While moving one of my cars around in close quarters I managed to break the glass in my E&J 466 headlamp. The glass is not one piece but is a series of sections from left to right. The local glass guys don't want to hear about it so I am hoping someone knows of a place where I can send the pieces and get new glass made up. I suppose I can put a one piece glass lens in place but I don't think that is period correct and I would like to keep things the way they were. Thanks.
I was under the impression that E&J 466 lamps had a single piece of glass.
http://www.veteranautolamps.com/E&J%20Head%20Lamps.htm
My dad has Rushmore lamps on his 1910 IHC roadster. Rushmores have glass sections - each section has a barely noticeable bevel along the vertical edges which is a detail many people leave out when they have reproduction lenses made.
I just got a round piece of glass and took a glass cutter to it - just ordinary window glass, cheap enough that you can get several and make mistakes. Now I read about the bevel I'll take a tile file or dremel to the pieces.
I don't know what the E&J lamps came with originally but my lamps have the sections and I have seen period pictures showing them on early T's. The lamps are not reproductions. and do not appear to have been tampered with but who knows! As far as the bevel on the edge is concerned, I can't imagine how you could keep the lamps lit when running if they were not bevelled as the wind would probably blow them out without the bevel. Mine are clearly bevelled and so are the ones on my '07 Autocar.
If you have a copy of "From Here to Obscurity", the coupe on page 31, you can just make out the segments in the glass.
Gas lamp glass, because of the temperature differential near the flame vs. around the edge, were made of heavy (1/4" thick) glass to avoid breakage. This heavy piece of glass, often well forward of the headlamp forks and not counterbalanced, could vibrate while driving and throw the beam all over the road.
Cutting the glass into narrow strips to fit the headlamp allowed each piece to expand at it's own rate without breakage, and therefore allowed the use of thinner, lighter-weight glass, which reduced vibration and so gave better results on the road.
Anyway, that's how it was explained to me.
I would question whether regular plate glass, regardless of the thickness, would tolerate the heat displaced by an acetylene flame over a long period of time. For the same reason your wife's baking dishes are made of Pyrex. Of course, if they are just for looks or show and never get lit, that's different.
I don't know what type of glass they used in '10 but I don't think they had Pyrex. I use my lamps and have never had a problem with the heat. The glass is very thin but it has lasted a long time and would still be OK if I hadn't pushed another car into the glass while rearranging the garage.
The glass in my E&J lights is just thin plate glass, the glass never gets hot just don't touch the chimney on top has you will get a decent burn.