Finally done in the reproduction c.1928 PC lights

[ship]

Around six months ago I bought some c.1911 and other accessories as well as some lighting fixtures of the same date as with others later. Photos have been posted over the year of some of the more amazing say clock work accessories. Big problem got solved early on in area to display the gear at work, and also make room for more gear from the buy. Bigger problem remained in given the amount of the accessories, I could either display the old lights as they are with accessories or buy more in duplicate to mount the accessories. Baby threw into scrap any concept of buying lights for now, much less old lights are mostly over priced in being classic. Old stage lighting should also be displayed without accessories to them if on display. Decided, a c.1928 6" PC fixture wasn’t that hard to reproduce, I would make my own instead of paying money for duplicates. Turned out to be a long and very hard process in even using modern techniques but each part hand stamped and made, than custom fitted. Still... six of them one day away from finally being done - just a trip to the paint shop for the yokes and mounting brackets and they can be mounted finally... and I can close up shop for the winter in parking my car in it.

Photo attached of the c.2012 copies of how it was done in two Major and Madelite versionsions copied from c.1928-1911 lighting PC fixtures to mount the accessories. Learning process and even though the blanks are toast, I know how to do this. Fixtures totally work and are up to modern grounding and wiring standards. More photos if wanted of details. In filament adjustment screw I even improved the design so as to mount the only old lamp still sold, the G-30 400G30/SP lamp. A little more elevation in the height mechanism makes that possible given a styled after but new lamp socket design for it. Fixtures will work on show site as per older ones in proper wattage, only they will also do the ““prop light”” concept in lower wattage lamp too without the socket extender. Done and onto some Bantam Superspots I got in bulk but need some essential parts that will be hard to do and a concept of why they were done the way they were. Got some experience with this brand and will figure it out with time. Mostly... work shop closed up for the season this weekend will do Me, Wife and Baby well in time spent out of the garage.

Given many of the effects accessories are scene machine projected slides, there will be options for where I work to present cut glass gobo's as it were to fit into these scene machine slides. Once the fixtures are hung, I suspect the slides will be easier to get in say one as per antique in like forest or castle effect that will have been used and one with a corporate logo for who made it will be easy to get made. TBA something to work on.

Gonna be amazing this new display room for accessories as with once I rehang the main inventory in making room for like 20x more lights to add.

I physically made these fixturs from scratch - all parts of them other than wooden parts sent out to be turned by a friend's dad or limited welding needed (rear of the fixture not shown.) Like atop my world now above other things I have created over the years. Made some 1928 style PC fixtures from scratch. Every day from now on when I sit in the lunch room at work, I will get to see the months of work in creation of them as with other stuff when I walk about the shop that will last longer than I do.

Kind of a kick that when I got out of college, I wanted to set the world on fire with my new set designs, or at least become the "Grumpy old man of the theater" in finding a place I could settle down at. Settle down I did in just getting a very healty and respectable raise thru my wiring/fixture work in something I only minored in college on in study of and only had to do also for design but now is career. Work likes and helps support my work on the museum gear.

 

[dramatech]

Wow!! Good for you. That is a labor of love that you can be very proud of.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Ship just took it to a whole new level.

I hope they have SHIP stamped on them somewhere.

 

[tjrobb]

I think I own one of those, from 1928....

 

[ship]

Ship just took it to a whole new level.

I hope they have SHIP stamped on them somewhere.

Interesting idea, only stamped 1-6 though in more about the rear lamp access doors aligning with the welded hinge parts to them. Welded hinge parts have been made to seem as if casted in taking a bit more time to do but well worth it.

A good B.Ship stamped on them is an interesting idea but overall, everyone knows who could have done this. On the other hand given problems with other old lighting gear from the 1911' thru 70's that only Clyde Foster could remember and now that he is gone/dead in causing me problems with much of his gear identification, perhaps that is not a bad idea. Might just go into work and bring home one of the stamp kits for numbers and letters later this weekend and do so. Never really thought of it before, thanks. Perhaps also and given most of the materials were from work by way of scrap materials or bought pars - they do own the lights in the end given I'm salary/staff also in the end no matter the work. I'll put a work name plate on them. Will make stuff less complicated and even perhaps add to the end design look.

Thanks in further detail I was leaving blank but now seems proper and important to finish with. Name plate for who made it and when, plus who owns them a good thing. More finish work but good stuff to get done in a more complete fixture.

That much less watch out for a "R.Ship" perhaps someday on a lighting fixture say 20 or 30 years from now. Leaves room for legacy. Thanks.

 

[Aman121]

Nice job!
One question, how did you obtain the lense for those? Did you cut the glass yourself?

 

[BGW]

Awesome job, Ship, you rock!

 

[ship]

Ok, everything wasn't hand made - bought the lenses or used used ones - below problem, sent to the welder the yoke for easier for them to reinforce than me to tap and screw, and the hinge mounts for the rear door were welded with me making them seem cast. Also didn't physicaly make the lamp sockets or cable feeding the fixture. Other than that, yep I did make from scratch these lights but with some help on speficic parts of them. Gel frame brackets started out their life as a H-Channel instead of a Z channel they are now.

Measured up a lot of PC lenses over the years and they normally range from like 1.1/8" thru 15/16" thick. This is not brand specific or age specific but brand thing perhaps at the time in no way to figure out what is a lens for antique appropriate other than older lenses were perhaps thicker, lenses in the 60's and early 70's were often green unless "premium brand" and overall new stuff is fine. The Altman 6x9 lens as easy to get is an easy replacement in being within these tolerances within normal for replacement needs. Two lenses were new, the rest old from various fixtures and ages - even a green one or two I saw in putting into the fitxtures.. Old fixtures do range in thickness in range and and Altman 6x9 lens is sufficient to replace it. Got a Chicago Cinema Equipment 5.1/4" PC Spotlight c. 1911 with a cracked lens that I super glued together. That's a lens that unless Kopp wanted a special project without costing extreme would be very expensive in price to replace. It's really thick and the superglue worked mostly. I certainly wouldn't let the fixture run at maximum temperature again as the second oldest light in the inventory. Cracked lens isn't mostly noticable and I might even try even 400w on it working fine with that cracked lens or try other materials to glue together that 1911 lens again. Overall, obviously this fixture will never be needed for another show where it could other than be a prop.

Other option being that I have ground down some lenses before on a table belt sander that's set up for the proper grit/type of sand paper. Kliegl often had unique sizes that were off standard size in grinding down to fit something I have done before. Granted it would take a lot of work to make a 6" lens into a 5.1/4" 6x9 lens into a 5.1/4" lens, but is possible even if not realistic in mounting it. Thinking also I would look into cooling materials for the sanding in how to further than I did in just getting hot for doing like at one point 1/8" O.D.

Installed them this morning - the fixtures I made that the Comptroller/Office Manager did his normal banker type not liking "junking up" this lunch room and I'm sure the email went out to management that I was doing something.., but this was signed off on by Shop Manager and newly also by the General Manager that stopped by with client (also interested in lighting) while installing and thought this cool once he saw 100+ year old lighting accessories in detail became further cool to display. Only real challenge was perhaps in these lense thicknesses for The Times Square Scene Machine accessory. These scene machines were made to have a dual lens - the fixture lens and another one right next to it rear mounted on the accessory so as to make a lens train, than the glass slide and a gel frame with mounted a projection lens fitting into the gel frame bracket on them.

The scene machine lens train accessirues are a lot less sexy than the effects Sciopticon wheel assemblies but such slide projectors as it were I have more of in displaying. Such scene machine I need more projection lens trans for but I only have two of them and the scizzors and brass projection ones went to the effects wheels. Scene machine works with spherical reflector/lamp, lens and one in revers as a condensor, than the added optical lens these don't have. Five fixtures, only two with optical lenses needed for both in refining the beam for spread. Not stuff able to duplicate. Sixth fixture has an old iris without means of mounting a lens.

Totally thru off my "funksway" by way of design in thickness of lens, and also that the brass optical lens train wouldn't fit on the one I wanted it to. Yea.... six months prep and two minor things - loving every minute of this and living the Theater. Given fixture number was per accessory designed for - different standoff's and spacing given accessory brand, arrangement became important. Two different size of gel frame z-clip gel mounting bracket I had to make and three different spacings in size and two that had to be thicker due to weight. Still it worked out without making us having to re-hang anything.

Two more fixtures to display in the room, a 6-hole manual operated color wheel that I'm still searching for a duplicate Leko to mount on - think I bought one to mount it, just a lot of gear ready to hang in storage. And a 6" framing shutter lens train for a Fresnel. Brand new 65Q for mounting it a parts order was bulked up with. The Century Fresnel I bought to mount it turned out to have 7.7/16" mounting clips instead of 7.1/2" and a bracket that the top was designed to mount on. Still might pull it as duplicate to if I can't find the extra Leko, mount the color wheel on it instead of a Leko. Had to make the mounting assembly for the color wheel in feeling less bad about cutting it down than the specific framing shutter assembly that is origional.

Next like 20x more lights to add to the main display pipe and all the box spots to hang somewhere else. Months of work and finally adventure and getting stuff done.