Help with a kerosene lamp: attaching an unthreaded burner to the font.

So, now I have this little Moon & Star lamp with a B&A burner. The top of the font is not threaded, nor is the burner. There is some kind of glue or cement up inside the collar of the burner and looks as though there are remnants of same on the neck of the font. How do I reassemble this lamp to put it out for sale?

Thanks for any and all assistance!

Linda

 

Plaster of Paris, That's what's been used for centuries.

 

Plaster of Paris, That's what's been used for centuries. Can't say I've done it myself, but certainly have seen enough done that way. Riverside and Dalzell patented a process of crimping the brass to the glass, but that was just before electricity did away with kerosene light.

 

Thank you @Cherryhill. I will have to see if I come up with just a little since I can't imagine needing it again.

Linda

 

I've seen others put the pieces in their freezer, then thawed them out slowly on the counter, then back in the freezer, then over and over again untill that "Plaster" had cracked itself loose and fell out.

Then just some kind of chemically resistant caulk.

 

on removing the old stuff... this come up in google search:

How do you liquify plaster of Paris?
The sodium in baking soda hooks up with sulfur in the plaster, and the carbon hooks up with the calcium in the plaster. TO BEST DISSOLVE PLASTER OF PARIS PLACE IT IN WARM WATER WITH LOTS OF BAKING SODA.Jan 27, 2011

How do you dissolve plaster of paris | Physics Forums
https://www.physicsforums.com › threads › how-do-you-..

 

Excellent! Thank you so very much!

Linda

 

The collar on the bottom of the burner should be attached to the font. Your "missing" threads are what's connecting the two. It looks like the burner and collar were stuck together and someone tried to unscrew the burner but twisted the collar off the font instead. We use carburetor cleaner to break down the hardened kerosene that frequently glues these parts together. A penetrating oil like WD-40 would probably also work. My husband uses plaster-of-paris to re-affix fix collars, <$5 will get you way more than you'll ever need, but a more modern fix is glue.