# Restoring vintage flashlights



## bykfixer (May 25, 2016)

First post edit:
This began as an idea to show how to get an old light looking good and perhaps a dull one shine brighter.
It has evolved into getting non working ones going again as well. Along with that various ways those fertile minds of long ago had devised and built ways to conduct electricity from a dry cell battery to a light bulb. The in between I have found over time can be down right interesting. 


I use the term 'vintage' to allow lights less than 100 years old to qualify.

The point is to showcase some cool old lights that need more than a spit n polish to either function or to both shine and have that old gleem from days gone by. 

I'm starting on an old 2D Rayovac I believe to be from the 1930's. Could be 40's but it has some 30's flair.
(Edit: research shows it to be circa 1939 or there-abouts).




Black n chrome was cool ever since...

Protruding flat lens, painted brass body, chromed parts at both ends and in between, a Blake dual boat style switch for off/sos/on and a slider to cause the spot to be shaded to provide an albeit dim, but pure flood beam. 





Switch slid back exposes the bulb.




Slid forward a sleeve covers the bulb. 
If you look you can see where the bulb has scorched the sleeve.

Best part is the inside was leaker free and the vintage tin base bulb still lights. 




Pix at first are how it arrived. I was scouring the web for a beat up Burgess 2D with a boat switch for parts and ran across an eBay auction with 20 some minutes and only 1 bid. It was for this, another lensless/reflectorless copper Rayovac bullet, and a junky 70's eveready. $5.99. I up'd it and soon saw another. I up'd again and other bidder did not counter. $6.30 + $3.95 s&h. 

Anyway pix made it look worse than it is but it's still got flaws...a rusty nail hook, minor mill scale rust at various locations and some tarnish inside.

Pix as it arrived:









Inside is pretty clean except some rust on the rivets holding the slider assembly together.





Do not see much drama here.





Brass reflector looking good.





Inside the tail cap looks good.
Outside...




Looking forward to getting this all perdy again.





Switch needs a bit of TLC




Blake owns this patent.

This weekend I'll get out some Brasso wadding, Mothers wheel polish, sandpaper drill bits and commence to making this thing look a lot better.
The vintage bulb will be replaced with a soon to arrive #14... (Edit: Found a stockpile of old GE's, Chicago Miniatures and (hopefully Holland made Norelco) 1970's Rayovacs. Those old Hong Kong GE's aint bad but Norelco made some sweet bulbs.)

It burns brightly as is. 

I'll continue later...(Edit: it's later)

So the Rayovac is done.
As predicted it didn't turn out all minty looking. But instead looks like one a cop woulda been using for 20 years, yet took good care of it. 

Silver plating and some body coating worn off. But for this light it builds on the character.




At 3' the switch looks awesome. Up close some minor pitting remains. And silver is missing.




The nail hook was a task in itself.




Again, silver missing. But better.




So overall parts and pieces turned out pretty good. 

I cleaned up the inside too. The slider is permanently mounted to the light assembly. So without a major undertaking of removing and replacing a bunch of rivets I chose to scour rusted pieces as best as possible with a sandpaper pencil thingy.




Before




After.
That is with the original #14 type bulb. I put in a 222 and it burns much brighter.


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## JasonJ (May 26, 2016)

Subscribed! 

Given how pretty much none of the vintage lights are worth more than $5-$20, no harm in this at all. A lot of people get iffy about restoring or altering the patina of a vintage -anything-. I think this will be great to see these brought back to beautiful. 


Only ones I wouldn't touch are my 4D brass miners light with 3.5" lens, and definitely not my French Flasher circa 1916.


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## bykfixer (May 26, 2016)

Agreed.

Some like those you show would be ruined. Maybe a wee bit of spit n polish for those, but that's it. No chemicals beyond some really really really diluted soapy water and soft cloth treatment.

I have some trial and error stuff to play with before diving in head first on anything that old.




I bought this pile of parts for a few items I saw in the sellers pix. But there's certainly a few items there to practice on as well.
Plus I kinda have a head start after restoring a bunch of various metal type of car engine parts a couple winters ago.

Now the paint on the Rayovac is worn off on some corners and stuff. But for this project that'll be part of the 'character' of the finished project.


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## irongate (May 26, 2016)

Nice fine and a nice project to restore.


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## Minimoog (May 26, 2016)

What I like is to get a light working again - especially after a long spell in the broken condition. Its like it was waiting for you to fix it - as anyone else would have resigned it to the bin or shed. Well done with keeping them going - its good to see some USA lights which are completely different to what we had in the UK. Its like the US was all bright and designed with flair whilst in the UK we had brass, wood and lots of it!

Keep it up!


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## lightlover (May 26, 2016)

I look forward to what *bykfixer *and *Minimoog *come up with next ...


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## LeanBurn (May 26, 2016)

:thumbsup: great job restoring! :thumbsup:

lovecpf


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## phosphor22 (May 26, 2016)

lightlover said:


> I look forward to what *bykfixer *and *Minimoog *come up with next ...



yes - nice thread bykfixer -- I appreciate all your information about these vintage lights; I am looking forward to seeing what happens with these beauties -- the brass and wood ones that Minimoog mentions would be great to see as well...
Hoping to restore to a few as well to be fully functional - freed from the "bin or shed"--
(i used to restore old coaster brake bikes so this is right up my alley)


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## bykfixer (May 26, 2016)

Minimoog said:


> What I like is to get a light working again - especially after a long spell in the broken condition. Its like it was waiting for you to fix it - as anyone else would have resigned it to the bin or shed. Well done with keeping them going - its good to see some USA lights which are completely different to what we had in the UK. Its like the US was all bright and designed with flair whilst in the UK we had brass, wood and lots of it!
> 
> Keep it up!


Watching a Jason Staham movie while reading that. Brass n wood flashlights, and super dudes that take out a dozen thugs with an ashtray.
Yall got it goin' on. 



lightlover said:


> I look forward to what *bykfixer *and *Minimoog *come up with next ...


Bill Utley book caused it. 

A minty Bond is next while I acquire a rivet gun for swapping a working switch into a busted Burgess. 
The Bond was $7.95+$2.95 shipping.
The Burgess was a 2 fer where I bought a 3 cell Dog Supply House with a Royal 3 cell extension and they tossed in the Burgess. Neither work at this point but the Bugess is 100% metal. So I have some 18500's and a 6 watt bulb for that one.

(7/18/16 edit: the Burgess was relegated to a parts light after I acquired one just like it in much better condition. Hated to do it, and may still install a switch just to be able to add it to a 'did that too' category. End edit)




The top one (the Burgess) is a display item until. It lights in a direct drive fashion at this point.
The Bond below is in great shape. But it doesn't light. Rusty springs. 




LeanBurn said:


> :thumbsup: great job restoring! :thumbsup:
> 
> lovecpf



Thanks.
This is way more fun than some newfangled light that orders take out, but has a 0.0009% too cool beam tint.


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## PolarLi (May 26, 2016)

Nice project! Big fan of restorations


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## RWT1405 (May 27, 2016)

Great job, I love seeing these "oldies, but goodies" restored!


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## bykfixer (May 27, 2016)

The Bond project.

This one wasn't fair. The light was already in great shape. Way better shape than it appeared in the sellers pix.

But now it looks darn near new.


So here we go.
Like the above Rayovac, this one was polished using Mothers alluminum wheel polish on the shiney stuff. A spit shine to the lens and reflector also took place. Along with that was some rust/tarnish removal of the inside parts with 60 grit, 120 grit paper or a 320 grit sanding sponge. 
The light was not working when it arrived.

Before:
















Not bad, but pix show there was work to do.




Got it to light.

The assembly is user servicable.




Got that and the tailcap much better.




Time to reassemble.




Little things bring out flare in this one.




Swapped in a 222 and she lit....barely. Shown is a busted #14.

Re-disassemble and polish stuff.




Ah, yeah. Looking good.





See the logo?




Again...nice n shiney

Now another scour of the springs and try it again.




Better!!! 



So there ya have it.












Before the 222 in the Rayovac.





The Rayovac makes a fine display.





Time for an evening stroll.
Which one? Range Finder or the Bond?



Both lights restored focus like a Maglite where you twist the head for spot or spill, or big hole in the center.
Range Finder mentioned uses a slider to do the same thing. 

Next: a switch swap in a Burgess.


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## bykfixer (May 27, 2016)

phosphor22 said:


> yes - nice thread bykfixer -- I appreciate all your information about these vintage lights; I am looking forward to seeing what happens with these beauties -- the brass and wood ones that Minimoog mentions would be great to see as well...
> Hoping to restore to a few as well to be fully functional - freed from the "bin or shed"--
> (i used to restore old coaster brake bikes so this is right up my alley)



Can't wait to see what you do. 
Coaster brake bikes, aye? 
Yup yer half way there. 
Silver plating is way less forgiving than chrome. But shiney brass or copper lurk underneath if things don't work out and plating comes off.


Please take heed for painted lights:
Paint on the body of the Rayovac was coming off while I handled the reassembled unit. I had polish residue so they were max grippy while buffing the shiney stuff with a micro-fiber cloth. Nothing dreadful as I caught it quickly. Just make sure you don't handle a coated light with sticky hands. All that grip literally peels coating little by little starting on corners.


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## ven (May 27, 2016)

Great work there!!! As always a super  and interesting thread mr fixer. I do wonder in 60 or 80yrs, having some vintage Fenix or whatever is out now type lights ,just won't have the same appeal. Old lights just have that cool factor, polished up bling with all the trimmings......some things can't be replaced!


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## bykfixer (May 27, 2016)

This....




Is what it's all about. 
The camera don't show it but that ring comes from the protruding lens. And at a distance turns into a gentle periferal side light. 



Tight spot.




Wide spot.

Soon after...the black hole.


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## bykfixer (May 28, 2016)

Todays project:




Make something from this pile of parts...

Here we go:
A HIPCO 2C map reader of sorts...



All this stuff went together. 
There are other potential projects in there but I wanted to get that HIPCO going. 




I liked the switch.




Arrived tail cap intact. Bonus.




Some ole dull silver'd reflector fit.
But no lens or bezel yet...




Vie-oh-la. Fisheye and a rusty bezel.




It's a start.

Due to the coating of gunk on the outside it got a bath with really diluted soapy water.
Then the Mothers wheel polish with a toothbrush got the magic cream all down in the pits n pours. Let it sit a few, then buff with a paper towel. It felt sandy at first.
Wipe on some more polish...3 times later things started to feel smooth. Quick wipedown with a clean napkin revealed the coating over the brass was holding on well.
One more polish. Then work on the bezel and tailcap with toothbrush loaded with polish. Some rust on the bezel was scraped off with knife. Then amazing underneath looked good.

Reflector was spit shined via tshirt along with the fish eye lens.

Buff everything with a micro-fiber towel...




Lookee here! Not bad.

About 30 minutes total.

But the inside was a mess.
Rusty spring was scoured with sandpaper. A rolled up sheet of 120 grit scoured the inside of the body like using a big ole pencil to file off the rust and tarnish. 
Inside of the tailcap was cleaned up along with the inside of the bezel. Everything got a post scrub bath to remove dust and debris.

About another 30 minutes. 

Time to assemble.



Shining real nice like.




Reflector, lens and bezel turned out pretty good.

Only one problem.



No bulb fastener for the reflector. Dratz!! 





So for now, when peering into this fisheye...





You see a giant hole where the bulb goes.


Welp, that's it for that one until I find a bulb keeper, an E10 reflector or find a bulb that will go in a 1960's Rayovac Sportsman. It takes a PR bulb with E10 length shaft.

Another dilema of sorts. A beat up Burgess bought for parts turns out to be one of the nicest vintage lights I own...on the inside.



This ole ugly thing...




Looks never used on the inside.




Man-o-man it's clean.




Reflector is kinda dull. But spot free.




And it burns brightly. 
No palm whack or nothin'.
Decisions, decisions.


Edit: got the HIPCO to light.




In the center.
Issue is it doesn't turn off.
I smell a how to fix a vintage switch thread brewing.
(7/18/16 edit: a wrap of duct tape around the rim of the reflector got tthe HIPCO working normal. 
I did not know the disintigrating paper like junk around the reflector breaks the full time circuit, thus allowing the switch to build (or remove) a bridge of sorts that allows the circuit to open and close. 



Duct tape vs a factory circuit stopper)
End edit)


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## bykfixer (Jun 4, 2016)

JasonJ said:


> Subscribed!
> 
> Given how pretty much none of the vintage lights are worth more than $5-$20, no harm in this at all. A lot of people get iffy about restoring or altering the patina of a vintage -anything-. I think this will be great to see these brought back to beautiful.
> 
> ...



I hear ya, 

Check out that old glove catch light!!! That's a goody!!!

A 1916/17 Franco arrived in bad shape. Both ends were pretty good. It didn't cost much so I bought it hoping for the best.





But a leaker took a bad toll. 



That is acid rot.





And a broken slider...

I was thinking of a gentle bath and place it on a shelf but...




Found a good body that needs stuff at both ends.
$10 shipped. Yesssss
If all goes well with about $25 invested this one will certainly be a viable candidate for an at least partial restore.


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## bykfixer (Jun 12, 2016)

So the Franco project is in the begining stage.

I contacted Steve Giterman to see if he can provide some adapters for making these mono cell 1051 lights go again. D cells don't go in. C cells are too short. So I suppose a 1051 cell was pre-CF Burgess 1 and 2 standards we use today (c & d) or Franco (pre-Yale days) lights had to use Franco cells? (Edit: Rayovac heavy duty Carbon Zinc cells fit)

The first one shown above is a 2 cell fisheye light from about 1917. The second one is a short, mid body switch'd 2 cell that has a bulb assembly fixed to the body in order to achieve a twist head beam focus through a flat lens. I believe it to be about 1915 based on the "1051" stamped on the tailcap. 
Or it could be a miner light from as late as 1931, but those used 1053's and 55's. 
(Edit: correction;
Mono cells came out around 1919 - 1921. So being these say 'mono cell' would seemingly indicate they are 1919 or later.
Prior to that flashlights used 'cell packs' in a casing that housed the applicable number of cells.
I was told "picture batteries in a toilet paper roll with the manufacturers logo on the outside." 
I'll post a pic of an Ever Ready one later. End edit)

Other than a tailcap no parts fit each other.
So this will have to be 2 projects. 
Well could modify a reflector to use on the short light using the fisheye set up and a flat lens, but would rather not. (Already have both in stock if I change my mind)




The short one is on the left. 
It was just short enough to try a pair of C cells with a slight spring tug, but no light. (Edit: got Rayovac heavy duty's to fit later)




Bulb assembly looks perfect




Spring and tailcap look great



Inside looks pretty good already...
Why no light? 
Sorry 'bout the lack of focus, but believe me the inside looks great.

Could it be the switch? 

I'll wait to hear back from Steve before proceeding any further on this one lighting but....
Maybe a bath of the vulcanite rubber with some 'back to black' trim polish by Mothers and wheel polish on the silver. But if it won't light I won't bother. 
(Edit, Steve said probably rivet to conductor strip has unseen tarnish that'll need removing. Turned out he was correct. See later post. End edit)




I do have an idea on fixing the bashed in head. 

I learned it operating on a Maglite...




It'll be something like this only using a drilled 2x4 to allow the narrow portion to fit in the hole while the wider portion is suspended on the non scratching wood surface. 
Stay tuned.


Now regarding the fisheye light... well that on is going to end up ugly as a mud fence but I believe a small strip of metal 'tack'd' to the breaking contact to the lens strip will give a good conduit.




Something as simple as a foil wrap cast...
But I'd prefer to do better.

The caked on alkaleak is keeping holes from developing on the outside. So aside from polishing metal parts and reviving the ugly reflector not a lot of work will be done trying to make it all perdy again. 

I'll update this post as things progress. But these may end up like a 67 Cougar I took on in the 80's that ended up as a parts car for somebody else.

I also have a few others to talk about later. A no name copper bullet light, an old Sportman that looks like it was used as a hammer, a lensless silver plated Rayovac bullet, and a few others that just need a bit of sprucing up.





Using flashlights for hammers didn't start in the 1970's...


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## bykfixer (Jun 12, 2016)

Update on the short light...




Before




Now...




A few wrinkles remain.




A little trial and error
Used bubble wrap to center the batteries. Steve indicated carbon zinc cells should fit. 
In the meantime, still no light...


Edit:
Got some Rayovac 'heavy duty' D cells to fit in both.
Neither lit (yet)






Eh, a little better...








Much better...








Oh yeah!!




Now one more thing...
Get it to light...

Coming soon...
Beam shots!


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## bykfixer (Jun 14, 2016)

The three amigos have company.



Three in really good condition, a 3D Burgess Range Finder, a 2D Bond dual switch focus beam light, and a real nice 2C Olin safety light now have another one to keep them company....




A vulcanite 2D Franco focus beam with mid body switch.

An ohm reading showed where the circuit was interupted. Tarnish between the rivets and metal conduit strip was the culprit... unseen tarnish. 
A bit of scuffing with sand sponge, a dental pick and Tarn-X and a q-tip got conductivity going end to end. A bit more Tarn-X and plaque removal got the ohms way down and that was that.

The focus beam:



^^ Pencil beam can be made even thinner. 




Focus'd about mid way.




About 2' wide from about 3' away.
That was about as wide as would show up on camera in daylight.

No one would call this thing a bright light by todays standards. But 101 (edit: probably about 95+/-) years ago this must've been quite impressive to policemen who worked the night shift.


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## bykfixer (Jun 16, 2016)

A typical 'battery pack' pre-1919 to 21...




Think toilet paper roll w/ logo


Here's what author Stuart Schneider said in his "collecting flashlights" book.





Now another pair of Francos from nearly 100 years ago.




Got this jewel going today...



Silver plated brass number circa 1911. 




Patent applied for...





Turned out SUH-WEEEET!!! 

Same routine of polish with Mothers wheel polish, scrape tarnish from the inside, spit shine lens and reflector, check body etc with ohm checker, install new #14 (arrived with a hong kong GE) insert carbon zinc cells turn it on and enjoy that flood beam from a domed lens. 
Flicker and dimming prompted a dental pick to rivets to remove plaque and dab on some Tarn-X.

The switch is sensitive, but I'm happy as is...




This one is next.

It's an early Franco with a crude switch. 





Lots of work to do on this one, but all in all this one is pretty solid.


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## rookhawk (Jun 16, 2016)

Love this thread! Tell me, are there any vintage flashlights that were extremely high quality and "high end" when made, or did the concept of luxury torches usher in with modern times?

Any holy grail searches for rare, super high quality vintage stuff by chance?


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## bykfixer (Jun 17, 2016)

Well....

Some featured here are from the cave man days of flashlights where things were built the best way they knew how. 
Some were built with style in mind where others built for utility. But all were built with best stuff available at the time. 

Some of the lights I'm restoring seemed to be lightly used where others lived the normal life of a flashlight until... I say until as if to say it was likely used until it was replaced with something more modern. 

Like with most gadgets as knowledge became available so did improvements. 
There were peaks and plateus along the way. 

I'm sure there were 'ultimate' products for the wealthy. They would've been one of a kind similar to a gold plated Samsung cel phone of today. But in terms of a company building a product that stood head and shoulders above the rest... I'm not aware of any in particular. 
If say, the US president bought a flashlight, it would've probably been a silver plated brass body like the last one I showed lit up. Secret Service agents possibly the one I showed as next to get going. The queen of England perhaps a wood cased electric candle...

You can check out 'gotalight' .com, or the flashlight museum and click on other world class collectors pages to see various 'jewelry' type of flashlights. 
My collection revolves around 'cop' lights with some others I find interesting or especially useful for specific tasks. 

I'd say the holy grail would be any lights that used 'glove catch' switches, or the kind without a switch like the paper bodied, leather covered "Comet" style which were some of the very first ever made and extremely hard to come by. 

A book by Bill Utley called of all things 'flashlights' covers the early years and beyond. He placed a rarity rating next to pictures of them. 1 being easy to find. 10 being the rarest. He has pictures of several 10's in there. 

Hope that helped answer your questions.
Welcome to the site btw.


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## ven (Jun 17, 2016)

Fascinating, Interesting , Awesome! .....loving that silver plated light, very bling!


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## bykfixer (Jun 17, 2016)

ven said:


> Fascinating, Interesting , Awesome! .....loving that silver plated light, very bling!



It's absolutely insane how inexpensive these things are. $8 here, $12.99 there...
But I may have to melt down a couple for the $ the metal brings to pay the bill for all those 10 packs of vintage bulbs I acquired. Sheesh.


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## ven (Jun 17, 2016)

:laughing:


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## bykfixer (Jun 17, 2016)

Ok, got two more going.
The 2D Franco mono cell I spoke at the top of in post #17 and the one at the bottom of post #21.





So the rest of this post is to explain how to get an old non working flashlight going again.
This applies to nearly any flashlight of any age.
Credit goes to Steve Gitterman for teaching me this. 

First you need a digital multi mode reader or other device to check for continuity. Using the 'ohms' checker on mine I check for basic continuity. 




Is electricity moving along the path?
Hot or ground touches the metal strip. Other touches the rivet. Once the meter goes "beep" from the tail to the rivet you're good there.

But it will not go "beep". Chances are current is interupted between the strip and the rivet. Usually crud around the rivet. In the case of both lights here crud on the strip also played a role.




A few basic tools are needed.
Dental pick with end to scrape plaque from between the rivet and metal strip.
Sandpaper to remove thick build up
Cotton tip'd swab and a solvent like Tarn-X, De-oxit or other precious metal restorer. 
Dim flashlight with a clip to fasten to the light to see what you're doing. 

Remove thick build up, pick as much plaque as possible, and rub on solvent until q-tip no longer gets soiled.
Let dry.
Retest with meter. Repeat as necessary.At some point you'll hear "beep". It took a few tries with both lights shown here. 

Next step is current past the switch.
Move switch to 'on' position.



Chances are the next rivet is also dirty.
Repeat cleaning.
Retest.

Also check both ends of the switch.



This external switch was very soiled.
Most switches have internal parts that generally stayed pretty clean over the years. 

So you heard a "beep" past the switch. But you have to have continuity all the way to the point that touches the reflector. 
Clean the strip from rivet to reflector.
Once you have a "beep" from end to end, look at your reading.
The lower the ohms the brighter the light will be. A little change can make a big difference between a dull yellow beam and a nice bright one. 



I saw this before trying to light it.
A little more time spent getting dull metals even cleaner.




Resulted in another ohm less resistance.



Insert cells, hit switch and VIOLA! 

Moved onto the baby light repeating steps listed above...




Yep, again there was light.

Since these were so ugly on the inside I chose to see them light before sprucing up the outside.
The one from post #17 should clean up pretty well. The ribbed vulcanite has fragile spots from alkaleak rot. A gentle bath will likely be all that part gets.

The one from post #21 used to have silver plating over brass. Except for a few crevices it looks like brass at both ends.
The plain rubber on the outside is in good shape so that'll likely get some kind of treatment to make it look fresher. 

I'll know after cleaning the metal parts better.

Then, maybe the switch swap in that Burgess from post #9...finally...

Now the beam shots. The baby light is suprisingly small yet that #14 is surprisingly bright.



Versus a typical 2x 123 light.
Yes that is a 2 C cell light.




CRI is splendid indeed.




It's brightest spot is the outside edge.




About 10' away from the ceiling fan. 
Unlike a map reader that is bright to about 3', these 'walleye' lens lights illuminate an average sized room well enough to find the light switch, keep from tripping over the dog or from stepping on a lego piece barefoot. 

I imagine way back in 1910 or so this thing must've been seen as nothing short of a miracle.


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## bykfixer (Jun 19, 2016)

Alright, so I completed what I wanted to do with the Francos mentioned in the previous post. Then today got a switchless lipstick size 1aa going.

2D Franco first...



Overall she looks pretty good.

Some leaker ugly remains though.




Kinda permanent I'd say.
From across the room it's not noticed.




Chose to keep this onboard.
Adds to the character imo.




Lots of shine left in places the leakers didn't harm things...

While cleaning I brushed up against a weak conduit strip and suddenly it was in my lap.




I managed to get this fragile thing spotless without breaking it. Yet broke it while cleaning the outside of all things. Snagged it with a buffer cloth. 
Ugh! 
But not to worry. Wifey had some copper foil in stock...




A copper cast was made. Works great!

So now it shines brighter than the baby light...



Which btw will have remaining 'petina' at various areas but still looks pretty good for its age.




Switch is working way better now that all the moving parts are metal to metal instead of metal to crud.




A little 'character' remains. But all in all it looks pretty good. 




Worthy of going in the vintage EDC section. 


But now to the lipstick light.
A bit of cleanup and some metering showed this little dude would take some thinking outside the box. 
The spring refused to conduct electricity and the 'activator pin' refused to touch the bulb.

Here's how this one works..




When that little metal pin is not touching the body the light is off.




Twist to tighten, pin touches body and you get light. Bright light from a #112 bulb with a fresh double A. 
Inside the cap it says "patent applied for". No other markings of any kind are on this one. 

How I got it going (after ensuring all metal was clean)




Copper foil to the rescue.
Yup, a wrap of copper foil creates a conduit between the body and battery and spring allows the cell to 'squish' into the body.




And a slight hook added to the pin via small needle nose pliers bending the little rod that fastens to the outside and touches the bulb on the inside.
The whole thing is kinda crude but it works. And works well. 
All my jewel thief lights work now.

Next is a couple of non working penlights and eventually switch swap on the Burgess...


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## RWT1405 (Jun 20, 2016)

Very nicely done!

Thanks!


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## bykfixer (Jun 20, 2016)

RWT1405 said:


> Very nicely done!
> 
> Thanks!



It's really enjoyable to take a flashlight somebody had hoped "somebody will give me $8 for this hunk-a-junk" and turn it into a show piece.
But the real thrill is when it lights again.

Hopefully somebody somewhere who has an old hunk-a-junk that for all intensive purposes appears like it should work, and finds this thread helpful. 

My next hurdle is figuring out why a few won't *turn off*. lol

I have one that I removed the switch from that still lights. Huh? :shrug:


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## bykfixer (Jun 25, 2016)

Todays light that wouldn't turn off;

A HIPCO 2 C from the mid 1950's. A "machine age" era flashlight with a simple on/off slider switch.



The exterior was pretty good when it arrived. 

This is one that when the tailcap is placed on the light, even before fastening the light turned on. 

No need to ohm it looking for dead spots, the idea was to inspect it to see what part of the switch is touching where when batteries are inserted. 




Enter a Coast G25 inspection light.
Side bar: In previous posts I've mentioned using a Solitaire clipped to the body as I work inside the applicable light. What that 2 lumen number does is allow me to reach inside and see what I'm doing shadow free, but not be so bright it blinds or causes a huge contrast of light vs dark so eyes stay adapted to available room lighting.
The G25 is a 4LED well difussed number that shows things in great detail to give me cause of where I need to focus when tweaking inside a light. 
Certainly better CRI can be achieved with an incan such as a mini mag. But the Coast sits around near my work spot, has a simple on/off clicky and over time has become the one my eyes have gotten used to. It does a fine job of showing corrosion, breaks or other issues as needed.

Back to the HIPCO




This simple slider moves to or away from the reflector assembly.
Note; the inside was lit with a formerly non working Franco circa 1911.




Scratches on the inside of the reflector led me to think maybe the slider has constant contact?
Turns out that was the case. 

A simple tweak at the top portion of the slider to add more angle to the upper end solved that issue. 

But why after all these years would the tip of that slider begin to make constant contact? 
Perhaps at some point some one installed a deeper reflector assembly? 
Well I have 3 different 2C HIPCOs like this. All have the same issue. All have the same shape reflector. Coincidence? Probably not.

Build up of tarnish at the rear of the switch not allowing it to slide all the way off? 
Not the case in all 3. In one that was tarnished pretty good perhaps but the other 2 worked perfectly.

Being a pre-alkaline battery light I tried both alkalines and carbon zincs in it and got same results, so in this one the slightly larger diameter actually reduced rattle some. That caused me to think perhaps at some point they were all loaded with alkalines, whose slightly larger girth squashed the strip against the light body and eventually straightened the slider just enough to make constant contact. 

Anyway, it works well now. So I noted some corrosion in various places inside the light. 




Inside the tail cap for example.

After applying Mothers wheel polish to the outside, doing a spit shine to the lens and reflector I called it a day. 




Ginger resting after a hard day of... resting.




Things looking good. 




A red sharpie enamel completed this part. 




Looking (clap) Dyno-myyyyyt!!




Sitting among friends.

Now this one isn't completed just yet. At some point this weekend I'll ohm it, then clean the inside better to get electricity to flow better. Not that it's dim, mind you. But in other lights I did that to the PR2 burned a brighter white and I think this HIPCO can as well.

Brain storm edit.
After swapping the reflector of the properly working light into the other 2 they worked normaly.
Hmmm. 
But why?
Brain storm time. What is different?
Well the properly working one has that plastic ring around the reflector. The others do not. 
Could it be that simple?




Clear tape around it.
Sure enough it went to working proper...briefly.
Next thought. Can clear tape conduct electricity?

Duct tape is nice n thick.




It worked like a charm. 




Now all three work properly.

The one at the top burns way brighter than the other 2 using same cells to fuel it. So... as suspected a bit of grunge removal should get the other 2 working like new. 
The duct tape is temporary until I can devise a plastic ring for the other two reflectors.

For kix n giggles I tried the duct tape trick on a burgess that burns without a switch. 



Note the missing switch.

Welp, it don't light now. 
So it must not have been a fluke that the plastic ring is not only a glass protection, but is part of the circuit interuption on some flashlights. 
Neat.


----------



## bykfixer (Jul 13, 2016)

Got another classic going tonight.




It is called a vulcanite baby miner light.
It's a hard baked rubber like tires of the time. Think modern tricycle tire. 'Baby' equates to 2C these days. 
It was probably widely used by police back then in around 1914. 

It arrived today. Looked clean both inside and out. All but one rivet inside. My thought was "watch it not work"....




Yup... that right one stopped conductivity cold. 

It has an orange peel reflector.



Light orange peel'd silver plated tin. 




Patents were granted in Sept and Dec 1914. So this one is probably early 1914.

Anyway after cleaning the rivets for a few hours they finally conducted electricity. Still no conduit rivet to rivet on each side of the switch. Uh oh. 
Failed switch is bad. 

Simple slider mechanism that should work...




No contact when off




Contact when on.

It should work...
So a bit of careful shaping, bending and poking with a dental pick made the ohm meter chirp. 
Viola. 
More work was done to the rivet in the picture above to the right with the tip of a toothpick soaked in Tarn X and bent to a right angle. I twisted, then rocked it side to side. Another toothpick with same method was pushed into and pulled out like a piston for about 10 minutes total. Then let it dry for about 30 minutes. It finally let out a loud BEEP of the ohm meter. 
Finally satisfied with the volume of the ohm check beeps I slid in some Rayovac carbon zincs and she lit real nice and flicker free. 




Love the rainbow corona of these.





And the full moon beam..
Complete with craters. lol
The pic is about an 8' wide circle on the ceiling of my den from about 5' away. 
Love these old room lighters.




This one came with a working Mazda bulb. Quite possibly the original 1914 one. 
Nice.
It now has a Chicago Miniature #14 from the 1950's. 

Basically the switch was the issue. Yet tarnished rivets hid that for a while.

And areas of the switch not making contact were/are inside a permanently attached mechanism. It's fickle but works. So another work of art of a flashlight now adorns a shelf along side several other formerly non working ones from decades gone by.


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## bykfixer (Jul 14, 2016)

Another Franco rescued.
This one is a 2D coal miner light circa 1915.



Upon arrival there was no tailcap spring.
Borrowed one from another light and inserted batteries...nothing. 

Ok time to inspect it.
Turned on a light to inspect inside and was shocked at what I saw...or rather didn't see.




There was *nothing* inside.
Or at least not the usual array of metal strips. 
Hmmmmm. 

There was a short metal strip at the lens.




First thoughts were 'dratz, stuff is broken.'
But noticed the end of the strip was curved like from the factory. Huh? 




I don't get it.

Could this be a double wall number? Could there be hidden metal strips?




A peek inside later I saw metal.
Woohoo. Time for continuity check.
"BEEP" goes the meter. Heck yeah.

A normal application of Tarn-X then another, and so on. After leaving the saturated Q-Tip on the rivets a minute or two tarnish was disolving. 
Soon things looked good.
Yet to 'beep' past the switch.

Phone rings. A friend from London was on the other end. While we chatted I soaked rivets with Tarn-X.

Soon after I heard "BEEEEP" and set about installing batteries.
My friend heard "it lit hellyeah woohoo!"








This one has a moon within a moon.




Tail stand pic.
This one is a room lighter also. 

Love, love, love these old Vulcanite lights by Franco.

Now that it's going I 'll update later for both this one and the baby when exterior restorations are accomplished.


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## lightlover (Jul 14, 2016)

"But not to worry. Wifey had some copper foil in stock..." 

*What kind of Enthusiast has such a HELPFUL wife? *

Sir Bykfixer,
You are lucky! 

[ PS - Sir byk - have you bought a "Modern" light lately?
(Like something LED, f'rinstance?) 
Or are just just intent on showing the rest of us up? ]


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## ven (Jul 15, 2016)

A PK light (or 10)springs to mind light lover 

Watching a scoobie doo cartoon as you do....some flashlights in the grave yard which looked cool(like a flashlight should look basically). Really reminds me of this latest fix mr fixer It looks like a "proper" flashlight ! Great write up and pics as always, always a pleaser to check out.


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## bykfixer (Jul 15, 2016)

lightlover said:


> "But not to worry. Wifey had some copper foil in stock..."
> 
> *What kind of Enthusiast has such a HELPFUL wife? *
> 
> ...



My wife is really cool.
She has a bunch of cool stuff from her metaloargy days. She used to fashion stuff into shapes. One was a silver spoon and a penny she set on a railroad track to be smashed by a train, then soldered together in shapes of some kinda tropical plant leaf. lol Somebody at a craft show paid her $75 for it.

Bought a Mag XL 50 this week. Does that count? 

Waiting on the PK PL-2 to arrive. 



ven said:


> A PK light (or 10)springs to mind light lover
> 
> Watching a scoobie doo cartoon as you do....some flashlights in the grave yard which looked cool(like a flashlight should look basically). Really reminds me of this latest fix mr fixer It looks like a "proper" flashlight ! Great write up and pics as always, always a pleaser to check out.


Jinkies Ven, I'm blushing. 
It's a great feeling to see these old junk drawer items become useful again.

So Ven it went down something like this:
I'm studying a hollow rubber tube wondering how the heck they got electricity to flow from point A to B in that thing in 1915 when my phone chimes I have an email from two friends who are chatting about an upcoming project. 

It involved a 3D drawing. So while downloading a 3D app I'm answering these fellows playing 'devils advocate' as it were. Meanwhile I'm discovering hidden conduits in that light. Awesome!

3D app is done downloading. Open a drawing and go to 'flick it' bigger and it twirls. Holy crap!! That's awesome. 
So in one minute I'm in 1914 trying to repair a cop light then in suddenly 2017 looking at an item that has yet to be introduced to the world. It was wild. 

Grinning ear to ear already when the phone rang I say hello and this Ringo Starr voice says "hello bykfixer". lol. Then suddenly the light lit. 

And then as if things weren't already cool enough you chime in about "scoobie doo" flashlights. 
Aint life a gas?


----------



## bykfixer (Jul 15, 2016)

Both lights nearly complete.




The 2D looks waaaaay better.
The baby was already pretty nice on the outside. 

The baby and the fickle switch was really bugging me. Then it got where it was difficult to light at all, and when it did I saw a flickering dimness. 

Dabbing tarn-x soaked q-tips onto and into eyelets and rivets did no good. So even though switches usually stay clean inside I had to try.
Several dabs of tarn-x later it was running out of all crevices. So I did it again. Then let it dry. That time it worked. Woohoo! No longer fickle.

The 2D silver parts got a good rub down with the same wheel polish and buffed to a nice shine.

Both bodies got a gentle bath with very diluted soapy water. Nothing else.




I'd like to thank the inventor of tarn-x, mothers wheel polish, craftsman for making a multi-curved end dental pick, oral b for making a toothbrush with long bristle at the front, mr. mangnifer dude for showing me tiny crevices in a blown up view, my wife for having a supply of toothpicks and q-tips, kobalt for great pliers, coast for the g25 inspection light, plus whoever made the double a's inside, powerade for making mountain berry blast flavor, klein for a great multi meter at a great price, stores that sell all items listed, lightlover for talking about bill uteleys book on flashlights, ebay sellers who sell old flashlights, rayovac for still making carbon zincs that fit old flashlights, cpf and anybody who took the time to read this post.




Still a wee bit of metal shaping left on the 2D.




2D before:

During:















After:



Aint she somethin'?


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## ven (Jul 15, 2016)

:laughing:

She is mr fixer! Something about the D size.................just so comfy in hand After these pics and scooby doo, i need a slide switch UI, simple on off that just works(well maybe after up to 90yrs of not). Does not seem that long back(yeh right , who am i trying to kid) , exploring the bunk bed and looking for LEGO pieces until you find it on the bottom of your bare foot, from a fall guy(remember that?) stunt impression off the top!OUCH)
But with a plastic type light ,not a metal(more than likely an eveready of some kind). Back in the 80's (now feeling young has really gone out of the window), if the cells leaked or the light failed....................it was either chucked somewhere to be found then tested years on, or the bin straight off!


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## _nw (Jul 15, 2016)

bykfixer said:


> Aint she somethin'?



[emoji54]…sure is. Very nice work.


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## bykfixer (Jul 16, 2016)

ven said:


> :laughing:
> 
> She is mr fixer! Something about the D size.................just so comfy in hand After these pics and scooby doo, i need a slide switch UI, simple on off that just works(well maybe after up to 90yrs of not). Does not seem that long back(yeh right , who am i trying to kid) , exploring the bunk bed and looking for LEGO pieces until you find it on the bottom of your bare foot, from a fall guy(remember that?) stunt impression off the top!OUCH)
> But with a plastic type light ,not a metal(more than likely an eveready of some kind). Back in the 80's (now feeling young has really gone out of the window), if the cells leaked or the light failed....................it was either chucked somewhere to be found then tested years on, or the bin straight off!



Here-ya-go....





Your son would say "seriously dad?" lol. 



_nw said:


> [emoji54]…sure is. Very nice work.



The 'aint she something' was a quote from Gran Torino when Clint Eastwood was admiring his 72 model. It played about the time I was doing that post.


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## Crazyeddiethefirst (Jul 16, 2016)

Hey bykfixer, where did you order your PK PL-2 from? I can't find it available anywhere and I am SO jealous...a wife who likes your lights AND a PL-2 too? You are indeed a lucky man. Awesome "experienced" flashlight collection too...🤑(where is the "jealous" emoji?")....


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## bykfixer (Jul 16, 2016)

Guess I shoulda completed that sentence eddie with "at amazon so I can buy one"...

Hopefully by Labor Day they'll be at Bulls Eye Worldwide. 

But yeah my wife is great. Some of our hobbies kinda overlap whilest being different enough to have our own space if you know what I mean.


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## ven (Jul 16, 2016)

bykfixer said:


> Here-ya-go....
> 
> Your son would say "seriously dad?" lol.
> 
> ...


----------



## bykfixer (Jul 16, 2016)

ven said:


> bykfixer said:
> 
> 
> > Here-ya-go....
> ...


----------



## bigburly912 (Jul 18, 2016)

Nice work! I love the look of a lot of the vintage lights. I've been on a search for the right host to get a resto mod done on but I'd love to fix up a few like you have as well. Missed out on an interesting copper flashlight with a focus lens on auction site last week.


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## Bullzeyebill (Jul 18, 2016)

Was wondering what PR flange bulbs you used for your PR lights? Voltage, amperage, and shape. I notice, using some of my 2D PR lights that some cast a narrow beam, and others will cast a wide ringy beam. BTW, I have an almost pristine, inside and outside, Rayovac Silver Bullet light.

Bill


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## bykfixer (Jul 19, 2016)

To start Bill, I'm just getting my feet wet in this regard so am not an expert by any means.

I use alkalines unless it's one old enough that alkalines won't fit. And so far those have used E10 bulbs. Rayovac most of the time. 

My new favorite (recently surpassing Chicago Minature) are Tung Sol pre-Warner acquisition I stumbled onto at the Bay recently. Typical PR2 and 4 voltage, draw, watts and globe. 

Based out of Newark NJ they made some mighty fine tubes for tv n radios and automotive bulbs that gave the big boys a run for their money. Their flashlight bulbs put out a nice hot pencil beam with little seen artifacts unless doing close up 4'or less) wall checks. There is a bit of a hole in the spot but nowhere near as bad as modern 10¢ bulbs. 
Their PR2 and PR4 are the type with the rod from base to tip to provide drop stability for the filament.
Yet no shadow with the Tung Sol bulbs. 

Chicago Miniature made a pretty nice bulb too. Typical specs and globe. A bit more shadow in the spot than Tung Sol but wider spot. I may go back to calling them favorite as the spill is brighter than Tung Sol. 

Being both are getting scarcer anymore I use CEC bulbs for general use light in darkness, keeping the vintage bulbs reserved for special times. 

My 'work' lights like TL122's, MX991's, old map readers etc get PR4 bulbs. The more fancy type get PR2 bulbs.

3 cell lights get PR3's or 13's depending on if it is a work light (13's) or fancy ones (3's).

Anything from the 60's forward get Maglite kryptons based on cell count. I have some Bright Star kryptons but have not tried them yet. 
Also have some CEC KPR 13's but again havent't tried them. 

US made GE bulbs suck! But the Hong Kong ones aren't that bad. Maybe Hong Kong was not complying with the 'bulb cartels' moretorium at that time on quality to ensure bulbs blew faster...
Some folks were making them able to withstand higher voltage and draw than specs to get around the rule. Rumor has it Hong Kong was one (along with the Japanese). So perhaps that's why the Hong Kong ones produce a nicer beam...

Anyway, sorry so long winded...


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## bykfixer (Jul 23, 2016)

Here's one that was daunting at first.




The 2aaa HIPCO penlight.
I haven't really looked up it's age at this point. Between long hours at work and the curiosity to get it going put that off for now. (Edit: Flashlight Museum dates it 1950 and calls it nickle plated; end edit)

It did not work at first. The usual poke and prod with my circuit tester was out due to the small size of the body. 
First things first I thought. How does it conduct electricity?

It took a light up magnifier to even see what was going on. 




The lit magnifier and dental pick used.




I used the Coast G25 inspection light for this pic.

Deep down inside is a device that moves the battery towards the bulb to make contact with the #224 bulb.




A sorta diagram




The rest of the picture.
The spring keeps the bulb pressed against the battery as it also keeps the bulbs globe protruding from the front of the light.

So I insert two brand new batteries after testing the bulb and nothing. Not even a flicker. Bulb ok, batteries ok. So another pair of cells and a #222 were tried. Still nothing. 
Dratz.

Test time. But nothing I have fits inside the body. 
Luckily the wife has some silver wire in stock...





Mini probe to the rescue. 

Carefully I touched various areas and heard a loud "beep" each time.
Hmph!! What could it be?

After trying various cells I figured perhaps cell length plays a role. Previously I had noted my usual Radio Shacks are just a whisker shorter than others.
And that lithiums are 3 whiskers longer than others. But...
I only had 1 aaa lithium in my entire house. 

After checking a couple dozen small lights I have no idea where I used all but one from 2-4 packs...
Perhaps some Eneloop Pro?
Viola!!!!!




Woohoo!!! 

Then noticing it flickers easily I decided the switch slides too easily.




Taking a right angle dental pick to the pair of ears holding the switch cover to the inside, I poked it towards the body to pinch it together tighter. 
Slider no longer moves so easily. 

Now to ensure the light stays on I just hold the switch forward while in use. Gravity allows the battery weight to the move the switch assembly away from the bulb very easily. But it's working and working well.
It works on the same principle as this old Burgess...








This one requires you hold it pressed forward for best results. 
Makes it impractical for hands free use though. 

Eh, hopefully at some point I'll figure out why alkalines won't fire this light. Until then it's a fine addition to my cup penlights....




It's in fine company with a Wildwood, a Burgess, a few modern LED inkpen/ flashlights and an Icon Solo.


----------



## irongate (Jul 23, 2016)

_Unnecessary long quote removed....Bill_

Nice going!


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## bykfixer (Dec 14, 2016)

Well the last one was relatively easy being it came already working...




A nickel plated French Rayolite.




Disassembled and cleaned.
Parts n pieces de-oxidized with Tarn-X and...




A little mag wheel polish later...




Looking all shiney and burning brightly.




This one has a unique switch system.


But I haven't done any since before Halloween.
Until today...




This one was dead and missing parts.




This one lights, but is dull and fickle.

The dark one is oxidized on the inside. I gave the outside a gentle bath to remove stuck on grime and got the really dirty lens nice n clear. That'll do. But de-oxidizing the inside is required.
The nickel one is clean on the outside but has leakage and lots of tarnish on the inside. Plus part of the switch is missing.

Stay tuned.... updates later.


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## Minimoog (Dec 15, 2016)

Wow! What a classic light - I love to see things like this here. You know what, its only the likes of CPF members who will ever do this kind of thing and get all these classics back on the road. That is important I think, as it really is part of a previous era and can be experienced as it was then in modern times. Like a mini time machine.

Do keep us updated. Oh, one other thing, how are you finding the white reflector? In my opinion it does better than silver at close range and it certainly smooths out the beam.


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## irongate (Dec 15, 2016)

Mr Fixer, The Eveready light, Case no 2660 the Duracell batteries are to large for it-fit way to tight. Any thoughts on that. Got it all shined up. It says on the side 2 unit no.935. On the bulb 25?
Thanks


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## Minimoog (Dec 16, 2016)

irongate said:


> Mr Fixer, The Eveready light, Case no 2660 the Duracell batteries are to large for it-fit way to tight. Any thoughts on that. Got it all shined up. It says on the side 2 unit no.935. On the bulb 25?
> Thanks



Is there any corrosion on the inside? Also, old lights like this were designed to use card wrapped batteries which tend to be a bit smaller. Try some zinc batteries - and they are usually much cheaper too.


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## bykfixer (Dec 16, 2016)

Minimoog said:


> Wow! What a classic light - I love to see things like this here. You know what, its only the likes of CPF members who will ever do this kind of thing and get all these classics back on the road. That is important I think, as it really is part of a previous era and can be experienced as it was then in modern times. Like a mini time machine.
> 
> Do keep us updated. Oh, one other thing, how are you finding the white reflector? In my opinion it does better than silver at close range and it certainly smooths out the beam.


I marvelled at the beam with the white reflector with the round globe bulb. Beam was smooth as silk. Then with a 222 I had to chuckle a bit thinking here we are in 2016 and the latest, greatest technical gizmos have white reflectors to smooth out the beam and magnifier lenses to make them throw. 

Side bar: Everytime you post another light my wallet gets a little thinner oh Moog Man. But it's good pain none-the-less. Thank you!!!




irongate said:


> Mr Fixer, The Eveready light, Case no 2660 the Duracell batteries are to large for it-fit way to tight. Any thoughts on that. Got it all shined up. It says on the side 2 unit no.935. On the bulb 25?
> Thanks





Minimoog said:


> Is there any corrosion on the inside? Also, old lights like this were designed to use card wrapped batteries which tend to be a bit smaller. Try some zinc batteries - and they are usually much cheaper too.



Steve Giterman can make original style cells for the purist using double A's for the core. But...




But Wally world has the ones in the pic for a lot less.
They fit well in the really old lights and play nice with those ancient bulbs too. 
And again for a bit of purity todays 'Eveready' cells are carbon zinc. It's that companies Energizers we see all the time. I haven't seen the black case'd Eveready C's and D's in a while.


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## irongate (Dec 16, 2016)

MM= inside is clean of everything.

Mr Fixer =will check at WW today for those. That Copper Bullet really turned out sweet with a nice beam to it.


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## bykfixer (Dec 25, 2016)

Well here on Christmas day things were quiet in the Fixer home after sundown. That is around 5 pm this time of year. 
Well those 2 Soldier Boy lights had been set aside with the hope of having them done by now. Things in life don't always work on ones intended schedule. Yet today was a fine day to begin the process while Mrs Fixer was nearby crocheting the outter shell of a stocking cap from plastic bags. Once I figured out where the Mrs had stashed my box of flashlight restore tools the process was under way.

Today neither light wanted to light. A little coaxing got the gun metal one going. The light works or it don't regardless of switch position. The nickel plated one had the misfortune of nice thick (like 2mm) of alkaleakage inside the body near the tail cap. So my drill bit shaped sandpaper went to work and shortly after only stained brass resulted. Cleaning the tail spring, bulb assembly, switch system and inside the body later she lit up nice n bright. Again regardless of switch position.




Very welcome sight.
I was glad to see how brightly that officers light burned the big globe'd #14 Chicago Miniature bulb. A thing of beauty through the magnifier convex lens, all nicely difussed by the white reflector. 

So tonight I worked on the beams I'm after as neither came with original bulbs so I have no idea what the owners of 1917-ish lights saw back then. 
Good time to do some experimenting.




Flooder and thrower.
I kinda put myself in the role of a soldier using either. Officer using his to read maps and plans inside a tent while planning out strategies, perhaps with other officers. So I'm setting that one up as a small room lighter thinking perhaps tailstanding it would light up the tent enough to see the coffe pot, plans, and other officer necessities.

I'm thinking perhaps the foot soldier would have benefitted from a more throwy beam even though the chosen bulb for that one was not yet available. Once penlights were available the #222 would have made an excellent thrower beam in a light that used batteries from the 'vest pocket' variety. We call them double A's today. But one of those bulbs in a 2C baby light would have provided throw some 15-25' through uneven terrain and a nice spot to use as a light source to clean clean weapons, check barrel cleanliness, and enough flood light to see nearby. It would also cast a beam that could potentially ID nearby friend or foe while not illuminating the user enough to provide a discernible target if the foe were not alone.




They seem to be what I have in mind so far.




Cloudy night with lots of free lumens.
So at a time when it was sure enough dark after sundown the modified gun metal one would have been a portable bat light. 




Meanwhile the nickel plated version.
This one would have been a supurb flooder for those planning out the upcoming events inside a shelter or bunker. 

Once I got the beams dialed in the wife put Sherlock Holmes in the movie player so I put away the project for the evening. Next I'll get the gun metal one all spiffy on the inside to burn as bright as possible.
Then at some point I'll dive into the switching systems to figure how they broke the circuit back then and make what ever repairs are needed to make that happen 100 years later.


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## StudFreeman (Dec 26, 2016)

Really enjoy reading your incandescent forays, Mr. Fixer. Thanks for sharing!


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## bykfixer (Dec 26, 2016)

StudFreeman said:


> Really enjoy reading your incandescent forays, Mr. Fixer. Thanks for sharing!



'Preciate that. 
I like to go back in time to a period where a thing called the flashlight was still catching on in the public arena. The fact that others enjoy as well makes it even more fun. 

I visited a few stores today hoping to find a navy peacoat for my son. Also went into some stores with my wife looking for crafts, stuff for her new lizard building and day planners. Crazy enough each store we visited had flashlights of one sort or another. Mostly what we'd consider junk but packaged and branded in ways that cause the ordinary buyer to feel like they had something special. To me it just re-enforced the idea of sprucing up some relics that not many these days would give a second glance, or if found in an attic a second chance.


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## Minimoog (Dec 26, 2016)

Really pleased that you managed to get both of those burning brightly. The design looks tough and functional and I'm really getting a liking for the white reflectors - why did they stop with those? There won't be much loss of light out the front compared to silvered reflectors but the beam is much more smoothed out. I like that you have both types - you need both really. 

Do keep us posted on what is wrong with the switches - I'm looking forward to finding out.


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## bykfixer (Dec 26, 2016)

Some of my favorite modern light use white background and shaped 'optics' like these. 
Good ideas never go away forever. But I suppose folks opted for brightness over beam quality... lumen wars circa 1920. lol. 

Ok so it seems although they are basically the same light, they aren't. Huh?
Take a look...




Vastly different shapes and style.




The coating looks a feels like ceramic




But again vastly different output system.




Switches very similar outside
Note the little ball was missing on the silver and the seller did a good job of hiding that fact. No biggy but I was bummed they did not show it.




Circuit system differs inside.

I'm pretty sure a band around the reflector will allow the circuit to open and close via the switch on the gun metal light. I've found on others an isolation between the bulb assembly and bezel allows proper circuit operation.

However I have not figured out how the switch opens and closes the circuit on the silver one yet.

See, on the gun metal one pushing the slider forward presses on the ball, which moves the tongue on the inside over to the bulb assembly thereby touching or not depending on slider location being up or down.

The tongue of the silver one touches that flange on the bulb assembly all the time. But I do not see any way for one segment of the slider to begin to touch a piece or move away from it like early switches did. That one will have me scratching my head a while.


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## bykfixer (Jan 2, 2017)

Tests, tests and more tests and both Soldier Boys should work normal. 
Now the gunmetal one refuses to light and the silver plated one still won't switch on and off. Combine that with all that handling of the 100 year old coatings they are beginning to turn into worn looking lights.
So for now they are both stored without batteries in my non working/fickle operating display area. That sucks but sometimes reality requires a change in direction.

Well not to fret a couple of old 3D Ray-O's arrived.




A fairly nice Rayolite miner light circa 1918-ish (need to study the switch for potential year built)




And the Rayovac focus beam from likely the early 20's.
It has a patent number on the signaler switch and has AT &SF RY stamped on the coupler to the body (an old rail yard worker light). 

The Rayolite needs a rivet repair at the top and much of the silver plating is worn from corners of the Rayovac. But they both have stellar insides. 
Some clean up will take place but these 2 will remain in a "worn" looking condition. 
I bought these as lights to "look 100 years old" from a really cool eBay seller.


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## mom4ence (Jan 4, 2017)

And I have something to show

This my old love


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## bykfixer (May 30, 2017)

^^ Very nice Mom4!! 

Welcome to CPF btw.

So today when I arrived home from work a box was waiting for me. A surprise box at that. Member Liftd had bought a batch of lights at eBay for one he wanted and sent me the rest...




All are real nice. All work except the Foster and JustRite.

This post is about the JustRite Aviator light from WW2. I'll make 2 posts about that one. But first... the Foster has stuck batteries so that'll be a project in itself. 

Back to the Aviator; the first post will be to talk about this innovative flashlight.




The second will be how I got it going again. Looks like it won't be too involved thanx to a previous (albeit botched) attempt to restore it. 

So now about the light and how it works. The irony is I recently acquired two versions of PK's SureFire designed Aviator lights.

The switch



This is a cool design. Simple genious
You can slide the 2piece switch forward to have constant light or push down on the button to make a portion of the switch touch a contact point long enough to signal. 

The business end has either the beam of a #222 or a (in this case) blue filtered light via a novel switch. (Reportedly red and green filters could also be had)









This blob of solder causes a battery to get stuck going in. I'm thinking a fine tip'd dremel bit will solve that issue. 

Apparently this light was issued to Army pilots mostly but Navy pilots also got some. Those are supposed to have either USN or NAVY on them. 

This is a plastic light with a metal strip between the bulb assembly/bezel and that nub sticking up about half way down the barrel. I labled it 'contact point' in a photo above.




The clip is fastened via a screw driven through a threaded molded plastic end. 
The bulb assembly minus the filter is pretty similar to lights of that era...#222 threaded into a threaded collar




Well what do we have here?
Turns out the filter is red on this one. 




The bulb assembly to the bezel
It's actually 3 sections. One is plastic that holds metal at each end of it. They are either glued or stuck beyond the effort I want to place into separating them being if something breaks it aint like these litter that big auction site...

Anyway, it seems these were used to spot the flaps on wings during bad weather and such.


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## bykfixer (May 30, 2017)

Reserved for how to get it to light:


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