VICKERS MK6B's resto

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by colin jones

I welded the graft plates and had some trouble getting them to line up perfectly as you just can't blend the join if the alignment is out. I thought I would just show how I got some serious leverage easily as the plates are over 1/2" thick. I also concentrated on the mud guard as well.

Let's not lose sight of the craft style of construction for many of these old vehicles. The designer issued drawings, but at some industries those were taken only as a suggestion. Standardized parts, thoroughly managed workflows and strict adherence to plans was a lesson re-learned in WW2. Why were American tanks so widely used - because they were easily repaired and salvaged.

When the Canadian War Museum's M1917 Light Tank was being rebuilt, the workers at the industry benefactor's shop were frustrated trying to get it left/right symmetrical. Don Dingwall (?) had to tell the fabricators not to be so precise, and remember the working conditions where it was constructed originally. Once they parked their CADCAM viewers, laser cutters, CNC machining, and micrometers, the project picked up pace.