Another two carriers roll off the production line

[martyn]

Hi Alex
i have found a firm near me that builds steam engines and boilers they are going to have a look at what i want to do, the chap there said they use two air hammers and make a snap to fit the rivet profile iam keen to see it being done will try and get sum photos might be worth a few days off work to help out. living in a town that made the first ww1 tanks and ruston cranes you would think finding sumone who knows about rivetting would be easy took me 10wks and a lot of phone calls to find this chap mind you its a dying trade.
martyn

[martyn]

has anyone on here had any rivetting work done on a carrier if so how long did it take and what was done? as i have just taken one of my hulls away for rivetting so all i can do is sit and wait, its a nervous feeling as hope he gets it right ive marked the holes gave him photos and original parts with rivets still in,guess its out of my hands now just got to wait to hear from them will post sum photos soon as i have it back.
martyn

[aj.lec]

Hello Martyn
I have been doing some hot rivett work on some cmp chassis today
Farming that job out i will now say you have dodged a bullet
It is a pain in the rear
not using high impact air hammers or high compression dies this job tends to be quite tedious as the heat dissapates very quickly from the rivets soon after coming out of the forge
We found today that it was quicker and neater using an oxy set ,heating ,driving 2-3 times then reheating heads then repeating the process till a good head was formed
we had a solid dolly with rivett head pattern in the end to hold the rivett in place and a hardenned bar with the same pattern in the end struck with a large hammer for the forming
with the use of high impact hammers from either side (where possible ) the job would be a lot quicker i would think

[cantankrs]

I believe that apart from forming a tight head, the shank of the rivet should be swelled to fill the hole it passes through. Heating the whole rivet would be essential so bear that in mind if you're trying to use Oxy. The M3 Lee and Grant riveted hulls were squeeze riveted as far as I've been able to find out. And I can speak with personal experience that those rivets swelled.

While not particularly relevant in this thread on Carriers, I'll mention that the holes in the M3 Medium angles seem to be slightly larger than the holes in the plates, so pushing from plate side toward angle side is essential during removal.

Regards

Alex

[aj.lec]

Thats correct
Not too much of an issue on chassis for there was still enough heat to swell the rivet being mostly 1/2 inch or under diameter
Bit different story with amour and thicker plate
definately recomend whole heating and air hammers from either side

[martyn]

Hi thanks for your replys ithink ive done the right move by the sounds of it think if it was one or two rivets oxi would be ok but a whole carrier then the other one the chap uses 2 air hammers but not a forge its like a small box made from fire blocks and a big blow torch head and they heat one at a time iam looking forward to watch it being done.
will keep you informed on how its going when he starts it
cheers martyn

[Ledsel]

See if you can take some pictures!

[Lynn Eades]

I have a C.P.gun like this.

[Grant Bowker]

A "Pre-owned Chicago 'C' Frame Air Riveter Model 450"
http://www.alexdavisassoc.com/print/...-9615_page.htm
I haven't looked to see what the capacity if the riveter is, but it looks like a hefty piece of kit.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Ammunition reloading presses have all sorts of deflection problems to bear in mind. A simple cheap C-press will be fine for very light duty steps, but to do heavier more crunchy steps, the only ones worth using have 2 guides bars and form a letter H. Something to keep in mind if you are going to fabricate a rivetter of your own.