Light not working, needs repair.

[Lucien Nunes]

I have an old light in the workshop that has not been used for a long time and needs some TLC. First to put a name to it (not you, Marconi) wins a weekend for two in sunny Hertfordhire loading vans at the warehouse. You can ask questions about the pics.
First problem, this was jammed with hardened grease

 

[James]

Is it a wigwam for winding up the sun?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

You can ask sensible questions about the pics.

 

[buzzlightyear]

is it a spring cog wheel for a hamster . spinning that fast for your lights to stay on it fell off.lol

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Insulator trouble

 

[westward10]

Is it from a ship.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I thought I had got away with it but the thread in the bracket casting is stripped. Will come back to that

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Not from a ship.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Is it from a ship.

me thing is from a sea boy the reason of the grease .

 

[westward10]

Automotive.

 

[nicebutdim]

Has it been illuminating a lathe or mill?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

No to automotive and machine tools.
More wrecked threads, this is a main terminal where two screws clamp the cable against a casting. They're 10/32TPI screws so I'll run a tap in and see if the casting is retrievable

 

[Zerax]

Carbon arc lamp ?

 

[westward10]

Carbon arc lamp ?

My thoughts too.

 

[westward10]

They were still using these at Pinewood back in the 80s when I worked there.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

OK, if you want to redeem your short break prize, please remember to bring your steel toecaps.
Yes it's a projection arc. Hopefully it will be up and running later / by the weekend. See how we get on.
This is the positive clamp and again the terminal thread is bad with a screw sheared off.

 

[westward10]

Is it motorised to move the rod.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Yes, remember that little DC motor in the other thread...

 

[westward10]

Pinewood had its own dc generating station to power these. Miles of single core cables were laid across the lots to makeshift busbar boxes which were open ended wood boxes containing three upright busbars. Always connected live using bronze lugs with a square ended bolt, I actually still have my spanner with the worm drive seized to maintain the correct gap and wrapped in tape those were the days.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I wanted to save a lot of that stuff but I was too young and not well enough connected to get a foot in the door. I hoped to get hold of one of the generators from Elstree studios but that did go into preservation elsewhere. Until about 10 years ago my office was directly under the gantry crane in the generator house.

You'll be one of the few on here not to flinch at the concept of a Kliegl plug then. Somewhere in the cupboard behind me is an inch plug to 32A.