greyhound32122 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 evening every one this is not a full on in depth restoration thread but more of the occasional post as things happen. i have been fortunate to be able to give Andy a hand with his Comet which is good for both of us as i get the opportunity to learn about both the Comet and what it takes to restore a derelict tank to full working order. plus it has got Andy motivated and excited again which has been proven with the endless large grins and smiles over the weekend:D. starting off saturday morning by removing the mud guards and getting the periscopes un bolted we soon followed with the removal of all the top guide rollers from the side of the hull and started the lengthy task of removing the counter sunk bolts which hold the 5 sections of armour plating. by 10:30 saturday night we had 3 sections of armour plate of and thinking about sunday. today we had the rear section of armour of the right side and by 6 pm had the same 4 sections removed from the other side and to are surprise every bolt was oiled and came out fairly easily bar 1 which resisted so we had to burn the head off. some of the flush counter sunk bolts had to be warmed up but came out no probs. pics from today: saturdays progress with mud guards and the added on steel plates removed, periscopes un bolted and the 3 armour plates removed. sunday morning ready to start again next job is to un seize the front right idler arm and remove the left arm so the final armour plates can be removed. then will be ready to remove all the suspension ready for shot blasting and painting. cheers sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvana Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Wow....its amazing how many parts unbolt. Whats the total side armor, counting both layers of plates? Any leads on a turret? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhound32122 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 we think the eight plates removed so far way about 3.5 - 4 ton all together but the 2 front plates still require removing. regarding the turret that is there actually i think Andy know has every part for the comet so it is literally finish stripping down then start blasting, painting and re building. cheers sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Child Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Is there a good technique for removing the side plates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Herbert Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) The side plates are held on by lots of 5/8" BSF bolts. All are countersunk into the plates but some are flush and have an Allen type hexagonal socket in them but most have a shallow male hexagon head that looks like a half depth standard bolt head. They usually unscrew reasonably easily IF you can get a grip on them. A good quality hexagonal socket (not 12 point) with the first 5mm ground off to remove the bevel at the beginning of the flats that engage the bolt will get a suprising number of the hexagon bolts, particularly if you clean the paint and muck away from around the head - every half mm of engagement helps! Similarly the right size allen key or hex bit will get the fully countersunk ones if they are not too rusted. If this fails then welding nuts onto the head gives you something to grip plus puts quite a lot of heat into the head. It also has the advantage that the bolt is generally fairly easy to repair and can be re used, reducing the number of new ones that you have to find. It is quite unusual for the threads to be propperly rusted up as these bolts should be well greased when they are fitted and that was usually done as it was the same guys that would have to remove them to change a spring or damper. They also don't need to be done up mega tight as there are so many of them and the plates are virtually sewn on. For those that have not seen the working parts of cruiser tank suspension, the big cylinder with the BC number stenciled onto it contains the suspension spring only. The smaller cylinder (not used on no.3 wheel station) is a hydraulic damper. All the structure including the inner skin is just mild steel, and not very thick. Only the bolt on armour plates are armour. It was only on Comets and late Cromwells that they welded the armour directly into the hull structure but still retained the removeable side plates for access to the suspension. David Edited July 24, 2015 by David Herbert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhound32122 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 spot on David the full counter sunk bolts nearly all came out on there on free will and those which didn't we just heated them up and hammered the armour plate around the bolt and left them to cool for a few minutes then they just came out. the very top row of hex head bolts which also hold the mud guards on had to all have nuts welded on as the hex's had rotted away but still came out easily. one thing I would say is when removing the armour plates start at one end and work your way along as we made the mistake of trying to remove the middle section first not realising how tight the plates are to each over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Child Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Thanks chaps. What is the best way of supporting the armoured plate while removing the last few bolts? I imagine there must be an easy way, but it looks awkward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhound32122 Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 Thanks chaps. What is the best way of supporting the armoured plate while removing the last few bolts? I imagine there must be an easy way, but it looks awkward. we screwed threaded rods into the bolt holes and ounce all the bolts are removed the plate can be slid of 2-3 inches so straps can be attached to lift the plate off. Andy & myself have had another productive day today on the comet getting the suspension oil reservoirs and the pipe work linking to the hydraulic suspension dampers removed from the hull. the periscopes are now out of the hull and the drivers front and top hatches are know functional again. last jobs before shot blasting/painting commences is free up all the lifting and tying down D links, free up the lap gunners hatch, remove the break drums & finish removing the extra armour plating that's welded on. hoping to have a fully painted and rolling hull on tracks by the summer so long as we get some good weather to do the out side jobs. cheers sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Child Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 we screwed threaded rods into the bolt holes and ounce all the bolts are removed the plate can be slid of 2-3 inches so straps can be attached to lift the plate off. Cool thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhound32122 Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 no problem what are you working on if you don't mind me asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Child Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 no problem what are you working on if you don't mind me asking? Hope to be getting back to the Charioteer shortly. Rick is doing the hard work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Herbert Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 To lift the side plates, I made a device out of a piece of 10mm x 80 x 200 mild steel with a hole for a lifting hook at one end and an old 5/8" bolt welded very securely into a hole in the other end. this was cut to length and a cross hole drilled so that if the side plate was eased only 10mm away from the tank, the device could be pushed through a bolt hole and an 'R' clip used to secure it. The weight of the plate can then be taken while the last fixing screws are removed. I found that this worked very well and has the advantage of being much easier than threading strops down a small gap. Hope this helps. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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