So, after paying for it and waiting what seemed like an eternity for it to arrive, the day came when the parcel-man handed over a slightly battered looking box. Carefully I opened it and unwrapped the many layers of bubble wrap, trying not to spill foam peanuts on the floor at the same time (I did not know then, what poor packing materials those are when bulbs are concerned), and there it was. I held it up to the light and.......
That filament, that had survived intact for a hundred years, was now in two pieces. It was not the first bulb that had been damaged in the post, neither was it the last, but it sure hurt the most! I was extremely dissapointed, even saddened, by this. A postal insurance claim was filed, but USPS being USPS, who knows how long that would take? In the meantime, what can I do? This poor bulb`s life was ended prematurely, never to shine again, so I thought.
Then....I had an idea. One of those "eureka" moments that lifted my spirits. It came to me in an instant- repair it! Look where that break is- right at the centre anchor-point. What if it could be possible to re-attach it using the same stuff (carbon paste) that was used to attach the filament there in the first place? Well, I immediately fired off an email to fellow collector James Hooker, to see what he thought. He didn`t see why it couldn`t be done- it would be tricky, risky even- there was a chance that the whole bulb could be lost- but he`d be willing to try it if I were willing to accept the risk.
I thought about it for a long time. A very long time! About 6 months passed, to be honest I`d forgotten about it by then as it was safely packed away with some of my other bulbs, waiting for me to build them a display case (which I still havn`t done!). Then, out of the blue, a letter arrived from the US postal service. Inside was a cheque for the value of the Big Red Bulb, plus the shipping cost too! Oooo! No mention of them wanting it returned or inspected. I think it had been filed as missing, as I did discuss with the seller the fact that I wanted to keep it regardless. Now whether or not this was strictly right, well I don`t like to think about that! All I do know is that there was the bulb, still broken. And there was a full refund on what I`d paid for it. This was what made up my mind- Go for it James! Please, try and mend my bulb. Now, James is a busy man so it was a little while longer before he found enough time to come and collect it, and then work his "magic". But soon enough, it was in his hands and all I could do was wait. It was a long wait, but in the end, there was good news. Very good news! The operation was a total success, it lives again! I was so pleased, James now has a GE AR-1 lamp as a thankyou present, and I have my Big Red Bulb as it should have been almost a year previously when it arrived on that fateful day.
I suppose by now you`re getting tired of my silly writing, and want to know exactly how it was done, right? Oh, OK then.....
How it was done.....
Photos by James D. Hooker
So, how exactly do you re-attach a filament inside a sealed bulb? First, you need to gain entry. The easiest way to get in is the same way the air got out when it was made, here-
To remove the tip, first a glass tube is attached to it, and then simply cracked off....
Once the tip is gone, air rushes in- not much you can do about that. But also now, you can get your thin glass hypodermic needle inside....
....and inject some thinned-down carbon paste- the same stuff used to attach carbon filaments in the first place.
Now, with a small wet blob of carbon paste there, it`s a simple enough case to manouver the broken end of the filament into that blob and hold it there till it sets. It`s actually not as easy as it sounds- James will tell you more if you ask nicely! But, once it`s done, and the paste has set- here`s what you get-
You could hardly tell it had ever been broken. Oh yeah- there is one thing. The tip`s missing and the bulb is full of air! D`oh! We`re not done yet. What now needs to be done, has been carried out before by the skillful mr Hooker, and was the subject of this here thread on the Bulb Forums. A tube is attached (unfortunately not red like the original tip, but it`s a small price to pay)....
...and the air pumped out....
The excess tube is then cut off with a gas flame, sealing it off- and there you have it. One fully repaired lamp, as good as the day it was made. James was even careful enough to preserve much of the original red glass tip, the new one only has the slightest bit of clear glass.
And here is what I had waited so long to see- the result of James`s hard work- that there big old bulb a-glowing steadilly on a low voltage supply. Doesn`t it look wonderful....
At this point I would like to thank James for the time and effort he put into repairing this lamp for me. It was an interesting experiment to see if it could be done, one that proved to be a success in this case. Maybe in the future, this procedure could be repeated for other lamps. Only time will tell. But please- for now, don`t pester James with your lamp repair requests. As I said, he is a rather busy person!
Of course, this does raise the point that, I think, has been raised before- is it right to repair historical lamps? Is the value to a collector any less if it has an open filament, compared to if it were completely operational? This, it seems, is all down to personal preferences. I could now turn this into a debate about the rights and wrongs of lamp repair, but that`s for another day and another story. Suffice to say, I`m pleased at the result and I think James is too.
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This document is copyright 2002 by Chris W. Millinship. All photographs are copyright 2002 by James D. Hooker. Please ask permission before using any part of this elsewhere. Thanks :)