Restoring vintage flashlights

bykfixer

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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

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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.

80u5nfR.jpg
 

bykfixer

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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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Minimoog

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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!
 

phosphor22

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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

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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.

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.


: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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bykfixer

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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

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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.
 

ven

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Great work there!!! As always a super :cool: 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!
 

bykfixer

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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

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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

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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.

80u5nfR.jpg

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

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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

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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

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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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