Mack NR color

[Slava]

Got the frame finished!

This part of work took more than a half year.
I did two frames apart, clean them up, sand blasted and pressed in all new rivets.
So, step-by-step.
I was afraid to start this work because of need to assemble all pieces back. I needed to re-rivet the frame with no experience of how to do it.
Discussing with most friends gave me a fact that nobody have it done before. I googled "rivet works" (in Russian) and found out that I need U-press and rivets of soft steel to heat them up to red light. Started to look for the U-press, found a firm, ordered, waited for 2 monthes and recieved.
Test rivets got me the mind I need fluid supply power station instead of the hand pump the firm sold me with the press. I asked and they gave it to me for a lease. Had to take it 6 times for a week during the work.
There were 2 frames I wanted to make the good one from.
As I told I was afraid to part everything out without shure I can get it back. So I started on the first one in early June, after recieving the U-press. I took out a "butterfly" (bogie) crossmember, blasted it sand, painted at friend's shop and started to press rivets in.
Forgot to add, I bought 12 meters of 40 mm OD soft steel wire and ordered nearly 150 rivets of different lenghtes to fabricate of it.
Original plan was to clean up metal parts, paint and rivet them. Due to a heat influence I waited a paint burned off around rivet's heads so planned to re-blast assemblies and repaint. To my surprize and great pleasure paint got Ok after riveting, it made my way easier, without overpainting. Rivet's heads only.
My first steps: