I need to cleanup the cage properly and work out what to do about the cap, but I was curious so I threw in a new set of washers & a mantle and sparked it up. Pressure indicator seems inop but it's not leaking. also, it doesn't seem to like pre-tied matles. the one I fitted is loose at the top. Edit:- Also, having to trim a modern Tilley NRV pip to fit the pump on this number has cured me of any desire to make my own washers.
Very nice. I've stopped bothering with Tilley "Happy" mantles as they are often rusty and ill-fitting, and become loose. For general use, I buy mantles from Japan, and for 'special' lamps I use NOS whenever I can find them on the bay of evil. Depending on what you want to do with the lamp, you can buy a new hood, but the one you have looks like the originan version of this hood, ie it does not have a lip on the bottom edge of the middle dome-piece. If you want it as a user, you can clean up the hood an try to reprint the rusty/flaky bits with a very high temperature black gloss, but it is difficult to find one which can withstand the heat. I have has some mixed success with VHT paint and clear coat (the VERY high temp versions that you bake at 200 degrees Celcius). Cheers Tony
Personally I would not bother trying to improve the appearance of the hood. You could probably buy a replacement on ebay in reasonable condition for little more than the cost of a can of VHT paint.
... You are probably right, James; but it's a bit more difficult to find those original hoods in the Australian market.
