Superb Job !

Rob...............rnixartillery.

Nicely done, Tony! :thup2:

David

I'm going to guess you are a bit more than pleased with that outcome. Very nice job on a tricky repair.

Thankyou Gentlemen. I'm mostly happy with the finished product. The original magnesium casting is more porous than a sponge, and I wasn't able to fill every hole to full satisfaction. It's OK though. Yesterday evening i got the telescope sight holder put on, and what a drama that turned out to be. I got a couple of scratches on both pieces, unfortunately, but only one is highly visible. I'll need to sand that one out and touchup the area. It was such a stupid mistake on my part which led to the damage in the first place. My language after the event was not fit for human ears nor beast. Would have made a wharfie blush, in fact.

I still have a couple more things to work through, and then everything can go back together properly. One of those things is to get the upper dial sight base securing bolt machined. I was very fortunate to get an original donated to me, but the thread on it has been chewed on by someone. Most likely that chap with metal teeth from the James Bond movies, I should expect! I will get the thread lathed off, and a smaller diameter thread put back on. It won't look original though. The perfect repair would be cut the entire thread off, bore a hole, tap a thread in that hole, then make another portion of thread to original size one end and the thread other end to put into the newly bored end of original bolt. In fact, now that I write it, I will get a price for doing that way. I really should get my own lathe. For some reason the local machine engineering shops are hugely expensive. Might get time to look into that tomorrow afternoon.

Wait till ya see what the next little project is. Rob Nixon knows already. Should do, he got me the bits I needed....again. :salute:

Wouldn't happen to be the 25pdr uncut barrel Rob has for sale would it?

Regards Rick.

Rick, I do wish that were the case, but no. Much more unremarkable, sadly. The barrel is one item I dare not use an original. Such a purchase would have both Rob and I on several countries terrorist watch lists. That's something I would like to avoid, so I will be sticking with my pale imitation.
Attachment 88554
That said, if anybody has carriage or cradle for sale, PLEASE CONTACT ME! Those items would be a huge boost to the build. I missed a genuine, good condition, platform on ebay once, because i considered the southern state it was located in, to be too far to travel to get it. That is a mistake I would not make again.
Attachment 88551
Once the sight assembly is done, the next job will be the creation of the hand spike mechanisms x3.
Attachment 88552 Attachment 88553
My most recent purchase was the above items. Quite rare items they would be too.
They are bigger, and heavier, than they look. You push the pedal down.....and the pawl raises up, allowing the withdrawl of the hand spikes from the tapered socket it locks into. Take a look at the next post to see what occurs if massive force is applied to one of these pedals without the pawl having freedom of movement.

Attachment 88555
So here are the three sets needed for each gun.
Attachment 88556
Look closely at the engineering which has gone into each pedal. It's VERY strong. A nice deap channel runs around the shaft, where i gather grease is provided. You also see the small hole right through the centre of each channel, affording better lubricant movement.
Attachment 88557
Now look what has occured to the hole through the shaft shown above. The hole has clearly been distorted by the twisting of the shaft at the weakest point, right through that hole! HOW MUCH FORCE WOULD BE NEEDED TO DO THAT!! Incredible. It's not a problem for me, because it doesn't impede functionality, but I can't get my head around what must have been done to this little piece. You will also note, there is absolutely no damage to the flat of the pedal itself. Why? Surely something that damaging would have left some trace of impact damage to the pedal surface, but there is nothing at all. Fascinating.

I would guess it has been seized and some leverage applied to free it. There is evidence of the shaft having been filed or similar as it doesn't look machined round anymore.

Yes Jack, I agree. There is also some cross-hatched markings there, perhaps the marks left by a tight clamping in a vice. The filing would be to return the shaft to a state where pawl would still fit back on, because it has a flat portion to prevent it slipping when the pedal shaft actuates. Curious there isn't any evidence of rust, or where rust had been, to indicate exactly wht might have become 'stuck'. I wonder if a pawl it was used with may have been welded in place, completely 'jamming' it that way. The pawls I have are not necessarily the ones originally mated to the pedals. I do know these things are 'rocking horse' rare, and I'm very pleased to have these to work with. The slight damage to the one pedal is nothing to worry about. Especially the case when you consider rarity and the very light duty mine will receive from now on. Impressive they have survived 70+ years without being scrapped.

I probably mentioned previously that my Wifes Mother passed away mid/late last year, and on one recent trip to her farm for clearing and sorting, I became aware of two lengths of timber dowel that she would use to hold her quilting work taut, while working. These lengths of timber would easily be 6ft, and perhaps 2" across, solid wood. I don't know at this stage whether those are hardwood or not, but to me they look quite suitable for making the handspike themselves. Neither of the two girls (Wife & her Sister) are interested in quilting, so I have claimed the timber for myself! They are not easy to get to, but once I've retrieved them for closer look, I will measure precise width, for suitability. Hope they will do the job. My problem then will be to manufacture the metal ends that lock into the mechanisms I'm making. At some point, machined metal ends need to be attached to the timber poles, and I prefer that the timber is turned down on a lathe, for best fit. The question is, what the hell type of wood lathe takes 6 foot lengths between the centres??? My welder mate, across the road, will have some thoughts on this, I imagine. Perhaps a jerry-rigged setup using two lathes (he does have at least 2 wood lathes).

Most of the parts I have are take offs, so there is one reason or another for this and unfortunately damage or wear is the most common but as I have mentioned to another forum member something is better than nothing especially if you have start to make something from scratch it can be mighty expensive !

Rob................rnixartillery.

All the handspikes I ever see are of Cdn manufacture. To this date they have all been metal...no wood. Were they done differently down under?

Regarding the two lathes together, I have seen it done at a neighbours for metal working. I, personally have also turned wood on my metal lathe making cleaning rods for my 105....worked out very nicely.

Why do you need a 6' lathe bed? The spikes are only about 3' long or thereabouts. Cut the wood in half. Rob Nixon had some made a while ago. He might have some left.

I do have handspikes Jack but as you are aware posting these heavy items to Oz is so expensive. Tony and I experienced this when I tried to ship a sight assembly weighing 37kg's , sharing a container is the solution if one is going !

Going Back to 25 pdr handspikes they were only made from steel ,wooden ones just wont be strong enough.

Rob.................rnixartillery.

They would be for Tony's gun

Absolutely! Nothing decades old is pristine any more. There's nothing that makes any of my parts undesirable. Why do we restore MVs? Because they're not perfect, right? That is the lot of the restorer. To find NOS anything these days would be almost unheard of. I'm well pleased with all my purchases. If not, wouldn't have bought them, and only reason I mention that one pedal is for curiosity value of what must have occured in dark past. Quite possibly an 'in service' repair job. Getting any piece of this great big puzzle is always exciting, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

My hand spikes will be timber, as they will only be for show. Ideally they will be sanded very smooth and painted to disguise that fact. As Rob said, the real McCoy would be hugely expensive to ship. I don't have any opportunity to catch a ride in someone elses container. To be perfectly frank, I really don't need the spikes at all. Most guns no longer have them anyway, al least the ones I see on display don't. Mine will be remaining in their holding brackets. I would like the part that fits into the socket to be made of metal, but if that isn't practical, then the timber can be turned to simulate that.

Jack, I won't need a six foot lathe bed. The wooden poles are presently 6ft long. Whatever the original length is, those poles will be shortened to that size, but even if half that size, I don't think my friends lathe/s are that long. His metal lathe, like most of those type, has the ability to have a long portion of the pole sticking out of the rear of the chuck. That should be a workable proposition. He says the speed will have to be set correctly or the portion out behind his chuck will start to wobble. How much wobble, we won't know until tested, and the density of the wood will also play a part. If pre-cut to around 3ft length, wobble shouldn't be a problem really.

I have original spikes on my gun. Have you considered using exhaust tube and getting the metal ends turned up or the ends turned in wood and pressed in to the tube. I'd have to check the spikes to see if tube the correct size is available.

What about just plain steel tubing? That would work, and I could get the fitting ends lathed and welded on, with the other ends getting plate welded to blank rhem off! Still maybe not strong enough, but if it was, they may actually be usable. Never planned for usable spikes, but would be nice to have that ability. For that I would need to find a genuine atticle to copy from.

I can send you measurements

Might be worth checking out a local chain link fence supplier, Tony. Their posts usually come in several diameters and are quite thick walled.

David

Thanks Jack, that would be greatly appreciated.

David, we have several steel suppliers in town, with a large array in stock. If not in stock, but is available, they can order it in.

Those posts would be galvanized. That would not be correct nor conducive to welding the ends on.

The tube portion of the handspike is 40" long and has an OD of 2-1/8. Judging by the feel of the weight, they are a fairly heavy wall tubing. The tapered end is riveted on, the round end cap appears to be spotwelded.

Thanks Rob.

Pretty much every size steel tube that's galvanised, is also available in black steel.
I have welded galvanised in past, after grinding the coating off, but don't like the stuff. My welder friend says the galvanising fumes are dangerous, so if you missed some with the grinder, or didn't take enough clearance, it could be a health risk. I don't need any extra health problems. When i was a spraypainter (which in hindsight was the most satisfying job I ever had), and bearing in mind I was still young & stupid, I didn't always wear the breathing protection I should have. Some days I'd finish work with whatever color I had been spraying, all around my nostrils. Real clever stuff!

Without going to any trouble, does anyone have some good closeup photos of the ends of a real hand spike? If you've got a photo already, I would love to see that. I'll try to get my version as close to original as I can, but because the socket that takes the spike is tapered, I'm gonna need to give thought to HOW I can reproduce that appearance. First thought that came to mind, was to put a number of cuts down one end of a short steel tube, and then force them together before welding them in place, creating the taper. Might need to call on my welder buddy again, to heat the thing before I bend the cut portions together.

If my calculations are correct, a hand spike is 101cm long by 54mm OD. I seriously doubt there is a absolutely correct sixe tube, but will look into it anyway. May need to use 50mm tube instead.

We have a couple 25 pounders (one normal, one as per funeral carriage) just 100 feet from my desk, so I walked over just now and snapped a bunch of photos of one handspike. I also measured this one and the diameter is 2.019, so there appears to be variation in the tube sizes. I'm guessing 2" tubing would be fine. I also found a pin holding the end cap on, and note the endcap appears to be brass.

Of the four handspikes in this location, one of them does not have rivets. I did not have a closer look to see if they are merely burnished flush or if the ends are welded on.

Here are the shots next to a tape. (the tape may have shifted a little in the second photo).

Thank you Rob!

That's brilliant. Pretty much all i needed to know, with the other info given in previous day or so. Much appreciated, Gentlemen.

Local steel shop gas 50mm tube, in wall thickness of 1.6mm, up to over 4mm. 2-3mm should be fine. I'll go with 3mm, just to be sure. Brass ends on the non fitting end, would be nice. It's time I looked into getting a lathe anyway. Before i can fit one in, I need to make some further progress on the truck build. Cab roof needs finishing and put on the cab, which in turn gas to go onto the chassis. Once those jobs are done, I will have much more room in my workshop. SHOULD even have room to set up the 25pr axle in a location to start work on the trails!

The weather here is oppressive at the moment. My plan to get as much assembly done on the sight assembly tomorrow, is fortunate. That's about the most energetic work I can do in such heat. They are predicting 40 degrees Celsius. That is roughly 106F, if my calculations are right. Dreadful, when you factor in the humidity. I would happily relocate somewhere considerably colder, but it's not practical.

hand spikes
 

The hand spikes shown are a later type to replace the early, thinner version with the old style rope grips. Make sure the od pipe you use will fit in the trail bracket before you start making them :doh:

I'm not worried about them fitting their brackets, Wayne. I've not made brackets yet.
No, I tell a lie, I made brackets x2 a long time ago, but they wouldn't fit anything bigger than a broom. Call them a test run.

The sight asembly is 90% together now.
Attachment 88599 Attachment 88600
I still need one last, but significant piece. It's the one that makes the lateral adjustment possible. If I can't find one, I have to make one. I really don't want to do that.
Attachment 88601 Attachment 88602

Its looking very good Tony , you will find its quite a cumbersome and awkward thing once its together and very easily damaged and knocked.
I would recommend making up a temporary stand if its going to be in storage for a while .

Rob.................rnixartillery

Tony. I notice on the hand spike photos Rob posted, that the machined, tapered end goes quite some distance into the steel pipe. At least to the 9 inch mark, or a little further. Seems held in place by two pairs of rivets: one set at the 9 inch mark and a second set 90 degrees offset, closer to the end. I suspect these inserts needed to be far enough up the tubes to cover the point of maximum torque on these hand spikes to avoid kinking the tubes in difficult situations.

The brass end caps would not be so critical, with just one pair of rivets retaining them. These are probably at the mid point of the brass bit that fits into the tube.

David

Just pulled these from a box ,NOS spike ends . Ah ,Tony you are never going to believe this but I have just picked up an aluminium carrier as the one you have just repaired !................

Rob.....................rnixartillery.

Forgot to add image !


Rob..............rnixartillery