1918 Liberty B

[Great War truck]

I wonder what the origin of those Heavy Aviations were. Bought in the UK or from the surplus left over in Continental Europe at the wars end?

[Great War truck]

We all had a very good day today. We took the front two wheels of Ians Liberty B up to have the tyres pressed off. Actually one of the tyres had already dropped off but we still had to get the band of the wheel.

I have covered the process before on the Thornycroft restoration and it is fairly self explanatory. It was a very successful day as you can see from the result:

[steelman]

What tonnage is the press? Is this an up acting press? I assume putting new tires on is the reverse. Do you have rubber or urethane put on the rings, and what type of cost do you find for doing this? Steelman

[Great War truck]

I think it is 60 tons but we didn't use anything like that. It is indeed an up acting press. The tyres dropped off without too much trouble which makes a nice change.

 

The next step is getting the tyres made. We are going to try polyurethane which we have used on the Dennis and Thornycroft. I need to make some phonecalls and see what can be done. Will advise on the cost later.

[steelman]

Thank you. I look forward to any information you can provide. Steelman

[steelman]

I thought I would share a picture of the WW1 Liberty searchlight I bought last week on ebay. It is a Solar WT67, and is in excellent condition. I have been looking for about 18 months without sucess, and then one popped up, I was the only bidder. I only need a period pintle hook and a fuel transfer pump, and I will have all of the parts I need for my restoration. I would make a reproduction of these if I could find one to copy.

[Great War truck]

Hi Carey

 

That is a great find. The last one I saw for sale was in poor condition and was about $450. Great to see the original glass is in place.

 

The pintle hook. Is that the same as the FWD one?

 

 

Sorry it is a poor photo. The only one that I could find at this moment.

 

Tim

[steelman]

Tim, yes, I believe it is the same as the FWD pintles. Mike in New Zealand was kind enough to make me a casting of the housing. I just need to find the hook and spring (or measure one so I can replicate it). I bought one on ebay last year, and when the package arrived, it was a box of sandwich wrapping paper, no pintle hook. I complained, and the seller refunded my money without any explaination. I have not seen one anywhere before or since. Carey

[Great War truck]

OK. I think Ian in the UK needs one as well. How is Adrian fixed for one?

[blastermike]

Carey, the pintlehook body I sent you is an original one off the spare chassis I have, and the spring is still inside it mate, I took it all apart to clean so you wouldn't have any problems with customs as it was full of dirt ! from that picture it wouldn't be too hard to make a patern I reckon, and get a few cast, that's what i'd do, I found a gmc pintle that fitted perfectly, but the hook is different, could be reshaped a little to look more correct and add the tang ontop? just an idea i'm thinking about.cheers mike.

[steelman]

Mike, I am embarassed. I didn't take it apart because I wasn't ready for it yet. Thank you again. If I find one to copy, you need one also ? I sent you an email regarding the crank for you. Carey

[bobs1918]

I thought I would share a picture of the WW1 Liberty searchlight I bought last week on ebay. It is a Solar WT67, and is in excellent condition. I have been looking for about 18 months without sucess, and then one popped up, I was the only bidder. I only need a period pintle hook and a fuel transfer pump, and I will have all of the parts I need for my restoration. I would make a reproduction of these if I could find one to copy. [ATTACH=CONFIG]113851[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]113852[/ATTACH][/QUTE]

I use the Solar searchlight on my M1918 Light Repair Truck. Here is a picture of if at dusk preparing for a night drive at the WW 1 event in Newville PA. I do not use the generator but rather have a small acetylene bottle under the seat piped to the light with a regulator on the tank

[Great War truck]

Ian’s Liberty was unusual as it still had the switch panel in place and which was mostly complete.

However, one of the switches was disintegrating.

Using the surviving switch as a pattern a friend had a go at making one using a 3D printer. Unfortunately, they ran out of black ink, but I imagine it can be painted:

It does show what can be done with 3D printing though.

[Great War truck]

The end result. Looks rather good I think.

 

 

 

 

[Enigma]

It does indeed look good.

3d printing is very usefull.

[Great War truck]

Ians carpenter friend has started work on the seat box. I think he got to this stage in about 2 days. Looks like a great bit of work:

 

 

 

Although not quite finished it is incredibly heavy (not surprisingly really).

[andypugh]

ILooks like a great bit of work:

 

It does look like a nice bit of work, though it is being made in a slightly modern style. If authenticity is important then it should maybe have screws rather than nails holding it together.

Of course, I only know how the bodies of Dennis Fire Engines were built, it is entirely possible that American trucks for the war effort were built in a different style for economy and expediency.

Thinking about it, I read a blog about restoring a lathe stand that seemed to have a surprising number of nails in it, so should consider retracting my comment above.

 

I can't seem to find any post earlier than number 6

http://markhaglundsfurniturerepair.blogspot.de/2008/05/post-6-rivett-lathe-608-oak-base.html#.VxnyAPkrK9I

 

The finished item:

http://markhaglundsfurniturerepair.blogspot.de/2008/06/post-20-rivett-lathe-608-oak-cabinet.html#.VxnyQ_krK9I

 

I used this as a reference when making my own replica lathe cabinet.

[Great War truck]

I believe it to be a very accurate copy of an original and that the cut head nails are correct.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Great War truck

[GeePig]

I tend to agree, screws were quite expensive and would typically be used for things that may have to come apart later. I have a wooden toolbox made by my grandfather's brother, a carpenter, in 1915 and the only screws it uses are for the hinges. A well inserted nail or a wooden dowel also means that one can produce very tidy-looking cubes, with no filler being required or visible screw heads.

 

 

trevor

[andypugh]

I tend to agree, screws were quite expensive and would typically be used for things that may have to come apart later.

 

I did manage to change my own mind half-way through my original comment :-)

 

Our 1916 Dennis fire engine has a body almost entirely held together with screws. The work loose with monotonous regularity. At least with a screw you can re-righten it. I don't know what you do if nails work loose.

It may be that there was an expectation of much longer service life with a fire engine, and also the possibility of replacing fire-damaged sections of the body.

[Tony B]

Nails require less time and material to manufactuer, so are cheaper, need less time and skill to fix, and the truck wasn't reckoned to last that long in service anyway!

 

In wartime production anything that saves a few minutes and an ounce of material is vital. Henry Ford took one nut off the Model T, when queried why he pointed out the nut cost 10 cents, so that in a week of production he was saving the cost of a skilled man's wages for the year. Makes you wonder how much they got paid.

[4x4Founder]

I guess the debate isn't really about whether screws or nails are "better," it's about how the original seat box was constructed and is the reproduction a faithful or typical representation of it. I am not knowledgeable enough to have an opinion either way.

 

I got a lecture from a noted pre-standardized jeep restorer yesterday about reproducing what you find on the vehicle versus researching and reproducing what you find in period pictures or other documentation. His point is that decades... or nearly a century in this case... down the road, what remains on the vehicle today (old as it may be) might not be totally original. This is probably a "like... DUH... Jim!" moment to most of you, and to me, but it's one of those things that bears repeating once in a while to keep us on track.

[Tony B]

Very true Both my Dodges have 'new' bits, in the case of the WC51 the dynamo has a 1964 Norwegian plate on it and the WC54 has a US Ordnance rebuild plate for 1952.

[Redherring]

I have a conundrum for you that has puizzled me for some time. The 'change speed and brake operating bracket' on the leyland S type was significantly modified for use in the c.1912 S3. My chassis, which I believe to be an S2, utilised the earlier version. BUT, I have a perfect and complete example of the S3 'bracket'. Do I use the latter or do I fabricate a copy of the earlier version? Robert

[GeePig]

I have a conundrum for you that has puizzled me for some time. The 'change speed and brake operating bracket' on the leyland S type was significantly modified for use in the c.1912 S3. My chassis, which I believe to be an S2, utilised the earlier version. BUT, I have a perfect and complete example of the S3 'bracket'. Do I use the latter or do I fabricate a copy of the earlier version? Robert

 

It is your vehicle, Robert, what is your gut instinct?

 

trevor