Reproduction UC Track availability? - Page 4

ajmac · #91 05-07-10, 11:19

Materials:

Ideally (as early prewar Carriers) Manganese Steel would be use, however this is very machining intensive - read costly.

During the war they used MCI which today has been superseeded by what is known as S.G. (Spheroidal Graphite) and is ever so easy to cast, my dad does at least two melts per week, just a little heat treatment and it's ready to be machined. It has mechanical properties very similar to Steel.

You may have read that I have just aquired two Loyd Carrier wrecks, as such I will have to be manufacturing a hell of a lot! We will need to have 8 Sprockets profiled and machined then hardened, new brake drums cast. At least I have half a set of track with them! Will keep you informed as the manufacturing process gets going.

cantankrs · #92 05-07-10, 11:56

Good luck with your Lloyd Carriers Alastair! And thanks for your educational input to this thread (along with everyone elses input, past and future).

I checked and a little more info on SG CI can be found at Dormer Tools website on pages 10 and 11 of this PDF file. Basically it derives its desirable properties through the alloy composition rather than MCI's necessary heat treatment after casting. Although SG CI can also be heat treated if the resulting properties are required.

The 'white' and 'grey' CI's I've been involved with will all break up if you flog them with a hammer, but are in contrast with MCI and SG which seem to be - as the word says - 'malleable'.

Regards

Alex

Philliphastings · #93 06-07-10, 08:11

A very interesting and timely post, for as I have indicated elsewhere in the forum I have luckily managed to secure a full set of British Track here in Western Australia afterall. This means I no longer have a need to import new track so I ought to step back from the discussion on demand for it.

I will, however be needing a source of track link pins and tapered washers to replace a number of damaged factory pins. If anyone is contemplating manufacture of quality replacement link pins I would be interested of course!

The track i will be using was a 'factory' track, in as much as it was made in a single span with all rivetted pins and no link pins every 21 links as the 'service' track had.

Cheers

Phill

Rod Bellars (RIP) · #94 06-07-10, 13:55

I have a few carrier parts spare nos uc track ,wheels and some other bits as well as a reasonable stock of local pattern spares always willing to swap for artillery items I need but it is in Australia and limited amounts as becoming hard to find and in demand
regards
Rod

Swiper · #95 06-07-10, 16:25

I hope to have a sample of the track I will be producing at the War and Peace Show at Beltring this summer...

Just hoping the casting will be finished by then - as it'll let all interested parties scrutinise the product...

carrierbarry · #96 06-07-10, 21:25

How will we find you at Beltring?

Barry

Swiper · #97 07-07-10, 07:51

I'll be there with my living history group (53rd Welsh LHG) - at our stand there. I'll find out our exact location shortly, and anyone who wants my mobile number PM me and we can arrange a time to meet up.

matt_mcleod · #98 19-07-10, 14:18

Hello members,
I have been quiet for a couple of weeks.....there was a bit more chasing to be done than I anticipated.

We have a few more details to sort out, then I can post precise pricing, but we appear to be coming in just under the US$7000 mark (plus freight ex-Australia). This is based on 20 sets of complete repro track. More interest means we amortise tooling over a larger production run and get a lower price.

I have an accountant helping me finalising the pricing (I'm not a tax expert) then I will be contacting some freight forwarding companies to give me rough pricing to get large (400kg) crates from Down Under to USA/Canada/UK.

Not sure if this price is going to get us 20 purchasers, so we'll just see what happens.

Cheers
Matt McLeod
www.mechanicaindustries.com.au

ajmac · #99 19-07-10, 15:42

I've just had a terrible thought.... when we start posting prices for new track on the web, the price for good second hand track is liable to go through the roof

Hope not.

Swiper · #**100** 21-07-10, 15:21

We should be getting our tracks out in late August, but definately by Malvern where we hope to have a selection of repro Carrier parts to tempt owners. Unfortunately didn't have anything for W+P, but any enquries drop me a PM, whilst website is being set up etc.

RichardT10829 · #**101** 21-07-10, 17:25

Swiper, who's carrier are you going to use as a test bed for the tracks ? i am sure peeps will want to see them run for a good few hundred miles before parting with their hard earned money so to speak ? I know Martyn will be clocking up some miles on his carrier this year, as will Shaun..... just if you need a test bed so to speak.... also i would advise that sprocket rings are made with the tracks as they should be changed together.

I contacted Staman again about this thread to see if he could use the same contacts he did for the high speed sherman tracks, and perhaps make a run for those that need track. does not seem interested, shame as there is clearly a demand and dare i say it more carriers about than shermans ? that said at the shows i have been to there is normally 4 - 5 Shermans and rarely even 1 carrier......LOL

Richie

Swiper · #**102** 22-07-10, 00:44

The trials should be on a Carrier pretty local to me - if not I'll probably 'advertise' for a second test bed on here. Good advice on the sprocket rings - I'll have a word with my guys.

matt_mcleod · #**103** 26-07-10, 14:19

Members,
Good evening. Our pricing and proposed plan for reproduction track is here on our company website:
http://www.mechanicaindustries.com.au/uc-track

As mentioned on the page, we will take expressions of interest (ie "I want a set and can get the money to pay for them") until August 30, at which time we will make a call whether we will proceed based on interest from the forum (and other locations we are canvassing).

I'm sure there will be many questions. Please PM or email them to me. I will post answers back to our web page for the benefit of all interested parties.

Regards,
Matt McLeod.

RichardT10829 · #**104** 26-07-10, 14:27

Matt i think folk may want to see a set run on a machine before parting with monies, that way any problems can be iron'd out before parting with a few grand as it were. well i say people.....i actually mean me

not sure how anyone else feels......my thoughts being that if there is an issue during casting which would go un noticed until the tracks are run ie they dont mesh over the sprockets correctly etc etc

Marc van Aalderen · #**105** 29-07-10, 22:40

Hello All,

Having watched this topic with interest I have some ideas to share with the Forum.
At W&P I was approached by a Dutchman, like me, who asked me if I would be interested in repro UC track. My answer was yes, offcourse. He then talked about some ideas he had for the links and pins to extend their life-time. One of his ideas was to make the pins a bit softer so they would wear more in comparision to the original pins versus the links. By replacing partly worn pins for fresh ones you would restore the original pitch to a certain degree was his reasoning. Also he had been told that with the hard road surfaces we have nowadays the part of the link in contact with the road wear at an alarming rate. This information was received from a Dutch Carrier owner who measured specific links in his track after driving. He therefore proposed to oversize the height of the links to extend their life span. What do you knowledgeble people think of these ideas?

Cheers,
Marc

Snowy · #**106** 31-07-10, 14:09

Marc's comment about soft track pins seems to hold true. I know someone who has a Bombardier snowmobile (coincidentally almost exactly like the military one in another thread here) who uses soft iron bolts as the pins through the piano hinges in the the track belts. Just the cheap hardware store type used in woodworking projects, the bolt shank being long enough to pass through the hinge. The rationale is the bolts wear more quickly than the harder-to-replace hinge part, and are commonly available. As far as I am aware the Bombardier is used regularly as as work vehicle carrying passengers every winter so there must be some merit to it.

Steve.

maple_leaf_eh · #**107** 31-07-10, 22:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrierbarry

How will we find you at Beltring?

Barry

He's easily recognized at any military vehicle show: older than he feels, young at heart, greyer than he cares to acknowledge, poorer than a churchmouse, rich because of his friendships, wise in the strangest and most arcane matters of 70yr old technology, wider around the middle than his wedding day, and probably instantly noticeable because he'll be wearing green.

There will that help?

maple_leaf_eh · #**108** 31-07-10, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowy

Marc's comment about soft track pins seems to hold true. I know someone who has a Bombardier snowmobile (coincidentally almost exactly like the military one in another thread here) who uses soft iron bolts as the pins through the piano hinges in the the track belts. ...

Steve.

Bombardier is an active Canadian company, with many more parts and divisions than just snowmachines. If you contact them in Valcourt, Quebec (it is the one business in that town), and politely ask about drawings or steel specifications for some of their very old equipment, you never know what luck you might have. I see some of their crawler vehicles regularly used to lug small drill derricks and rock drills around, so that part of the entreprise is still functioning.

matt_mcleod · #**109** 18-10-10, 22:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt_mcleod

Members,
Good evening. Our pricing and proposed plan for reproduction track is here on our company website:
http://www.mechanicaindustries.com.au/uc-track

As mentioned on the page, we will take expressions of interest (ie "I want a set and can get the money to pay for them") until August 30, at which time we will make a call whether we will proceed based on interest from the forum (and other locations we are canvassing).

I'm sure there will be many questions. Please PM or email them to me. I will post answers back to our web page for the benefit of all interested parties.

Regards,
Matt McLeod.

Gents, we have shelved our project that was investigating reproduction track.

We can certainly manufacture small batches of pins if required. Please contact us directly as I do not monitor this forum on a regular basis.

Best of luck with your carrier projects,

Matt McLeod
www.mechanicaindustries.com.au