Armour Dreams

[Jonathan Moore]

I have looked at several other types of track links but I can't find anything suitable and I can't afford to have a set made, so I am make a set. I know, it won't work, I am wasting my time, I have heard it all but that is what I am doing.

I have made 5 part links, they are not pretty but then they are only first samples, to see how things will work. The first and obvious lesson was that if I am to make the 216 + spares I need to automate the process some what.

So i have bought a capstan to make the spacers, and a cnc milling machine to drill the holes in the link bars. Both machines are obviously old and needed some love and care before I started but they now work. It's like going back to the eighties when I started life as an engineer and very enjoyable but to be honest these machines are for my work life. I haven't programmed a machine for 34 years but it's surprising how easy it all comes flooding back.
Getting the machines is only the start of things. The CNC came without any guards so they had to be made and then a drilling jig had to be made so that 4 sets of link bars can be drilled in one operation. The capstan was used and abused so needed stripping before I could even start to organise things.
I tried bending the link bars with a manual press but it would take me ages to do the 920 required so I have made some very basic press jigs and modified my press by adding a air over hydraulic ram and hydraulic ejection fed from a hydraulic power pack that someone had thrown out as it didn't work.
From what I have achieved so far, I don't foresee a problem manufacturing the links and I know that they will fit together to form a complete track but how long they will last is another matter but as they say, he who dares........

[Jonathan Moore]

More pictures

[David Dunlop]

Nice to have you back posting again, Jonathan.

Your track links segment of this project is going to be a very interesting one. Will the links require tempering/hardening before being put to use?


David

[Bob Carriere]

....... what will you be doing in your spare time.......????

I wish you well....... at least your wife will know where you are for a while...

[Jonathan Moore]

Morning,

To be honest David I don't know and initially I have plans to do either. I found reference to fabricating track links in one of the cruiser tank reports which although found their life to be in the hundreds of mile, 600 I think, indicated that the trial was never repeated. The items that will have to be correctly treated are the track pins but at present I can't find any information, material heat treatment, on them so any assistance would be appreciated.

Bob, what's spare time, in my world it never existed.

Jon

[David Dunlop]

Jonathan.

As luck would have it, lurking somewhere in the bowels of one of our geriatric computers or laptops scattered about the house, I happen to have an article from the 90’s dealing with the use of heat treating track pins for the purpose to repairing and reusing them, which I stumbled across when restoring my Universal Carrier. It is about 100 pages, as I recall, but I do not remember what format it was saved to back then. Rather technical, and dealing with steel formulations of the day like ‘E?????’ It might be a US Army publication.

If you want to PM me your direct email address, I will try and find the article and see how best to send you a copy. It might make an interesting read over toast and marmalade for tea, not to mention breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Best regards,

David

[David Dunlop]

I found it, Jonathan.

It is a 64 page PDF file sitting in my 1st Gen iPad under a cryptic title. I shall now attempt to rename it to something more meaningful and move it to our new iMac for better handling.


David

[ChaseR83]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Moore

Morning,

To be honest David I don't know and initially I have plans to do either. I found reference to fabricating track links in one of the cruiser tank reports which although found their life to be in the hundreds of mile, 600 I think, indicated that the trial was never repeated. The items that will have to be correctly treated are the track pins but at present I can't find any information, material heat treatment, on them so any assistance would be appreciated.

Bob, what's spare time, in my world it never existed.

Jon

Jon did you ever get any track pin info regarding material and heat treat?

I don't have anything the on the Panzer II but I do have the following from a CIA report on a captured T-34, maybe this will help.