restoration mk6 cromwell

[fesm_ndt]

i'm glad you asked that question mike as i was wondering what method you would use to make a piece of steel armoured. my churchill has one or two holes from 84mm law and around some of the holes the steel which is 3 inches thick has delaminated into what looks like thin sheet less than a 1mm thick. is this the face hardening coming away ?

thanks for the tips adrian, drilling from the soft side out is the way ahead. simple when someone shows you how to do it.

 

rick

 

Actually curious what Adrian's answer is going to be as on one hand we would always think whack a piece of 3 inch thick plate in, with a huge bevel and I guess a lot of runs. But if you are not going to be getting shot at in the near future you could weld in a bit of 3/8 plate each side and grind it off. I suppose it depends what scrap you got laying around. PS if you do want to whack an exotic hard bit in I can most likely find some 3" thick off cuts. I don't think you will have any real drama welding it as long as you keep it warm as the thick material around it will suck the heat out. Is the delam on the inside or outside as I seen spalling like that? How you plan to remove that, by oxy to burn it off?

 

I am going to a meeting next Tuesday regarding a new armour project, I would say mid level type of armour which is just basically the same concept of face hardened but with a bit of pixie dust inside as they have fancy names for it all now. Hence why I am so curious what's the difference between then and now. The welding on the stuff here has very critical parameters.

[eddy8men]

hi mike

 

thanks for the welding tips.

i don't have any close up pics of the delamination but it's on the entry side of the hole, i'm going to the yard tomorrow so if i remember i'll take a close up pic of it.

here's a pic that shows the extent of the damage caused by the shaped charged weapons to the churchill, although the holes are only 20 mm dia there's hundreds of 'em !

[eddy8men]

things are moving along quite nicely, although we have hit a few problems the most serious of which was the bearing on the starter collapsing so i'm off to collect another tomorrow. the good news is when we will fit it the engine will be ready to run :cool2:

[Old Git]

Shame about the bearing mate but better it went now than later. Great news about the engine though, I do hope Pete can get it recorded, I can't wait to hear it roar.

 

I'm loving those pics Rick, especially that internal shot of the mantlet...In the words of Frank Carson "that's a cracker!"

[the_shadock]

great pics. I knew you were missing the gun, but was not sure that you had a mantlet for the turret.

 

P-O

[eddy8men]

got the new starter and fitted it at 7pm, then went for an engine start with no joy so chucked a bit of fuel down the carb/manifold (it's a wierd set up) and it fired up briefly which was good enough, so tomorrow if we get time we'll see if we can get it running properly :-D

as for the main gun that is the last (i hope) stumbling block but i have a few leads i'm chasing up so i'm sure i'll come up with something that looks the part .

 

rick

[Billruston]

Is she going w&p Rick?

 

Bill,

[eddy8men]

that's the plan bill, i also wanted to take it to tankfest and YWE but i just don't think it will be ready in time and from past experience i've learned not to commit to shows where it's unrealistic to make it and besides i've enough pressure just getting it ready for W&P

[Billruston]

Yeah you are right Rick, how much does she weight?

 

Bill.

[eddy8men]

27 ton with 600 bhp to move it along :cool2:

[ajmac]

Do you know a friendly local farmer? You will need some ground to get some hours in to knock out the faults (you know what I mean Bob) and get confidence in her before taking it all the way to a show, only to find out its got issues.

[ferrettkitt]

Do you know a friendly local farmer? You will need some ground to get some hours in to knock out the faults (you know what I mean Bob) and get confidence in her before taking it all the way to a show, only to find out its got issues.

 

I'm sure that the locals wouldn't mind it running into town or a quick trip up and down the race course (Haydock Park).

[Billruston]

Looking forward!

[Old Git]

I've got a quick question re the OSP's (outer side plates) on the Cromwell. These are the plates that cover the road springs. I know that they hung on the side in four sections but how did the mate together, if they mated together at all. Was there a 'lip' where the plates met or did they simply butt up together? Can anyone shed any light on this? Anyone got any pics?

[eddy8men]

from memory they simply butt up. for a better look follow kevin powles thread on my old centaur resto, as kev's taken some pics of the hull with the outerr plates removed.

[eddy8men]

we ran the engine up for the first time yesterday. here's the link to the youtube video (i'm the guy with the grin from ear to ear)

 

[video=youtube;ZV-jzQRYaTo]

 

rick

Edited May 13, 2013 by Marmite!!
Youtube tags added

[ashtonpete]

Just to inform that the spring on the pulley mechanism was temporary and has now been removed. Its been a hard slog to get this far so the excitement of driving it will be as refreshing as that beer John Mills had in Ice Cold in Alex.

[Hoseman]

we ran the engine up for the first time yesterday. here's the link to the youtube video (i'm the guy with the grin from ear to ear)

 

 

 

rick

Well done mate, what a beautiful sound and daft grin you have there!!!:beer:

[Old Git]

Well done chaps...what a fantastic sound and a great video recording too! I am deeply envious...my little 1/6th scale model seems quite paltry now!

 

Thanks also for the info on the side plates Rick, I shall have a look for Kevin's Centaur pics!

[AndyFowler]

Well done chaps , sounds fantastic ! :-D

[the_shadock]

congratulations !!

[Ben..]

Looking forward to seeing it at W&P. congratulations to all involved.

 

Ben

[Lauren Child]

It is lovely to hear that Meteor whine as everything falls into place

 

Good work chaps!

[Degsy]

Great progress Rick, job's a good 'un:thumbsup:

[kevin powles]

Rick, Looks and sounds great, cant wait to see it driving, love the lab coat:cool2:.

 

kevin.