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:

[Slava]

More pictures - rivets, press and the power station.

[Slava]

The rivet under heating and ready crossmember

[Slava]

After I see I can go well the second frame's time came.
It was in better condition so more parts came from.
Continue to sandblast and paint.

[Slava]

After having most stuff green we started to fix everything together with bolts and continue to press rivets.

[Slava]

Whole the assembly on a display.
Too unpleasurant step was sand blasting of ready rivet's heads. Had to mask them around with plastic film and paper band.
Primered them and coated acrilic olive drab as everything else.

[Slava]

Needed to remove whole the frame from the cold shed into the garage because the cold time came.
Now it looks like on the last pictures, ready to put it on the bogie

[Keith Webb]

Wonderful to see your hard work Vlad... I don't think I have seen such a complete tear down before.

[Slava]

Thank you for the comment Keith,
I'm slowly making it up.

[maple_leaf_eh]

How are you heating the rivets? In a forge like horse shoes or with a torch?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

How are you heating the rivets? In a forge like horse shoes or with a torch?

I've done them just with a torch, you can see it.

[Bob Carriere]

Wonderful job Vlad.

The work you are doing is absolutely amazing ......and the size of that truck is mind blowing.

Truly enjoy reading and seeing your progress.

Bob C

[Private_collector]

Vlad, your work is unbelievably good!

I am humbled by your standard of workmanship.

[jack neville]

Very nice work Vlad. My son jake and I did a full re-rivet job on our Ford/ Marmon Herrington gun tractor a few years ago. I would have liked a big press like you used although a bit big for a Ford chassis. Had to do ours by hand.

[Slava]

Thank you guys for a kind words.
I haven't time enough to follow the forum on a constant basis although try to keep the track. Hope some of you migth enjoy seeing this story.

Jack, it's interesting to know you went a rivet path.
If you have it posted anywhere I'd like to see a link to.
I also started trying to hammer them but had absolutely no luck.
As for the press I used I had to fabricate cups to my size of rivets because the original ones were too big. There were 2 type of heads of different OD and I ordered them both and of 2 different length to play with offset inside the U-part of the press.