Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

Well, the mystery manufactured cylinder mounted on the right side chassis plate of the coil assembly is no longer a mystery. It actually serves two purposes; a guard to protect the tuning gear drive whenever the coil chassis assembly is removed and replaced from its wooden case, and as a support pedestal that allows the assembly to rest on a work bench on its right hand side for servicing. Note the last photo.


David

[David Dunlop]

I did a quick hand sanding of the top of my parts Coil case the other day to see what might turn up. This case has a very light coat of NATO Green on it and only on the exterior. I was hoping to carefully cut the paint back to see if there was any surviving evidence of the application of the C-Broad Arrow stamp. Sadly, no such luck. There were only two applications of NATO Green, but the first coat came with a sanding of the original Flat Olive Drab that would have taken off the stamp very easily. Still want to check the two sides, however.

What I did find was interesting in any event. On top of the first coat I found the remains of a yellow, 1-1/4 inch equilateral triangle. No sure if it was originally solid, or a thick outline. Also present was a yellow '83" done with a 3/4-inch stencil. This would likely all have been applied in the late 1940's or early 1950's when the NATO Green paint first came into use, but before the arrival and use of the NSN System came into effect.

I have photos of a 52-Set in Use in a wartime CMP Command truck in 1952, or 1953 in Ontario during an exercise. The cases/boxes visible in the photos show the darker NATO Green having been applied but the markings are still the original factory ones, simply bumped up to 3/4-inch stencils from the original wartime 1/2-inch. When I was refurbishing my cases/boxes, I found traces of this same 3/4-inch format stencil on the fronts of two of them. When the NSN System came into full effect, these stencils became abbreviated a great deal and a lot more cryptic. Nothing was ever applied on top of the second coat of NATO Green on the parts Coil case.

When I owned a full Canadian C 42 Ground and Training Set, several of the components had a white triangle painted on them, along with a Comm Sqdn ID like 734 or 736. I was told this was common practice when large military groups assembled in Canada for exercises in order to help ensure the equipment went back to where it belonged after the exercise was over.

Now I wonder if the yellow markings I found are an earlier version of this identification process using the wartime Regimental Numbering system in some way.


David

[David Dunlop]

A couple of days ago, I was able to get my wide, steel putty knife under the green felt pad on my parts Coil case and carefully remove the felt. Since water based animal glues would have been used to install it back in 1944, I first thought of just soaking the felt in water for an hour or two to dissolve the glue, but the thought of some of that water getting into any seams in the pine board made me a bit hesitant. I bounced the idea off my wife and she looked at me like I had three heads.

Debbie explained the odds this 1944 piece of felt was composed of pure wool were extremely high and a water soak and dry-out could very likely result in a badly shrunk, or distorted, piece of totally useless felt. Point taken wisely. Out came the putty knives.

The process went quite well. The blade of the knife moved under the felt at a shallow angle nicely and where resistance was felt, I carefully raised the angle of the blade to avoid the chance of it cutting into the felt. In a few places, the factory Flat Olive drab paint simply popped off the wood, and where it did not, you can see the patterns of where the glue had been applied, either by small brush or a squeeze bottle. See the first two photos.

Measuring felt with callipers is tricky as it wants to squish a bit, however, by eyeballing the edges against a steel ruler, and attempting the callipers several times, I think the felt is 1/16-inch thick. The basic rectangle measures six inches wide and 11.25 inches long. At the front edge, centred at the 5-5/8 inch mark, is a notch one inch wide and 1-5/8 inches deep. This has been cut out to clear the bottom centre front panel mounting bracket when it is installed, and the small hole directly behind it where the front mounting screw for securing the coil chassis assembly to the case is located. two half inch diameter holes are punched along the centreline of the length of the felt. On the left side, this hole is centred 1-5/8 inch in from the end of the felt. On the right side, the hole is centred 2-5/8 inches in from the end. These holes allow the rear pair of mounting screws for the coil chassis to clear the felt.

This morning, I removed the felt pad from my working Coil case. Note the extent to which it was painted around. The edges of it were badly overpainted with the NATO Green paint and it needed to come out to more easily sand down the inside surfaces of the case for repainting back to the original factory Flat Olive Drab. The felt pad from my parts coil case will be the one going back into the finished Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A. The last two photos are of the now empty coil case and the two green felt pads. The bottom one is the one to be used.


David

[David Dunlop]

Perfect weather for sanding today so I was able to get the wooden coil case stripped of its NATO Green paint and back down to pretty much bare pine. Some hand detailing left to do after all this Mouse work.

Not much filling will be needed compared to the four cases/boxes for the 52-Set. Mostly around the finger jointing on the bottom edges.

Absolutely no sign of surviving markings under the NATO Green, but the factory paint had been sanded prior to the NATO repaint, and I suspected that would be the case. I was able to confirm this case also had factory Flat Olive drab applied to it prior to the two Mounting Plates being fitted on the bottom of it. This is consistent with the findings on my parts coil case and confirms these plates were fitted in their basic plated finish as I had noticed on one wartime photo of a 52-Set a few years back.


David

[David Dunlop]

Finally got over to Princess Auto this morning to pick up a can of Xylene.

Thanks again for the tip, Barry.

That raises a slightly related question.

When I was last actively spray painting military vehicle parts with a compressor/air gun combination, I was typically working with a large number of parts at a time so was prepping and using the paint pretty much on a full paint canister basis each time. When done, the canister got cleaned out with thinner and a quantity of thinner was also sprayed through the gun to clean it all out before putting it all away.

This time around, my spray painting is going to be pretty much one or two small parts at a time, roughly a square foot surface area each go around. My thought is to mix enough paint to get the job done each time and then replicate the cleanup process as before. However, in the Operators Manual for my Campbell Hausfeld GP Spray Gun, they show an accessory Paint Canister and lid assembly that can be purchased (price presently unknown).

These days, it could be weeks before I would get round to another spray painting task. I am not sure the premixed paint would hold for that length of time and the cleanup time would probably still be the same, or maybe longer, if a second canister setup was in play. Would it be worth the cost to go the dual canister route, or just stick to the one and plan the mixing accordingly for the job at hand?


David

[David Dunlop]

With the sanding and stripping down of the NATO Green paint on the exterior of the coil case and back cover completed, I have been focusing on getting this paint off all the 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch surfaces created by the recess cuts for the front panel and rear cover, and the six 1/2-inch square reinforcing strips in the four box corners and backing for the rear cover.

It has been very slow but steadt work. I have now assembled a nice assortment of tools that work well on this small stuff in tight spaces and have worked out a fairly reliable pattern. Once I can break through the heavy coat of NATO Green, I have found the pine has a pretty good hardness about it, such that a hard steel edge can actually chip chunks of the paint of very easily. The only tricky bits so far are the presence of saw ridges on some of the 1/2-inch strips that require a bit of sanding to smooth down first.

The last of these small pieces I have to clean now are the inside faces of the four pine strips that form the backing for the rear cover. I need to have the case resting on its back on the bench with several gooseneck lamps in close to properly light the interior of the case to see what I am doing, and reach down and in at a steep angle. I end up starting at a midpoint and moving to one end, vacuum the bits out and then swing the case around to clean up the opposite direction. Slow but steady.

I will try and sort some meaningful photos out this weekend.


David

[Barry Churcher]

David what I have been using is these Preval sprayers for the small stuff. You can mix as little paint as you need. They used to be available from Carquest but now they are no longer selling them. They are available from Amazon though.
After buying a unit with a jar you only have to buy the refills. It's just like spraying with a spray bomb but you mix the paint your way and you can even use hardener. Twenty years ago I overhauled the loader cylinders on my tractor and used Allis Chalmers good quality orange and they look just as good today. When you are finished just put a bit of thinners in the jar and spray it out to clean the nozzle. Done.
Cheers
Barry

https://www.google.com/search?q=amaz...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[David Dunlop]

Barry! Talk about a trip down Memory Lane!

Back in the late 70's when I was restoring my first M38CDN, I found setting up the compressor for small paint jobs a RPITA!

Then one day, I was wandering through either Princess Auto or Canadian Tire and found a version of this product. It was a teardrop shaped brown plastic setup with a trigger on the top of the broad end and a 25 oz plastic bottle screwed underneath it. The jar was the same size as a modern small glass Smuckers jam jar.

On top of the small end was the spray nozzle and underneath it you screwed in the propellant can which was the same size as the Testors small modelling spray paint cans that were available back then. It was a dream to work with on small parts, but after a few years the propellant cans were no longer available.

I shall definitely be getting one of these rigs and some extra propellant. The two panel projects on my 52-Set are each only about +/- 1 Square Foot, for which this would be ideal!


Very Best Regards,


David

[David Dunlop]

One of the many mysteries for me regarding the 52-Set today, was the apparent universal usage of standard 1/4-inch Hex Bolt hardware for mounting the three components of the main set in the Carriers No. 4, and the Remote Receiver in its case.

There are absolutely no spanners, wrenches or sockets in the tool kit for the set the operator could use to easily remove any of these four items for a basic inspection or repair. The manual stated there should be no need for the Operator to ever have to remove any of these items from their cases, but at the same time provides a detailed explanation of what the Operator needs to do to reinstall the three components back into the Carriers No. 4, should all three need to be removed at once for some reason, but again, no reference for sourcing the necessary tools.

My assumption for years was simply that the hex hardware commonly found today must have replaced some form of factory original hardware, and the most logical hardware seemed to be 1/4-inch x 20 by half inch, slotted, RH Machine Screws, since a set of three slot head screw drivers were a part of the tool kit.

Then, around this time in 2021, a chap in England had a very original 52-Set Remote Receiver up for sale on eBay and I contacted him to ask if there were any stencil markings to be found anywhere on the exterior of the No. 2 Brown case. He replied, with additional photographs, that there were none anywhere. What did surprise me, however, was one side photo he sent that clearly showed a slotted hex head bolt, in No. 2 Brown paint, holding the receiver in its case. The owner confirmed, all four sets of hardware were the same, all were fitted from the outside in, the bolts were one half inch long and the nuts were all skinny. A mystery finally solved.

My Remote Receiver had 1/4-inch x 20 x half inch hex bolts, split washers and hex nuts in all four locations, but all were installed from the inside. I had always thought this had looked rather ugly and unfinished with the open ends of the bolts and nuts sticking out so far, so I was pleased to turn them all around with the heads to the outside. What I discovered with that change, was that the two upper sets of hardware stuck out so far, the upper service panel on the receiver er could not be removed. The combination of the hex nut and split washer actually exceeded the bolt length just enough to create the problem. So I flipped the hardware back around while I tried to sort out the problem.

For the last three years, I have swept the internet from time to time looking for slotted 1/4-inch hex bolts with little success. Lots of shouldered head stuff out there, like you find for automotive licence plates, but not the basic hex head bolt style. Then, 10 days ago, I did another sweep and found a company in Chicago with an extensive illustrated inventory. For some reason, I typed in “1/4-inch slotted hex head” and forgot the word ‘bolt’. Up popped a bunch of items called “Cap Screws”, and among them was a one inch long 1/4-inch x 20 in packs of 100, dirt cheap with free US shipping. After I calmed down a bit, I decided to see if they might have matching thin headed hex nuts so typed that in next. Up came 1/4-inch only, also in packs of 100. They were described a ‘Jam Nuts’, half the thickness of a standard hex nut.

That just left the issue of the lock washers. When I took a close look at existing split style lock washers in my wartime wireless equipment, they are all noticeably thicker than modern ones available today. When you do a similar comparison between wartime Shakeproof style lock washers and their modern equivalent internal toothed lock washers, there is very little, if any, difference in thickness.

So after several years of off and on searching, with somewhat incorrect parameters, I finally figured out what was originally used for mounting hardware for the main components of the 52-Set. I could only get 1-inch length Cap Screws but I have had to trim hardware down before, so that is not a problem. It will be a nice bench project over the winter.


David

[David Dunlop]

Here are some photos I promised of the cramped quarters being worked in to strip out the last of the NATO Green paint.

The rearmost 1/2-inch trim is the worse, with just the lower right area section actually done. Once that stuff is gone, I can work my way forward through the interior panels with my two sanders easily enough to get rid of the last of this postwar paint.


David

[David Dunlop]

Spent the morning yesterday thinking about the wartime service of my Mum and Dad and Uncles, along with nearly all of the men on both sides of the family who served during World War 1. Two family members never came back from that one, another had a lame left leg and my Grandfather on my Mum's side was an alcoholic for the rest of his life.

Then I spent the rest of the day getting the postwar green paint stripped off all the fiddly interior bits of my Coil case. Just the four interior wall panels to sand down now.


David

[David Dunlop]

I was finally able to finish stripping and sanding away the NATO Green paint from the wooden coil case yesterday, and this morning I applied filler to the few sections of wood that needed this attention. As with the three wooden boxes/cases for the 52-Set, the bulk of the filling was focused on the finger joints where the exposed end grain of the pine is susceptible to wicking in moisture over time and wearing away. There were also two short strips of joinery between sections of the pine boards that needed a fill.

There was also an interesting discovery in the assembly of the wooden coil case, compared to the three wooden boxes/cases.

On the boxes/cases, where any of the flat head wood screws had been countersunk, a creamy white glazing putty had been used to backfill over the screws. On the coil case, these holes were filled with small pine wood plugs. If you look closely on the top left front corner of the attached photo, you can see one of these plugs quite clearly. On the left side, another can be found about 3/4-inch back from the leading edge and another about two inches further back.

Hopefully this evening, I will be able to sand off the excess filler where needed and I can then start repainting the case Flat Olive Drab.



David

[David Dunlop]

Not quite ready for painting yet.

With the putty filling now out of the way on the coil case, I started on the two bits of wood reconstruction this morning, working with a neutral coloured wood filler.

The worst damage was a roughly three inch long gouge out of the leading upper edge starting from the upper left corner with a depth equal to an eighth inch equilateral triangle at the extreme corner, tapering fully out as it progressed to the right. The other damage was a small but deep gouge on the inner face of the rim about one third of the way down the left edge.

The long upper damage seems to be the oldest with quite a few coats of NATO Green paint having built up over it and its surfaces were quite smooth once the paint was gone.

The smaller gouge had only one coat of paint present and the wood was quite rough and pokey. Both were readily visible, with or without paint on them. so needed to be dealt with at this point in time.



David

[David Dunlop]

The wood restoration bits are now completed and a start on painting the coil case can now be made. I think the first step will be using a small brush to detail out all the interior fiddly recesses and fittings to the point where the larger interior flat panels can easily be dealt with using a small roller.

We shall see how it goes and adjust plans as needed.



David

[Harry Moon]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Finally got over to Princess Auto this morning to pick up a can of Xylene.

Thanks again for the tip, Barry.

That raises a slightly related question.

When I was last actively spray painting military vehicle parts with a compressor/air gun combination, I was typically working with a large number of parts at a time so was prepping and using the paint pretty much on a full paint canister basis each time. When done, the canister got cleaned out with thinner and a quantity of thinner was also sprayed through the gun to clean it all out before putting it all away.

This time around, my spray painting is going to be pretty much one or two small parts at a time, roughly a square foot surface area each go around. My thought is to mix enough paint to get the job done each time and then replicate the cleanup process as before. However, in the Operators Manual for my Campbell Hausfeld GP Spray Gun, they show an accessory Paint Canister and lid assembly that can be purchased (price presently unknown).

These days, it could be weeks before I would get round to another spray painting task. I am not sure the premixed paint would hold for that length of time and the cleanup time would probably still be the same, or maybe longer, if a second canister setup was in play. Would it be worth the cost to go the dual canister route, or just stick to the one and plan the mixing accordingly for the job at hand?


David

I have a second much smaller spray gun that I use for such small touchups. Pretty reasonable at Princess Auto. holds about a fifth of my reguler gun.

[David Dunlop]

That is not a bad idea, Harry.

I do have an Air Brush Gun I purchased years ago to work on a 1/16 Scale RC Tiger I model, but I am not sure I could get a lot of paint out of the can it is equipped with at the moment. Might be worth looking into what accessories might be available for it in that regard.


David

[David Dunlop]

The main painting of the wooden coil case and back panel was done this morning so it is finally back in original Flat Olive Drab finish, probably for the first time since the 1950’s.

Tomorrow I hope to get any touchups completed and it can then sit for two weeks to hard cure before I set about getting all the parts which need to be reinstalled, back onto it.



David

[David Dunlop]

Last evening I was able to give the wooden coil case a lat final inspection of the paint work and touch up a few missed bits. It is now resting on the bench for its two week hard cure. It looks a bit odd to me still in Flat Olive Drab paint. Since I saw my first one back in the 1970’s, I have only ever seen them in NATO Green.

I added two photos this time. Essentially the same shot on the bench, then only change being one task light was slightly re-angled to better highlight the interior of the case. But notice how the tone of the Flat Olive Drab suddenly shifts from a green to brown. I am sure i have commented on this before with this paint. In mottled sunlight or shade, it can drive you nuts trying to figure out the actual colour!

My thought at the moment is the first item to reunite with this case will probably be the green felt pad on the floor of it that the coil chassis assembly rests on.



David

[David Dunlop]

Some decal supplies arrived today. I have never worked with either of these items before so another new learning curve looms on the horizon.


David

[James D Teel II]

I've used these decal setting solutions quite a lot in the past. You'll find the learning curve is very gentle and forgiving.

[David Dunlop]

With required holiday work around the house under control now, I have been able to get a little more work done on the restoration of the case for the Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A.

I have been able to strip the old paint off the two Brass Mounting Plates used to secure the Coil to the top of the Carriers No. 4.

The attached photos show the original state of the left plate, after it was stripped and of both the left and right plates after stripping. Both plates still need to be cleaned further with a small brass wire wheel, as well as the hardware for both plates. This work was on hold because I only had one brass wire wheel for my Dremel available, and it was worn out. I have worn out six of these wheels now with this project and at a local cost of just under $13.00 Canadian a pair, that novelty was wearing off. I then discovered I could order 15 such wheel from Amazon for just under $18.00 Canadian and went that route. The last photo shows what was left of my remaining brass wire wheel, along with the new ones.



David

[David Dunlop]

Thanks for the words of encouragement on decal work, James. Much appreciated.

I plan to practise a bit before playing for keeps with the actual Coil front panel.

I know the flat white base coat will go down nice and thin. However, I have never worked with a spray neutral luminous green paint before so have to figure out how thick is goes down and to some extent how intense it becomes as it goes down. Next will be how well that paint behaves with the decal chemicals and finally, how well the decal will snug down over pads of paint the smallest of which will be roughly 1/4-inch by 3/4-inch and of as yet unknown thickness. Fun times ahead.



David

[David Dunlop]

Another small roadblock in restoring the Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A was related to the zinc plating work all the brass hardware was going to need.
The two brass Mounting Plate assemblies are going to be the largest items I have ever had to plate and the small plastic containers I have been using for the acid etch and water rinse removal were nowhere large enough to do the job.

I could find nothing available on hand around the house the right size and on finally mentioning it to Debbie a few days ago, she suggested I check out the local Dollarama Store to see what they might have. Went in the other day and worked my way through the isles and ‘Bingo’! On a shelf marked as Drawer Organizers, I found stacks of 8.5” x 2.5” x 1.5” plastic trays that were perfect for the task and only $1.25 each, so I picked up two one for the acid and the second for the alcohol needed to remove all the water when the acid is rinsed off.

I also picked up an extra bottle of Muriatic Acid, and Isopropyl Alcohol, just in case they are needed.



David

[David Dunlop]

It is always a nice feeling when things start going back on during a restoration.

That started with the restoration of the Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A with the 52-Set Project when the green wool felt pad that protects the coil chassis was the first part to be glued, and reattached to the floor of the case.

I had to take another look at the back of the pad first to be certain it was a running bead of glue which had been squirted over the back to originally mount it, and then follow suit with the new glue. It was relatively easy process. One only needs to get the two rear holes for the mounting hardware that comes up through the floor of the case to secure the coil chassis centred and lay the pad down. It will move fairly easy for a couple of minutes allowing for fine tuning of the placement and then I used an old, smooth, steel sanding block I had to firmly press the entire pad down in its final placement. This is the same glue I had used a few months back to install the reproduction Parts Lists I had to make for the Spares Cases, at it dries a yellowish colour very similar to the wartime mucilage glue used by Canadian Marconi Company. Should be all dried and set by Sunday.



David

[James D Teel II]

Is the glue dry?

[David Dunlop]

Indeed it is James.

As you can see in the first photo I had posted, several pieces of the original factory paint came up with the felt when I removed it. I left it as is primarily because the locations of these patches, along with the silvery, slug like trails of where the original glue was applied, gave me a very good idea of where the original run of glue bead had been located. The size of the bead was a bit of a guess but I must have come pretty close to what was originally applied because only a small bit of glue oozed out in three small locations.

It was all dried and cured in about 10 minutes. I had initially thought of brushing the glue on but Debbie advised against that. her logic was that a bead would be thick enough to allow me to carefully adjust the felt pad into its correct, fine position for a few minutes and let me press it down firmly once in place with an old steam iron. She was correct. I got almost three minutes of play time with the felt pad, whereas a brushed on approach would have meant near instant, permanent sticking of the felt in whatever position it touched the floor of the case.


David

[David Dunlop]

A good day yesterday and this morning.

I was able to use the new brass wire wheels to final polish the Left Coil Case Mounting Plate and hardware, acid etch and rinse it all and get into the electroplating solution for a new coat of zinc. My 2-Amp 12 volt trickle charger was getting quite. workout with such a large piece, so after an hour, I switched up to my 10-Amp charger for another two hours last evening, rinsed the plate assembly off and let it dry overnight. Blew through one brass wire wheel getting it done but expected that, given the size of these plates. Great to be able to just pick up another wheel, swap it in and keep right on working.

This morning I was able to reinstall it on the case and now I am ready to repeat the process with the mounting plate assembly for the right side of the case.



David

[David Dunlop]

It took a little longer than I expected to get the Right Side Mounting Plate assembly zinc plated. I finally realized the zinc anode plate was very reduced in size from all the work it had been doing, and could not deliver the amount of zinc to the mounting plate at the cathode needed for a fast job. I ended up fitting three worn plate to the anode and modified the cathode assembly so the mounting plate was perpendicular in the container, parallel to the anode plate and as far away as possible from the anode.

Dry now and setting up for tomorrow.

The right side mounting plate is the one with the brass ground strap connecting the front screw assembly to the lower right front panel bracket, to properly ground the aluminum front panel plate of the coil assembly, so I am going to clean and plate the lower front left and right side front panel brackets tomorrow morning to get the grounding strap properly reinstalled and out of the way.



David

[David Dunlop]

First thing this morning, I started cleaning the lower left and right front panel mounting brackets and hardware and get them into the zinc plating bath. Once that was out of the way, I installed the Right Side Mounting Plate to the bottom of the coil case.

In the second photo here, you can clearly see the longer front 8-32 machine screw used at the front of the plate in order to fit the grounding strap. There is a depression in the countersunk ho;e here which gets filled by a flat washer that gets dropped down over the machine screw before the grounding strap is fitted. If that space is not levelled off, the brass grounding strap will get pulled down into the depression when its hardware is run home. Under the stress, the brass strap eventually fails and snaps. The one on this coil. did because no washer had been fitted, but the grounding strap on my parts coil was in perfect shape and had the missing washer.


David

[David Dunlop]

The installation of the grounding strap and lower right front panel bracket were pretty straight forward. The one thing to be wary of, however, is that over 80 years, the holes in the wooden case for the hardware have dried out and this results in slightly larger holes the hardware feels a bit sloppy in. I used a small square block of wood held against the face of each front panel bracket to keep the brackets square to the case at the hardware was tightened. this will ensure the holes in the brackets line up properly with the front panel hardware when that assembly gets reinstalled.


David