New vintage airbrush

jord001

Air-Valve Autobot!
Just bagged this off ebay

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It was described as a Charles Burdick airbrush but it looks like a super 63 of some sort and the box says DeVilbiss, although it does have Chas L Burdick on the handle.

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It's quite old as the post mark on the box is dated 1963

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Seems clean enough and I only paid £10 for it so in all a good buy. Haven't tried it yet so don't know if it's working or not, trying to work out the best way to connect it up.

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@DaveG I'm sure you have one with this type of connector, wondering how you connected it up? I'd like to get a qd setup like my others.

Lee
 
Burdick moved to England after a dispute with Thayer Chandler, and designed and made brushes that were branded as Burdick. The company became Aerograph, and then Devilbiss ... or something along those lines. What you have there is the early sibling of the Aerograph. I am sure it is a good bit older than the post mark of 1963, as the brush was released as the Super 63 in that year. An air hose was simply pressed on the bulb at the bottom, occasionally utilizing a hose clamp if needed to hold it on. Awesome find, especially at the price procured at.

Is the nozzle part of the body or is a replaceable part? Will help to date it...
 
That’s a cool find Lee! It will be great to see if it still works.


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I've done just a little poking around - the handle and air valve design have this model design dating back to pre-1920's. Can't be sure just yet, about the exact 5 year block of time, but it is for sure pre WW2.

Blimey i didn't realise it was that old, serial # is 10436
It has the twist ring like the super 63's but the inside is totally different, where the needle is held there's no chuck nut like we're used to, it has a small screw holding the needle in place. I also found that the paint cup part of the airbrush body unscrews. I haven't unscrewed the needle cap or the crown cap yet, they are tight.

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I do have some tubing that came with it, any suggestions on how I can rig up a quick disconnect setup with the tube??

Lee
 
The adjustment ring is signature Burdick. I have not looked through patents, but have read enough to know the design came to be in the early 1920's (if not the late teens). Very cool design feature that lasted until the end of the line. It amazes me how intricate the design and implementation is, yet how effectively it was pulled off - especially just after the turn of the last century.

If it was me, I would use a section of hose to press on to the brushes bulb, and then have a 1/8" male to male adapter to stuff into the other end of the hose, to connect a male QC fitting to.
 
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I was thinking along those lines with the male to male adapter.

I carefully managed to unscrew the end to show the nozzle. Not like the later Super 63 nozzle but the crown cap and nozzle cap come apart the same. Obviously not cleaned yet but will hopefully clean up ok.

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Lee
 
I was thinking along those lines with the male to male adapter.

I carefully managed to unscrew the end to show the nozzle. Not like the later Super 63 nozzle but the crown cap and nozzle cap come apart the same. Obviously not cleaned yet but will hopefully clean up ok.

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Lee
I am not 100% sure of this - but, I suspect the nozzle as you see it was added later on. The very early Burdick's I have seen had a nozzle that was part of the front body. I think Aerograph later cut the original nozzle, and threaded it to take a replacement, as you see it now. It could help to explain the postage date stamp on the box...
 
Ahh i see, so it was most probably "upgraded" as such with a better nozzle. Now to find what nozzle fits it as it will probably need replacing. I may be lucky. What size needle do you think it might be Dave? It doesn't look as fine as the 0.12 in the super 63's although it looks a lot bigger in the magnifying glass. Just ordered some tube and a male 1/8 bsp to 5mm diameter barb fitting. That should do it to get it connected to some air.

Lee
 
I would guess at a .2, but am really just guessing. The older, mid-20's through 1950's Wold, and Thayer Chandler brushes used a nozzle that looks similar. Wold started out with a nozzle that was one part with the head base, then went to replaceable, smaller nozzle later on in production. I think most of the makers in those days kept step with one another fairly quickly.

There is a fellow on the Vintage Air FB page (Andrew Penaluna) that used to work for Aerograph when they were in Bournemouth, up until the time they closed. He may be able to give more information about the older Burdick. I'll see what else i can find...
 
Thanks Dave, Just dropped a message and some pics on the vintage AB page, lets see if they come up with anything different although I doubt it, you have found out loads of info for me. Hopefully I can get some info on replacement nozzles and needles. Also I commented on your skull airbrush stands about posting to England...

Lee
 
I managed to get hold of another vintage Aerograph but it's not in a good state. End caps are missing, nozzle is FUBAR'd needle is like a crochet hook but maybe that can be repaired with a sharpenair? Cam mechanism us missing so the ring does nothing. But apart from that it's great lol. Had someone contact me on FB who has some knowledge on these things and will hopefully be able to help ne out a bit. Anyway here are the pics.
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Any info Dave?

Lee


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yeah, that sample is looking pretty rough :eek:. I am kind of hoping you will find out more about them so that I can learn as well. I've just started looking at the relationship between Aerograph (England) and Fischer (France), and what ever happened there...
 
Nice one Dave. I think #2 is 50's or 60's but still has a small screw (missing) to hold the needle in place. I have learned that they have leather glands and parts inside which need oiling to keep them supple and that the nozzles are platinum and are as rare as rocking horse poop. Whether it could be converted to a more modern nozzle is unknown but when this chap who msg' me gets out of hospital in a week or so he is going to send me diagrams of the ab's. He said he has needles and possibly some parts which is good as I'd like to see them both working at some point.. So fingers crossed. He also said finding the Burdick ab in such good condition was rare so I have to look after it. I think my next purchase will be a sharpenair to try to resharpen the needle. I've only ever killed 2 needles over the years so have never needed one before. I will share my findings with you and the forum so we all learn and in the process get working ab's.

Lee
 
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Update on the last one. Still in the same condition as I've not had time to really have a good look at it. I was told on the Vintage Air page on FB that the nozzles take 17 operations to make by a "skilled" jeweller so i'm not optimistic that I can get one. I haven't heard from that guy who said he has some parts for the last one (above this) so now i'm back home I will drop him a message to see what he has and more importantly "How much"
Dave, do you recon I could thread where the nozzle goes in to use a standard "Iwata nozzle"? If so Can you tell me what size the tap is?

Lee
 
Ok I just got another old Aerograph 'A' non working at the moment but with a little TLC I think it will work ok. Nozzle cap looks like its either broken or has been files off? Not sure.

Just says 'Aerograph Made in England' on the green handle as far as I can see. Will rub some paint on it to go in the letters to make them visible.



Not sure what this screw does, maybe a similar thing to the ring on the newer ones.??



Shot from each side, its not in great shape but it's only cosmetic and shouldn't affect the airbrush working.



The Nozzle is either bent over or blocked so most probably unusable but I have a spare fine nozzle from a Super 63 if it fits, and there's a small screw at the end of the air canal. whats that for??



Serial number is quite low 8624



A little misshapen around the cup and needs a mega clean but I think it would work ok.



Not seen a setup where the trigger return spring is on the end like this but it does not return without it on and without the green handle attached. Needle doesnt look in bad shape, not hooked or bent but some marks on it which will probably polish off.


The nozzle cap seems to have wither broken or has been files flat as it looks like a smooth brass where the nozzle sticks out



Made an offer on an identical model so hoping I get it so i may make a good one out of the two.

Any info on this one @DaveG ?

More updates as I progress

Lee
 
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Lee, I am not sure if it is just the forum acting up, or my computer, but I can not see any of the attached images. If I click on them, it just comes up as an error.... That being said, I am sure I know the brush you are talking about. I have looked at them many, many times, but have not actually had one yet. I have seen them with green, black, and silver finished handles. They pre-date the super 63 by a good bit. I will poke around, and see what info I can find, and come back to this thread.
 
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