Vintage Lighting Onto the 1909 Followspot

[ship]

Onto the c.1909 Followspot. A 6" carbon arc Chicago Cinema Equipment carbon arc follow spot (Also called a "Lens Box" or "Chaser" - Season 1916-1917 Chicago Stage Lighting Co. Catalogue.) The Chicago Cinema Equipment spotlight has a serial number of 23. That’s early assuming also a 1909 date.

Came from a 1929 opened (after the stock market crash) Vaudeville/movie house still operating which in it’s history page denotes right before it opened, they had to cut the budget a lot. (The movie projectors are rusting away in the basement if anyone is interested.)

My notes cite a 1920 List of Corporations book citing CCE’s existence of 3535 W. 12th St. Chicago, IL. When I saw the fixture, I knew it was much older than 1929'. The theater Manager thought it might have come from the DeKalb Opera house - which burned down at some point. Working with a few theater’s and museums to get this part of the history and my local lore at this point.

Onto the fixture...

Would seem first by the porcelain cord bushing - one not removable due to badly cut hole, & the hole below it in I thought plasma cut, but instead a lot of drilled holes + different writings on the bushings, but similar style/old, - this was a later c.1929 change of location to the cord bushings & one perhaps had broken with a replacement.

Why did they move the cord grip bushings? Someone wanted a wider view screen so as to adjust the carbon arc. Note the solute if a of a plate added to mount the rear lens, than later it’s modification so as to adjust for the broken lens. And the cracked lens with something like tar attaching a gel of some form to it either during the time or later/later.

Why someone would want a wide view screen lens added to the non-operator side of the spotlight, when you have two view screens from the sides of the fixture... don’t know. But clearly the positions of the cord bushings were changed given the rectangular hole with somewhat circular holes cut into it. Though not certain on it - they are cut not really round holes either = not cast ones normal as will have been done. See some burnt in masking tape also, could be from after the lens broke & gel was added / third renovation to the fixture.

Curious all the bullet (drilled holes) about this rear view screen.

Still having the feed in cords in front of the active - followspot operator control levers for the spot does not make sense. Somewhat as theorized in c1929 added the large rear viewing lens as a modification perhaps for local not as well trained local crews. Makes sense.. No IA’ in DeKalb Illinois back in 1929 I suspect.

Restoration going especially well/normal. As opposed to the last fixture.... so far no seized fasteners that could not be worked with easily. Yet to get to the arch mechanism which came out in easily removable parts - other than a spatter weld from a carbon drip which arched to a focus slide rod. Filing would not remove it, had to grind it away.... should have vacuumed the fixture first.... note for next time given the cloud of stuff blown up from the grinder.

Hope to preserve but retain patina on this light. Sorry I didn't take a lot of full photos before starting. Did take a lot this time of photos of what was where which would not be interesting but might be very important in re-assembly. In the background to the last photo is it next.

 

[JonCarter]

(Oh,-oh! on to the next one before we see the last one work?? Shame!) But this one looks like an interesting project also. Reminds me of he time I had a week to get a Hall & Connelly follow spot which hadn't been used in years, working.

 

[ship]

Bonus in this fixture was a 4.5" stick of 1/2" antique carbon arc rod stuck in the lower vents. Could do a test now on the 1890's, but waiting for parts... and lost interest once done for me. Just ordered the 30A stage pin connector for my now 60A switched adaptor from L12-30 to 30A stage pin adaptor in plugging into local power. (The 30A switch planned in-line switch wouldn't work out.) TBD on the other project, but I'm hoping to do it with new carbons. Have a source... just to get to going to and buying. Sorry that I lost interest, but will get done. In the mean time, my workshop is a single car garage and would like to get the lights out of it before morning frost gets too bad (snow) in at least parking the Wife's car in it as normal for winter. That means getting various stuff done or put away for the winter. The 1909 I am hoping for a quick restoration in just citing notes about it. More about if one finds one, this will be the differences you should look for as per historical reference about the fixture. Also original post in the theory behind why in the past people will have made such a huge modification to a lighting fixture - local unskilled labor I think reason for the larger out of placed large viewing screen location. Curious at least to me given all the bullet holes in the area.

 

[ship]

Opened up the fixture - amazingly no seized screws. (yet to get to the gizzards.) Noted a repair somewhere between 09' and 29'. A few spatter holes thru the roof of the fixture. Had a spatter land on one of the focus rods which would not file off already in dissembly, took a grinder to remove it. This set of spatters apparently shot thru the hood of the fixture. I had thought the plate was for a vent stack cover in connecting to a vent in the roof, instead it was covering some slight holes. Instead later in repair, someone installed some sort of 1/8" ceramic/plaster plates for a heat sink & another thin gauge steel plate to cover the holes. Interesting that all sides of the light were double wall insulated except the top of it in burning thru with a spatter. Or given the amount of ceramic/plaster tile failed debree in the fixture - an original tile in the area failed in allowing holes in the cover.

Found another carbon arc rod inside the fixture tonight. This one as opposed to normally blackened was like a brass in color - but it was broken. In above question of the other fixture.... and given my past citings of the Iriquois Fire cause - carbon rods spattering, I will only use new rods to test the light. Will work on getting new rods.

On the immediate fixture, will try rust reformer but a lot of rust. Want to save patina.

Last photo is from the bottom - a few bullet (drill holes not used) but there for some reason. Think there was a switch mounted here given the cited notches in the casting in the area.

Photo #1 you can just barely make out a cracked heat shield, and about an inch to the left of the square nut- the edge of heat shield amongst a lot of rust & ozone coating.

 

[JonCarter]

Burned holes in the top--I'd guess somebody upped the amerage trying to get more light. The light running as designed shouldn't have done that to itself. As for the 'brass-colored' carbon, many (more modern than pre-1920) hi-amperage carbons were copper clad and some looked 'brassy.' Somebody probably tried a newer clad carbon in this one when they upped the amperage.

Keep us posted on progress!

 

[ship]

Interesting and thanks!

So in relation to the other carbon fixture testing, I want new ones for it because of known issues of purity - like a spatter or mis-adjusted arc. On the other hand, I have two at best say 1929 carbon arc's and one remaining from the 1890's. I would assume modern (bought) carbon arc electrodes would be more pure for testing the viable fixture... don't know in a lot of perhaps dialing in of the resistance core if going new, but would hope the impurities would be less.

Second photo of the 1909' fixture with a 3/4" electrode above, and 1/2" electrode below. TBD later in photo at this point. Photos are uploading slow.

 

[JonCarter]

Ship, sometimes old or improperly stored carbons will sputter & spatter if they've absorbed any moisture. The ones we used to get for the searchlights were sealed in "spam cans" (came with a key to open them.) There weren't too many trims in a can so they'd be used pretty quickly after opening. I don't remember how the carbons for the projectors were packed (civilian packaging) but a box wouldn't last too long--burned one trim per reel.

 

[RonHebbard]

Ship, sometimes old or improperly stored carbons will sputter & spatter if they've absorbed any moisture. The ones we used to get for the searchlights were sealed in "spam cans" (came with a key to open them.) There weren't too many trims in a can so they'd be used pretty quickly after opening. I don't remember how the carbons for the projectors were packed (civilian packaging) but a box wouldn't last too long--burned one trim per reel.

@ship @JonCarter Operators in the know always placed their next trim inside the lamp house where heat from the arc would drive out any excess moisture. Every trim change consisted of pulling out the previous trim with arc-joint pliers kept chained to the lamp, repositioning the jaws, wiping the reflector with a dry soft cloth, installing the trim stored within the lamp house and placing your next trim inside. Every two or three trims you emptied the drip catcher in to the used trim bucket.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[JD]

@ship @JonCarter Operators in the know always placed their next trim inside the lamp house where heat from the arc would drive out any excess moisture. Every trim change consisted of pulling out the previous trim with arc-joint pliers kept chained to the lamp, repositioning the jaws, wiping the reflector with a dry soft cloth, installing the trim stored within the lamp house and placing your next trim inside. Every two or three trims you emptied the drip catcher in to the used trim bucket.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

Can remember doing that with Super Troupers. Perfected using the new trim as chopsticks to change the old trim. So, the "chopsticks", would become the next trim in the tray, the current tray trim went into the holders, and the old trim dropped into the tray until the end of the show. Usually didn't wipe down during the show as we were trying to get back online in less than a minute.
I know a projectionist that used to keep half a box worth of trims in the tray and swore by it. Of course, projectors don't get transported at the end of the night
The only time I really used the tray-trim system was on multi-night gigs. Most times the chopsticks were the next ones to burn.

 

[RonHebbard]

Can remember doing that with Super Troupers. Perfected using the new trim as chopsticks to change the old trim. So, the "chopsticks", would become the next trim in the tray, the current tray trim went into the holders, and the old trim dropped into the tray until the end of the show. Usually didn't wipe down during the show as we were trying to get back online in less than a minute.
I know a projectionist that used to keep half a box worth of trims in the tray and swore by it. Of course, projectors don't get transported at the end of the night
The only time I really used the tray-trim system was on multi-night gigs. Most times the chopsticks were the next ones to burn.

@JD Initially we had two carbon Supers which lived in our soft-seater venue since it opened in 1973 each with a pair of pliers chained to them and a galvanized bucket for collecting glowing used trims. Years later a pair of Xenon Supers were added. New brothers always wanted the xenons, geezers such as myself ALWAYS preferred the rounded comfort of the arcs. I delighted in being one of the local guys laid on when an IA tour rolled through. Normally their lead spot operator always demanded one of the xenons. When there were three or more spots required I ALWAYS grabbed one of the arcs and delighted in making the road gal or guy cry uncle by asking me if I'd mind dowsing down a little when a 'lesser god' was lit brighter than their star. Nasty little phuquer that I was, I NEVER even felt the least bit bad about doing it. If they were especially obnoxious, I'd (accidentally on purpose) be slowly opening my dowser a little more with every new pick 'til they had to ask me to dowse down a little AGAIN. I still grin at the remembrance.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[JD]

@JD Initially we had two carbon Supers which lived in our soft-seater venue since it opened 1973 each with a pair of pliers chained to them and a galvanized bucket for collecting glowing used trims. Years later a pair of Xenon Supers were added. New brothers always wanted the xenons, geezers such as myself ALWAYS preferred the rounded comfort of the arcs. I delighted in being one of the local guys laid on when an IA tour rolled through. Normally their lead spot operator always demanded one of the xenons. When there were three or more spots required I ALWAYS grabbed one of the arcs and delighted in making the road gal or guy cry uncle by asking me if I'd mind dowsing down a little when a 'lesser god' was lit brighter than their star. Nasty little phuquer that I was, I NEVER even felt the least bit bad about doing it. If they were especially obnoxious, I'd (accidentally on purpose) be slowly opening my dowser a little more with every new pick 'til they had to ask me to dowse down a little AGAIN. I still grin at the remembrance.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

In the early days, a well running Carbon Arc Super would lay waste to the first couple of generations of Xenons. As time marched on, the Xeon Supers had larger lamp options which were brighter. Maybe it's me, or I am biased, but I always felt the Carbon super had a fuller spectrum, a cleaner white, than the newer Xenons. When the throw distance was great, you could always tune the carbon to have a hotter center so that when irised down, you still had a hotter beam.

 

[RonHebbard]

In the early days, a well running Carbon Arc Super would lay waste to the first couple of generations of Xenons. As time marched on, the Xenon Supers had larger lamp options which were brighter. Maybe it's me, or I am biased, but I always felt the Carbon super had a fuller spectrum, a cleaner white, than the newer Xenons. When the throw distance was great, you could always tune the carbon to have a hotter center so that when irised down, you still had a hotter beam.

@JD Not only was the carbon Super more comfortable and easily brighter but it had that fabulous glass UV filter with the stiffer counter-balance spring. Initially our two xenons were 1600's. I believe they may have lamped them up to 2K's post my forced retirement.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[ship]

Thanks in helping me feel young. No experience with carbon arcs personally. So seems to me of one carbon that's 6.3/4" from the first arc light, and two found in the 1909' that's 5.1/8" and one 4.1/2" - all clearly not new and the former with liquid wrench soaked into it - the others were broken and lost beneth baffles as opposed to stored. I'm for new carbon rods on the former "Works" project.

On the 1909' sanded the heck out of it inside than cleaned all Windes with Vineager. Than a coat Rustoleum Rust Inhibitor. Was debating a rust restorer, and indeed did some CLR on some parts, but overall outside looks and has restored to its original look - but with patina. Inside with a lot of sanding either looks rough or something in still considering rust reformer black. Overall the fixture looks less a gun metal blue/black overall than sanded or rusted. Had to stop the rust virious as it were, in different methods I could have done to better retain the patina. All white like ozone inner coatings are mostly gone with just a bit to explain with. Didn't sand the outer shell & once cleaned looks rally correct. Steel body especially inner body of the fixture looks good = but has lost most patina. A lot of work. Worked to save the outer body as much possible, the insides, had to go a little aggressive on the sanding. All about the same at this point, patina saved overall.

 

[ship]

Saw a small detail tonight when working on the installed iris.
Chicago Cinema Equipment Company carbon arc follow spot from a 1909 opera house, has
Brenkert Light Production Company brass/bronze iris installed on it.

This is important given I have no starting date or info for Chicago Cinema Equipment I know of before 1920, but I have a fixture thought to be from 1909 from a known dated place. A Brenkert part on it - from a company known to exist before 1909 helps to confirm this assumption is possible. Brenkert started in 1907 amd while they are listed to exist up to 1957', and it could still be a 1929 fixture from the theater removed from.... Too old in design for it I rely on. Many details in really old design concepts for the light & early modifications to it but with old parts or solutions speeking for its age.