Bought a new mystery airbrush!

Just got a reply from Ken at Badger Airbrush and it looks like this is indeed a Binks despite what I had been informed earlier, see below.

I just purchased a Binks Raven 2 and while looking at the attached pics came to a few conclusions.

-Bink's did not make airbrushes per se but rebranded what they did sell


Binks did make their own airbrushes. They manufactured the Wren (single action) and the Raven (double action)


-this brush most likely was made/sold in the early 1970's as wooden boxes were not used much past that point

Possibly. They made airbrushes in their Franklin Park facility from the 1960s through about 2000, when ITW acquired the Binks corporation, moved their manufacturing our of Franklin Park, and discontinued manufacturing of several products - including the airbrushes


-this brush looks to have a Badger 100 side feed color cup

I'm sure they looked closely at our products for comparable manufacturing purposes, but it was something they made themselves, and the similarities are simply planned coincidence.


-has what looks like a Thayer & Chandler nozzle/front end

see above

-has Badger looking main body and trigger with a Paasche style adjustment screw in front of it!


see above


-looks to be black powder coated

not powder coated. black nickel plated, much like are SOTAR 20/20 is.


If you might have any advice on parts commonality with Badger and any info on the history of this brush I would appreciate any help you can offer. I am also the proud owner of a Renegade Spirit but would love it if Badger offered a smaller color cup for it.

never really looked at the Raven that closely for parts retrofitting, as it was never a very popular or well sold airbrush, so can't offer any insights on if any Badger parts might work in a Raven airbrush. Binks sold many more Wrens than they did Ravens.

Regards,
Chris the cabbie
 
I was closer to right than wrong but to be honest, how much do you know about Binks airbrushes? I saw nothing from you on this thread so far?? Or does Nm mean something??
Regards,
Chris the cabbie
 
MikeK,

Everything I can find online about the brush says that it is a good detail brush. I do find it odd that in regards to features it really does have something from all the major players;

-head assembly looks to be Thayer &Chandler

-body looks like Badger

-trigger looks like Badger

-adjustment screw in front of the trigger screams Paasche

and to top it off is black powder coated like a SOTAR! What a mutt!! Better call the pound fast. Lol

Regards,
Chris the cabbie
Yes i agree it is odd, i just bought the raven 2 feom the same person on ebay, suppose to be a finer needle, will post pictures of both, once it gets here
 
Ken,

Over at Badger seems reluctant to even let me ship it to him to check for compatibility of parts. There may be some or I could ask DaveG for some advice on parts he might know of common parts with Badger or other manufacturers. Mine clearly has a spare needle but I am concerned about the seals most of all and springs. This brush may not have been used for 20+ years! I saw the second one and thought about bidding but decided not to be a jerk on eBay as I have mine and like mine in appearance better. Let me know what you see with yours and we can compare notes and hopefully get both of them performing as they should??:malicious:

Regards,
Chris the cabbie
 
Yes i agree it is odd, i just bought the raven 2 feom the same person on ebay, suppose to be a finer needle, will post pictures of both, once it gets here

I hope you get your airbrush this week as it looks like we signed on for a slow shipper. I paid on Saturday and the airbrush has only been shipped today! Talk about a lag and I saw nothing about several days to ship on the auction at all. Maybe the seller is steamed that a bidding war didn't materialize? Curious what the seller was telling you about the brushes and if their opinion was an informed one about details?
Regards,
Chris the cabbie
 
I hope you get your airbrush this week as it looks like we signed on for a slow shipper. I paid on Saturday and the airbrush has only been shipped today! Talk about a lag and I saw nothing about several days to ship on the auction at all. Maybe the seller is steamed that a bidding war didn't materialize? Curious what the seller was telling you about the brushes and if their opinion was an informed one about details?
Regards,
Chris the cabbie
Yes, hopefully i get it soon, i bought a raven from them maybe 3 weeks ago, shipping was ok, and i asked her which one was finer raven 1 or 2 she said she would let me know and she didnt, and she said they were hers personally, the first raven i bought came with 3 needles that i have no idea what brush they belong to, and something else that looks like a nozzle cleaning tool, i will post pictures later, there is a spring in the head of the brush and the solvent needle packing is very official, basically the whole head is solvent resistant with teflon it really is a thought out airbrush, the nozzle is big meaning its basically the whole head but the hole is small where the needle comes out of if i had to guess maybe a .3ish
 
Yes, hopefully i get it soon, i bought a raven from them maybe 3 weeks ago, shipping was ok, and i asked her which one was finer raven 1 or 2 she said she would let me know and she didnt, and she said they were hers personally, the first raven i bought came with 3 needles that i have no idea what brush they belong to, and something else that looks like a nozzle cleaning tool, i will post pictures later, there is a spring in the head of the brush and the solvent needle packing is very official, basically the whole head is solvent resistant with teflon it really is a thought out airbrush, the nozzle is big meaning its basically the whole head but the hole is small where the needle comes out of if i had to guess maybe a .3ish

My Raven arrived yesterday and mine appears to be fully functioning but needing some fine tuning to hit the sweet spot. I did a teardown to see what was what and made some interesting discoveries. First off this has a Paasche needle stop in front of the trigger AND a needle stop on the brush rear end. What makes this one different is that you have a free floating knurled collar that allows you to lock it in place, essentially turning it into a single action brush as a neat option. The needle chucking guide is the only part of the brush that is plastic but is well made and precise to such a degree that there is zero play when assembled. I also like it as there is no risk of damaging your needle upon reinserting it after cleaning! What makes this one truly unique is that instead of the twin nozzle caps we are used to, you have a single free floating nozzle cap that as you tighten it becomes a MAC valve! Talk about neat as hell. LOL As for pics, I intend to take care of this in the next few days after I get it dialed in as I have already replaced the needle tension spring as the stock one was way too stiff. The air valve is compatible with Paasche and use a corresponding quick connect.
Regards,
Chris the cabbie
 
My Raven arrived yesterday and mine appears to be fully functioning but needing some fine tuning to hit the sweet spot. I did a teardown to see what was what and made some interesting discoveries. First off this has a Paasche needle stop in front of the trigger AND a needle stop on the brush rear end. What makes this one different is that you have a free floating knurled collar that allows you to lock it in place, essentially turning it into a single action brush as a neat option. The needle chucking guide is the only part of the brush that is plastic but is well made and precise to such a degree that there is zero play when assembled. I also like it as there is no risk of damaging your needle upon reinserting it after cleaning! What makes this one truly unique is that instead of the twin nozzle caps we are used to, you have a single free floating nozzle cap that as you tighten it becomes a MAC valve! Talk about neat as hell. LOL As for pics, I intend to take care of this in the next few days after I get it dialed in as I have already replaced the needle tension spring as the stock one was way too stiff. The air valve is compatible with Paasche and use a corresponding quick connect.
Regards,
Chris the cabbie

I have been doing some sleuthing on my Raven. Turns out, there is close to zilch on the net about the Binks Raven airbrush to be had. I could only locate a few references to it on some model building forums and while all positive- was of little help. No schematics to be had here what so ever. I have spoken with MikeK and DaveG and have confirmed a few things about this brush and shared some tips in the process. I checked if any Badger teflon seals would work on it, nope. I took measurements and the teflon seals for the paint fluid channel (I'm calling it a bridge on this one) is a removable part from inside the fluid nozzle and are 4mm OD by 2mm ID. The fluid nozzle is a male type that screws into the female threaded main body. Inside the fluid nozzle is a cruixiform extension from the main body to the tip of the fluid nozzle and mine had one teflon seal. After trying to spray with it turned out some sporadic results. Essentially all the hallmarks of air infiltrating the paint feed. Not enough to cause bubbles or lack of siphoning paint from the cup but sloppy lines. It turns out that it should have had one on EACH end and as it didn't, meant mine was not used at all by the original owner. I tried cleaning it and the color cup but all came up squeeky clean supporting my hypothesis on not being used. I located some PTFE Teflon tubing on eBay to replace the missing seal on my brush and should be all set by the end of the week.
After some more testing, will post some detailed pick of this rare brush that could have been a contender if only Binks made a better attempt to dial it in more. Stiff needle tension springs that were the stiffest you will ever encounter and guaranteeing finger fatigue after 15 minutes use.
Regards,
Chris the cabbie
 
I have been doing some sleuthing on my Raven. Turns out, there is close to zilch on the net about the Binks Raven airbrush to be had. I could only locate a few references to it on some model building forums and while all positive- was of little help. No schematics to be had here what so ever. I have spoken with MikeK and DaveG and have confirmed a few things about this brush and shared some tips in the process. I checked if any Badger teflon seals would work on it, nope. I took measurements and the teflon seals for the paint fluid channel (I'm calling it a bridge on this one) is a removable part from inside the fluid nozzle and are 4mm OD by 2mm ID. The fluid nozzle is a male type that screws into the female threaded main body. Inside the fluid nozzle is a cruixiform extension from the main body to the tip of the fluid nozzle and mine had one teflon seal. After trying to spray with it turned out some sporadic results. Essentially all the hallmarks of air infiltrating the paint feed. Not enough to cause bubbles or lack of siphoning paint from the cup but sloppy lines. It turns out that it should have had one on EACH end and as it didn't, meant mine was not used at all by the original owner. I tried cleaning it and the color cup but all came up squeeky clean supporting my hypothesis on not being used. I located some PTFE Teflon tubing on eBay to replace the missing seal on my brush and should be all set by the end of the week.
After some more testing, will post some detailed pick of this rare brush that could have been a contender if only Binks made a better attempt to dial it in more. Stiff needle tension springs that were the stiffest you will ever encounter and guaranteeing finger fatigue after 15 minutes use.
Regards,
Chris the cabbie

I have been doing some sleuthing on my Raven. Turns out, there is close to zilch on the net about the Binks Raven airbrush to be had. I could only locate a few references to it on some model building forums and while all positive- was of little help. No schematics to be had here what so ever. I have spoken with MikeK and DaveG and have confirmed a few things about this brush and shared some tips in the process. I checked if any Badger teflon seals would work on it, nope. I took measurements and the teflon seals for the paint fluid channel (I'm calling it a bridge on this one) is a removable part from inside the fluid nozzle and are 4mm OD by 2mm ID. The fluid nozzle is a male type that screws into the female threaded main body. Inside the fluid nozzle is a cruixiform extension from the main body to the tip of the fluid nozzle and mine had one teflon seal. After trying to spray with it turned out some sporadic results. Essentially all the hallmarks of air infiltrating the paint feed. Not enough to cause bubbles or lack of siphoning paint from the cup but sloppy lines. It turns out that it should have had one on EACH end and as it didn't, meant mine was not used at all by the original owner. I tried cleaning it and the color cup but all came up squeeky clean supporting my hypothesis on not being used. I located some PTFE Teflon tubing on eBay to replace the missing seal on my brush and should be all set by the end of the week.
After some more testing, will post some detailed pick of this rare brush that could have been a contender if only Binks made a better attempt to dial it in more. Stiff needle tension springs that were the stiffest you will ever encounter and guaranteeing finger fatigue after 15 minutes use.
Regards,
Chris the cabbie
I just recieved a 2nd Binks Raven and have been able to answer a few questions I posed earlier. Firstly, the item won was a damaged Raven that the weld for the air valve to the body was loose. The brush came with some very interesting extras;


-the manual

-a fine and medium needle along with a reamer tool

I should now be able to get some progress with this brush that hasn't been possible up till now. And consequently why I had no update for so long. I did learn that the later chromed version of the Raven came later than mine and has a modified needle chuck design but is still in ABS plastic and dated late 1980. Mine is most likely from the mid to late 1970's as per my original suspicion. I'll have some pics soon.
Regards,
Chris the cabbie
 
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