rnixartillery

During.......................

I have just about finished the repair work to the recouperator which has been quite a task as it was in very poor condition with several impact points, one had blown the corner away. Most repair has been filled with weld ,ground off and filed, it was then sandblasted and skimmed to take out the smaller pitting.all in all I think I have spent about 8 days alone on this part but an essential part at that Quite pleased it done now as it was a real pain in the A#*e ! :sweat: Before................ Rob.......................rnixartillery

Not to mention the 37mm Bofors ! the 1930's was a very interesting decade in the development of Artillery and seems forgotten about due the the overwhelming impact of Word War Two. Rob.....................rnixartillery

There's some interesting tracked vehicles in the clip,I would say the film was compiled mid to late 1930's. No sign of the 6,17 or 25 pdr's ! Rob..........................rnixartillery

Very interesting Dave,Well spotted ! :thumbsup: Rob.....................rnixartillery.

No Problem Marc,I have bought a sheet of 3.5mm Hide to get a few made up.It seems that it was standard for the 2,6 and 17 pdr's with a three bolt fixing to the shield's, only thing to remember is to get a bill hook that fits the sheath as there were many shapes and sizes of hook. Leave it with me and I will find you a bill hook that fits. :thumbsup: Rob.....................rnixartillery.

NICE ONE !........................................................... Rob.............................rnixartillery.

And the latest work....................................................................................--0\~ Rob..................rnixartillery

Yes,It always goes against the grain to get rid of stuff but some times a cash injection is needed to push a restoration on ! Anyway here are a couple of pics of the bill hook sheath I mentioned earlier ,note that the guns in the b&w picture are 2 pdr's mounted on 6 pdr carriages. Also are few pics of the last two days work on the Pheasant. Rob....................rnixartillery

Nothing goes to waste here Mike,thats why I have so much useless .........................priceless crap lying around,infact that shield has made a very good talking point out side my workshop recently and will be the bench mark for a 'Before and After'. For the last several years I have been looking for an original early pattern Bill hook sheath for my 6 pdr,but because they were made from leather they never seemed to survive and I have only found one B&W photo with one pictured on a gun,well when I untangled the 17 pdr shield I found an early pattern bill hook sheath attached to the back of it . Only good as a pattern though ! I'll get a pic latter and post it Rob......................rnixartillery.

I Was in the workshop Doodling today as I couldn't really be bothered to do anything constructive so I though I would tac the 17 pdr shield back together to see how it looked in one piece !............................................Pretty S#*t I'd say ............. One carefull previouse owner ! :rolleyes: Rob.........................rnixartillery.

Tim, If you take a good look at any 25 pdr gun shields you will notice that most have been altered and the profile of 'The Hole's' are all different,this is because when the shields are removed from the guns over the barrel and muzzle the factory machined holes leave very little room for maneuver so when in the field the gun crews alter the size and profile to make it easier to remove. So to answer the question yes it will fit as it is the original shield that came with the Pheasant carriage,I also have the original Weir's Cradle ! :thumbsup: Rob.........................rnixartillery

I made a bit more progress over the weekend and also got the shield,recouperator and Block back from the sandblasters so managed to get things primed before the rain came.It was nice to find the shield was date stamped 1942 so this also falls into place with the Pheasants DOM. Now when I finally managed to remove the Block from the Ring it was in very poor condition so I have polished it up and drenched it in oil and we will see how it performs in the Ring when it comes back from the sandblasters ! More pics ...................................... Rob..........................rnixartillery.

There is some really interesting footage on this site ! :tup:: Rob.....................rnixartillery.

As a bit of a random act I decided to spend a day restoring the spares and tool boxes for the Pheasant and it worked out well because I wanted to see what the paint colour looked like that I have decided to go with !. I also found some nice canvass that looked right to cover the box lids which works well with the paint colour. Still welding and grinding at the moment so hopefuly I will start assembling very soon ! Rob.....................rnixartillery.

It seems that every Gun I restore has a broken spring and this project is no exception,I gently dis-assembled the Breech activation spring from its cracked housing today trying not to increase the length of the two cracks and was a bit dubiouse when using heat. When it was apart it was evident that the cracked housing and broken spring were most probably caused by shrapnel and splatter from its life as a hard target.I tacked the spring back together to ascertain its full length so now I need to have a replacement made.....................................oh what fun ! :nut: Rob....................rnixartillery

I was only saying last week how putting things back together is so much easier than getting them apart,well I take that back ! I have just spent a day with a file taking a Gnats cock off here and there on the Breech activation shaft to get the breech crank and breech ring bush to fit back on.It was seized good and propper when I dismantled the gun so took some getting apart,anyway it fits nice and snug now. Also got the shield today which I was expecting to have to repair but it turns out to be a very staight one ...........:thumbsup: More pics........................... Rob......................rnixartillery.

Looks really good Tony,well done ! Rob....................rnixartillery.

And after......................... Rob........................rnixartillery.

Well back to the Pheasant project,slowly working through the pile of corroded parts trying to make something from them. Last week I repaired the Cradle which took some work but is now ready for sand blasting,I should be ready soon to start assembling the carriage.my intension is to blast the heavy items,paint and fit to save lifting things around. I think I have sorted the paint I am using but not 100% sure. A couple of pics attached of the Breech crank before and after repair,just needs sand blasting to remove the grinder marks. Rob.......................rnixartillery.

A proper tea bag !!!!!!!! Rob..................rnixartillery.

Just while the subject is running,I am having a bit if a Dilema myself with paint colour for the Pheasant restoration. Please dont quote me on this as I am not 100% sure but from what I can gather 1st Army in Africa used Light stone as paint colour were as 8th Army used Sand colour, can anyone confirm this ! I have attached a really great colour picture of a 25 pdr used by 1st Army in Africa where you can see the gun has been painted Light Stone over drab so in two minds which way to go :nut: Rob.........................rnixartillery,

Excellent stuff ! sadly Im a bit too far up North to visit. So Fort Nelson's 18 pdr is haveing a ride out,I thought it might have been Mr Butlers........................The Galloping Major ! :saluting: Rob...........................rnixartillery.

Who will be supplying the 18 pdr/limber ? Rob...................rnixartillery.

The only time things are free is when they go back together especially with some of that 60 year old grease straight out of the tin ! I have done a few Bofors barrels and they can be a bit awkward,they have an odd part screw~part interupted screw arrangement. Rob......................rnixartillery.