A little custom lantern project

[killerv]

Buddy picked one up for me that ended up being a little rougher than I liked when I got it in hand. Decided to have fun with it. So after a lot of vinegar soaking, some high temp paint, and a new generator... I got it going and rebuilt. An old coleman bighat.

 

[Buck70]

Very nice

 

[Anvil Head]

Good job!
Gone through a few of them myself. Still have two, very dependable if maintained. Nothing like the smell of gnats frying on the top while you're night fishing under a bridge. Great memories of us boys and Pop filling the baskets with crappie and white bass.

 

[killerv]

Good job!
Gone through a few of them myself. Still have two, very dependable if maintained. Nothing like the smell of gnats frying on the top while you're night fishing under a bridge. Great memories of us boys and Pop filling the baskets with crappie and white bass.

I've got one my buddy brought me where his dad made a makeshift reflector to crappy fish with off the side of the boat. I'm redoing an old 502 stove now.

 

[Heartstarter]

I’ve been collecting these old Coleman lanterns and stoves for years and refurbishing them. I have well over 100 of them. Nicely done restoration on this!

 

[Minner]

Looks great!

Dumb question, what does soaking in vinegar do?

Another dumb question, where do you get parts for these (Ebay?)? We've got a couple of old Coleman stoves too that need rebuilt. Once my Dad bought when he was a young teenager.

I used to love the sound of an old Coleman lantern hissing throughout the night while fishing.

 

[fishfryer]

Good job!
Gone through a few of them myself. Still have two, very dependable if maintained. Nothing like the smell of gnats frying on the top while you're night fishing under a bridge. Great memories of us boys and Pop filling the baskets with crappie and white bass.

You jogged some deep memories with that recollection. Been there and done that!

 

[Gaswamp]

love old Coleman lanterns

 

[killerv]

Thanks, its a fun hobby

 

[killerv]

Looks great!

Dumb question, what does soaking in vinegar do?

Another dumb question, where do you get parts for these (Ebay?)? We've got a couple of old Coleman stoves too that need rebuilt. Once my Dad bought when he was a young teenager.

I used to love the sound of an old Coleman lantern hissing throughout the night while fishing.

Its an option to help remove rust, I like evaporust better but its alot more expensive. Vinegar does fine just takes longer.

ebay, even amazon, you can even run into academy or bps and buy common parts like generators, mantles, pump repair kits, etc. There is a great old coleman parts website out there also. So far there haven't been any parts that were hard to find if needed for any thing in my collection going back to the 40s. Those stoves would more than likely be easy, you can even buy a propane convertor for 20 bucks if you didn't want to mess with those generators or gas tanks.

 

[killerv]

I’ve been collecting these old Coleman lanterns and stoves for years and refurbishing them. I have well over 100 of them. Nicely done restoration on this!

Thanks. I don't know where I'd put that many! I've already got a couple displays and others hanging on the wall. Probably pushing 30 lanterns, a dozen stoves, some of the old heaters.

 

[Anvil Head]

I've got one my buddy brought me where his dad made a makeshift reflector to crappy fish with off the side of the boat. I'm redoing an old 502 stove now.

Heck we just split open one of Pop's empty beer cans and slide it inside the globe frame uprights. Worked for the night.
Talk about old memories crawling out of the cobwebs - one night we ran out of minnows, but shad were thick under the lantern. Pop's old fishing buddy pulled out a cherrybomb, borrowed Pop's cigar to light it then got excited and tossed the cigar into the water. Realizing what he did, he tossed the CB out but it took out the lantern instead of hitting the water. Big scramble for a flashlight after that. Pop got so mad he put the guy out on the bank and said he couldn't get back in until he showed up with a new globe, mantles and a fresh cigar. We were at least a mile from the boat ramp. He never asked to go with us again for some reason. Life was so much fun back then!