Can anybody provide some detailed photos of a collapsible parchment shade including the wire work? I will try to make the wire work on my own as I have one of those plastic parchments and need a look to the original. The dimensions would be highly appreciated too. Thanks a lot!
Are you sure it is a Tilley shade you have an not an Aladdin? They are much the same but slightly different sizes. ::Neil::
Hi Neil, I bought it as TILLEY LAMP PLEATED SHADE WHITE . TILLEY NUMBER 621 I took a Google search and the shade seems to be the same as on the TL120A but without the wires. There are rubber bands at the top and the bottom and holes for the wires, but I have no idea how it was originally made as the shade was collapsible. Edit: I gave the wrong source for the picture I found, it wasn't here in the forum.
OK right now it's feeding time but later I will go measure my shade and give you the wire sizes you need. ::Neil::
OK top ring is 196mm dia. Bottom ring is 343mm dia. Mid ring is 112mm dia. The bottom ring is free floating and not conected to the top ring. Centre ring is fixed to the top ring with three equidistant rods. Inner ring is 50mmm below the top ring. The three connecting rods are about 65mm long. Here are some images.
Hi Neil, thanks a lot for sharing the informations and the photos. Your help is highly appreciated. I will see if I can get some wires to do a replacement. Thanks again!
I forgot to tell you the wire is 2.5mm dia. I should also tell you that fitting the wire in the shade requires two people and even then it is not a simple job. ::Neil::
Hi Neil, I did some fettling this evening, I bought brass wire pre cut in pieces of 1m length, cut and bent and soldered them together. The lower ring is a tad smaller in diameter as yours because the wire was too short but I think you won't notice it. The diameter of the wire is 2,9mm as it was the only size available near to 2,5mm, it fits well. The only concerns I have is about the soldering, as I soft soldered the wires I am not sure if the soldering will stand the heat when in use. But I think the shade will mostly be used for display purposes so that it will last Thanks again for the help Neil! Now I'll have a beer! Cheers!
Nice job you've done there - the lamp looks well. I bought my shade some time ago from Base-Camp, although I don't recall seeing them listed there for a while. It came complete with the wires and, as Neil says, it was a right trial to assemble single-handedly - triple-handedly might have been easier...
What a fantastic resource this Forum is! A Google search for "Tilley part number 621" led me straight to this thread. I had exactly the same question as Stephan, having bought a pleated shade which arrived without the wire frame. However, I have asked the eBay seller if he can supply the wires. If not, I'll leave appropriate feedback (I think the description is misleading) and make something by copying Neil's information. You've made a good job of that, Stephan. Did you ever light your lamp with the home-made shade rings fitted, and did the solder stand up to the heat? Very helpful, thank you all very much. Phil
Hootflipflopandfart..? I was talking to Gary (Redspeedster) the other day and he told me he'd bought a shade from that seller which came without wires. I presume these were sold by Tilley as replacements for the originals when they became discoloured, melted or whatever. I guess you were meant to re-use the original wire rings...
That's the one, David. I've bought a number of Tilley spares from them in the past, and found them very good. However, a "shade" without its wire frame isn't usable as such, so the description should be revised to make it clear that other parts are needed in order to make a usable shade. I'll report back what they say. Phil
Soft lead solder will be fine on the outer ring but not on the ring that sits on the gallery. You might just get away with it on the steel gallery of TL120A but I suspect that the brass gallery of a TL120 will get just about hot enough to melt the solder. Time to expand your fettling abilities to include silver solder. No magic in it. Just silver alloy rods and a different flux. Then the job is the same except it works much hotter of course. ::Neil::
A good few years ago now, I was talking to Steve Wood (the other one - Woody) who told me he called into HFF&Fs (Stuart something?) shop quite often. The tale was he'd bought a huge pile of Tilley and other spares but wasn't sure what most of it actually was. So maybe it's possible he has the wires somewhere but hasn't realised what they are. If you tried to fit them together without actually knowing they were meant for each other, you'd be forgiven for assuming they weren't. I'm just speculating, though...
Hi Phil, Thanks, it was tricky to keep the upper rings and rods together and I used an aluminium funnel for filling jam in jars that I found in the kitchen and that has nearly the same shape as the final product to support the wirework. I never lit the lantern, it's still there were I took the photo. Two reasons: Soft soldered wires and dubious quality of newer Tilles
I've heard back from the eBay seller this morning. They have no frames available. I've advised them to change their misleading description, and will provide appropriate feedback. Off to find some wire! I've raided my wife's wardrobe and found some white-coated steel wire coat hangers which look promising. Phil
Phil, I think you're being a bit hard on the guy. The listing shows a folded up pleated shade with no wires and the description below it states... "You are buying 1 x WHITE PLASTIC / ELASTICATED TILLEY LAMP PLEATED SHADE (THIS LISTING IS FOR THE SHADE ONLY) ..." Usually when you see a statement containing "(some item) ONLY" that implies something is missing or not included. I bought a couple of these shades a while back intending to use this post to makes the frames. Have not done it yet as I still need to find a nice Tilley lamp first. I've received a lot of items from Stuart in the past; he always answers my emails quickly and provides very reasonable and fast shipping to the USA. I suppose he could have added some more detail, but having 1400+ items on Ebay and a bricks and mortar store, I'm amazed he handles things as well as he does. Dan
Yep, four more words like 'no support rings included' would have made the situation much clearer and avoided disappointment on one part and possible negative feedback on the other... 8)
Well, I've spent a pleasant afternoon fabricating a frame out of coat hanger wire soldered together, for the upper and lower rings, and twisted enamelled copper wire for the support ring that fits on the gallery. Thanks to Neil's dimensions, this wasn't too difficult and I avoided soldered joints near the burner. See pic. What was difficult, as others have said, was fitting the rings into the pleated shade! I ended up using an upturned circular laundry basket to stretch the shade out. Overall I'm pleased with the outcome, so I may go easy on Stuart after all... as long as he revises his description! My wife actually prefers the TL136 without a shade, whereas I prefer the shade fitted. Just for fun, I tried the shade on a chrome X246B and it looks quite nice, apart from the dark upper part of the shade due to the shadow cast by the hood. Finally, here's the TL136 Princess complete with pleated shade: Phil
Thanks to those that placed some very good information in this topic which allowed me to get my shade sorted. I was having one hell of a time trying to put my shade together. The copper wire was bent out of shape and Neils' measurements allowed me to make a jig that enabled be to get the lower wire somewhat cylindrical again. Phil, I particularly like your ingenuity in sorting a frame for your shade.
