year checking how they fit into my SDRs. As I recall, one did and the other didn't but it was close and down to manufacturing tolerances... Edit: Here:- A nice gift, which needs TLC
Thanks for all the info. I'd imagine the correct hood will be there somewhere - I know for a fact that the globe is broken. It sounds as though there a two possible globes then - one impossible to source, and the other very difficult! I remember going round the local hardware stores in the late 80's looking for one then with no luck. If on the off chance someone has one they would be prepared to part with then of course I'd love to hear from you!
Hi Dave, You will need to strip down and clean before you attempt anything really, new washers and seals, flush the tank out,etc, You could always mark where the burner spigot comes to on the vapouriser when you put the hood/cap on... then take the burner out of the hood and note the difference? ( should sit lower? ) It might help with a plan to either extend a 606 vap tube (5") or shorten a 169 (7") Regards, pb
Thanks for checking. I'm sure it will be around somewhere, he's not someone to throw much away. Which is part of the problem - trying to find it amongst 80 years of accumulated treasure!
Bit of a thread revival, and update. Very sadly my father passed away this summer, and my brother and I now have the task of emptying the house, five sheds, barn, and garage. In the process, the hood turned up in a barn on his allotment. So we now have a complete lamp, but no globe. I'd like to get it working at some point. As I said in the first post, I have fond memories from 40+ years ago of carol singing in the snow, with dad and his lamp on a pole lighting the way... Accepting that an original is going to be nigh on impossible to find, I'm going to ask Manufacturers of Glass Domes | Glass Lamp shades | Restoration/Antique glass repairs|Opal Glass lamp shades | Glass Flowers | Yard of Ale | Scientific Glass | Oil Lamps | Ship in a Bottle | Vacancy of scientific lamp glass worker if they could create a replacement. Would someone with a 78 or a 378 globe be kind enough to measure the inside diameter, height, and glass thickness for me? Regards Dave
Send a message to Base camp and ask if they have the 2081 Tilley globe in stock. They had these a while back at a fair price You might need to grind it down a bit to get it to fit. Good luck.
Thanks, will do, though I thought I read somewhere on here that they no longer had them. Worth a shot though. Rather impatiently I oiled the leather on the pump, cleaned the old guardman globe, tightened the gland nut a little on the control knob, and got a good steady Bunsen flame on it. The reflectors are in really good condition, but the enamel cap is fairly corroded and two of the cage supports look to have been soldered on, but overall I don't think it needs a lot of work.
I've checked with Base Camp, and as I expected they have no stock of any of the globes that fit or could be made to fit, which only leaves me with the custom manufacturing option. I can take the diameter from the Guardsman globe, and the height from the frame (lower reflector to frame top) - but studying the photos in the gallery it looks as though the globe should be 2-3mm taller than the frame? I'd be grateful of someone with a 78 or 378 would measure the height please. Also if I'm getting a new globe made, if anyone else is interested in a replica then I can make enquiries about getting a few made.
After a bit of a wait I have now received my reproduction globe. As this lamp has family history, I don't want to restore it to further, but am happy to have it running.
Congratulations @DaveN getting it running again. It will give many years of service and fond memories.
Hi all, Thanks for the commendations and condolences. The glass was made by Suffolk Glass (link in the 12th post on this thread). Apparently the required diameter and wall thickness isn't a standard size of stock borosilicate glass tube, so it had to be blown from a smaller diameter tube. I'm very pleased with the result - apart from the lack of marking it's hard to distinguish from an original. The ends are nicely smoothed by heating, so won't scratch the reflectors. Took about 3 months to come - got 2 made...
Very cool lantern David, great family heirloom, some thing to treasure and pass down to the next generation of lantern lovers. I like it.
@DaveN Great to see a rare lantern running again and ever more so as yours is unique to you family history. Long may it run! Regards Jeremy
