In a lull now for fixtures to work on and woodworking projects to do. (Taking a break on the Cyber 2.0 orniments for now; there was a engineering problem in the mirror moving.)
c.1929 Fuchs’ “Stage Lighting” For those of you with a copy, “Home-Built Amater Equipment” chapter as I think it a more responsible - even if less modern way of saying what you can and cannot do than other sources later think viable. Older concepts for what one can do, and older gear that can be home made, but for concepts in what one can do, much better presented.
Ran out of gear coming in or that I could pull to fix, decided to build a bunch light based off the Fuchs chapter in building a bunch light. More about the Olivette single lamp version by than, but I do note other vendors even up to 1937 were offering bunch lights so in dogmatically using the advice in how to build it, I’m building a ten light bunch light.
Taking some artistic licence with the flat back to it (boring) as opposed to angled for reflector back, and liberties to the cover for the sockets amongst a few other liberties in design supported by the book in design of such a fixture. My sockets will following cyc or strip light concepts are better designed for protection and venting that this book takes great length to explain.
Got this wooden bunch light that I’m working on. Asbestos padding to be painted with ceramic white flat paint, is now padded with similar ceramic padding with latex ceramic white painted padding. Still using the same types of screws and even carpet tacks, just adding some spray adhesive and pneumatic finish nails to tack down the frame in ease before I add the prop fasteners. That and plane down some lumber so as to be ½" thick in making. A lot of work done and still to be done in padding all the lumber with this asbestos (now ceramic) padding 1/8" thick. Than yet once done and fastened, with internal parts, having to paint the padding for ceramic white flat white will be a lot of effort. Now that it’s fastened together with glue that wasn’t said to use, and finish nails for small holes to plug, even doing screws to fasten together how it was said to attach will be hours upon hours of work to simulate.
Yea, I cheated in using pneumatics to make this fixture, that plus glue is not mentioned. No wonder why such fixtures as a bunch light isn’t offered on the net for antique. Long gone I think especially if home made.
So I’m making one that I could not persay find on the net, I’m taking some feasability artistic licence with it by way of my own craft level, but mostly following the instructions for making it. Also going to stain the outsides which the instructions somewhat support. My goal as similar to as per matching woodwork in the theater for home built gear in doing so, my goal is to match as concept that it’s wood, thus painting it black wouldn’t be proper. Stained and finished it will be.
Studied the chapter a lot in the last week or two and think I’ll make some half scale boarder, foot and strip lights in the coming months, as with the box spot it tells you how to make. Up to the challenge and for some things I have older wood than date of the book to make it out of. Got some 1x6 lumber that dates to 1914 in stock and access to a plainer. Once I get this bunch light done, open goal for me in both making a 1916 bunch light out of steel but with a six flower shape lamp shape, or center pod of twelve lamps crossing over themselves but both out of steel as per the Chicago Stage Lighting Catalogue. Can work steel as with wood. Perhaps I’ll make all three fixture types - think I will.
At some point, I got good in fabricating parts to old gear missing parts, given a recipe for other gear, perhaps that’s my key to doing more - even if reproduction. This is a reproduction, but let me explain why it’s important... 1907 per McCandless “A Syllabus of Stage Lighting” , the incandescent lamp became viable. 1913 the nitrogen/argon introduction to such lamps allowed for higher wattage. 1929 Fuchs’ “Stage Lighting” for the addition to the Alzark reflector.
“I’m building a bunch light.” “What’s that?” “It’s a bunch of lamp fixture”. From that I normally sucker people into a discussion about antique stage lighting. For Grahm, Mom and others.... I can quiz them on the above and they get the details but not importance. For professionals in stage lighting, one would think it turns into a discussion of this portable stage lighting fixture as the first as it were “Leko” of the day... but often nothing of any interest after that first question of what a bunch light is of interest.
So I’m building this ten light bunch light. It’s not fully accurate to the book in that I also have an angled back c.1916 Kliegl #1N Nitrogen Olivette and cannot just see doing a flat back version for the first. Not as angled as the first version, and my lamps now are perpendicular to it plus the corners are centered at the LCL of the lamps - antique reproduction 1910 lamps to be used.
My fixture will be my design based upon researh and my own ability. Accurate to the detail in using 1/8" ceramic padding to replace asbestos padding, but in use of coating all surfaces of it and even using carpet tacks to attach it, that it gets in the way of attaching components. Very difficult project in thinking that the wooden box spot would have been easier even if more easy seemingly from the book.
Making my first reproduction lighting fixture. Gonna be a modified for skill level Fuchs’ advised but not much detailed bunch light. Obviously I’m not using asbestos wiring or padding, but otherwise I’m working on full compliance with what it says to do. Side venting done, TBA the top vent etc. Staining it to make the wood stand out, yet to paint the fiber padding.
Fascinating project in yet to decide how I’m going to yoke it or rig it.
Winter break for me is a good project. Making from scratch a bunch light. “What’s that” It’s a bunch of lights’. That’s the simple. The details in doing it is very difficult in skill level by way of making and wiring to modern wiring standards - my level of them. Once done... I’ll be really proud of this fixture which nough said in the payoff often for what one reseaches the heck out of and finalizes the design of. I designed a bunch light as per a show - spent hours researching it and designing it, than endless hours making it. Lighting fixture design and antique lighting fixture design and construction... Perhaps another concept in not actively doing shows but another field of study.
Something out of wood from an old book isn’t much different than something I built a few years ago for a tour - this only out of metal and didn’t take as much asbestos padding to make safe. Very simlar to what I have made in the past for rock and roll tours. Separate but different than what I have done in the past for tours over recent years, but this is say 1910 style and for that I can do out of lumber what I make out of steel or aluminum these days. Making a 1907 thru before say 1916 bunch light in design based off a 1929 manual in doing so.
A lot more to go before photos of it, but thinking that I’m doing good honest work so far. This fixture will work as per the manual and if not be better than it. A little more work to go on it.
Interest in what at least my version of a 1907 bunch light fixture might look like?
c.1929 Fuchs’ “Stage Lighting” For those of you with a copy, “Home-Built Amater Equipment” chapter as I think it a more responsible - even if less modern way of saying what you can and cannot do than other sources later think viable. Older concepts for what one can do, and older gear that can be home made, but for concepts in what one can do, much better presented.
Ran out of gear coming in or that I could pull to fix, decided to build a bunch light based off the Fuchs chapter in building a bunch light. More about the Olivette single lamp version by than, but I do note other vendors even up to 1937 were offering bunch lights so in dogmatically using the advice in how to build it, I’m building a ten light bunch light.
Taking some artistic licence with the flat back to it (boring) as opposed to angled for reflector back, and liberties to the cover for the sockets amongst a few other liberties in design supported by the book in design of such a fixture. My sockets will following cyc or strip light concepts are better designed for protection and venting that this book takes great length to explain.
Got this wooden bunch light that I’m working on. Asbestos padding to be painted with ceramic white flat paint, is now padded with similar ceramic padding with latex ceramic white painted padding. Still using the same types of screws and even carpet tacks, just adding some spray adhesive and pneumatic finish nails to tack down the frame in ease before I add the prop fasteners. That and plane down some lumber so as to be ½" thick in making. A lot of work done and still to be done in padding all the lumber with this asbestos (now ceramic) padding 1/8" thick. Than yet once done and fastened, with internal parts, having to paint the padding for ceramic white flat white will be a lot of effort. Now that it’s fastened together with glue that wasn’t said to use, and finish nails for small holes to plug, even doing screws to fasten together how it was said to attach will be hours upon hours of work to simulate.
Yea, I cheated in using pneumatics to make this fixture, that plus glue is not mentioned. No wonder why such fixtures as a bunch light isn’t offered on the net for antique. Long gone I think especially if home made.
So I’m making one that I could not persay find on the net, I’m taking some feasability artistic licence with it by way of my own craft level, but mostly following the instructions for making it. Also going to stain the outsides which the instructions somewhat support. My goal as similar to as per matching woodwork in the theater for home built gear in doing so, my goal is to match as concept that it’s wood, thus painting it black wouldn’t be proper. Stained and finished it will be.
Studied the chapter a lot in the last week or two and think I’ll make some half scale boarder, foot and strip lights in the coming months, as with the box spot it tells you how to make. Up to the challenge and for some things I have older wood than date of the book to make it out of. Got some 1x6 lumber that dates to 1914 in stock and access to a plainer. Once I get this bunch light done, open goal for me in both making a 1916 bunch light out of steel but with a six flower shape lamp shape, or center pod of twelve lamps crossing over themselves but both out of steel as per the Chicago Stage Lighting Catalogue. Can work steel as with wood. Perhaps I’ll make all three fixture types - think I will.
At some point, I got good in fabricating parts to old gear missing parts, given a recipe for other gear, perhaps that’s my key to doing more - even if reproduction. This is a reproduction, but let me explain why it’s important... 1907 per McCandless “A Syllabus of Stage Lighting” , the incandescent lamp became viable. 1913 the nitrogen/argon introduction to such lamps allowed for higher wattage. 1929 Fuchs’ “Stage Lighting” for the addition to the Alzark reflector.
“I’m building a bunch light.” “What’s that?” “It’s a bunch of lamp fixture”. From that I normally sucker people into a discussion about antique stage lighting. For Grahm, Mom and others.... I can quiz them on the above and they get the details but not importance. For professionals in stage lighting, one would think it turns into a discussion of this portable stage lighting fixture as the first as it were “Leko” of the day... but often nothing of any interest after that first question of what a bunch light is of interest.
So I’m building this ten light bunch light. It’s not fully accurate to the book in that I also have an angled back c.1916 Kliegl #1N Nitrogen Olivette and cannot just see doing a flat back version for the first. Not as angled as the first version, and my lamps now are perpendicular to it plus the corners are centered at the LCL of the lamps - antique reproduction 1910 lamps to be used.
My fixture will be my design based upon researh and my own ability. Accurate to the detail in using 1/8" ceramic padding to replace asbestos padding, but in use of coating all surfaces of it and even using carpet tacks to attach it, that it gets in the way of attaching components. Very difficult project in thinking that the wooden box spot would have been easier even if more easy seemingly from the book.
Making my first reproduction lighting fixture. Gonna be a modified for skill level Fuchs’ advised but not much detailed bunch light. Obviously I’m not using asbestos wiring or padding, but otherwise I’m working on full compliance with what it says to do. Side venting done, TBA the top vent etc. Staining it to make the wood stand out, yet to paint the fiber padding.
Fascinating project in yet to decide how I’m going to yoke it or rig it.
Winter break for me is a good project. Making from scratch a bunch light. “What’s that” It’s a bunch of lights’. That’s the simple. The details in doing it is very difficult in skill level by way of making and wiring to modern wiring standards - my level of them. Once done... I’ll be really proud of this fixture which nough said in the payoff often for what one reseaches the heck out of and finalizes the design of. I designed a bunch light as per a show - spent hours researching it and designing it, than endless hours making it. Lighting fixture design and antique lighting fixture design and construction... Perhaps another concept in not actively doing shows but another field of study.
Something out of wood from an old book isn’t much different than something I built a few years ago for a tour - this only out of metal and didn’t take as much asbestos padding to make safe. Very simlar to what I have made in the past for rock and roll tours. Separate but different than what I have done in the past for tours over recent years, but this is say 1910 style and for that I can do out of lumber what I make out of steel or aluminum these days. Making a 1907 thru before say 1916 bunch light in design based off a 1929 manual in doing so.
A lot more to go before photos of it, but thinking that I’m doing good honest work so far. This fixture will work as per the manual and if not be better than it. A little more work to go on it.
Interest in what at least my version of a 1907 bunch light fixture might look like?
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