Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

Perfect weather for sanding today so I was able to get the wooden coil case stripped of its NATO Green paint and back down to pretty much bare pine. Some hand detailing left to do after all this Mouse work.

Not much filling will be needed compared to the four cases/boxes for the 52-Set. Mostly around the finger jointing on the bottom edges.

Absolutely no sign of surviving markings under the NATO Green, but the factory paint had been sanded prior to the NATO repaint, and I suspected that would be the case. I was able to confirm this case also had factory Flat Olive drab applied to it prior to the two Mounting Plates being fitted on the bottom of it. This is consistent with the findings on my parts coil case and confirms these plates were fitted in their basic plated finish as I had noticed on one wartime photo of a 52-Set a few years back.


David

[David Dunlop]

Finally got over to Princess Auto this morning to pick up a can of Xylene.

Thanks again for the tip, Barry.

That raises a slightly related question.

When I was last actively spray painting military vehicle parts with a compressor/air gun combination, I was typically working with a large number of parts at a time so was prepping and using the paint pretty much on a full paint canister basis each time. When done, the canister got cleaned out with thinner and a quantity of thinner was also sprayed through the gun to clean it all out before putting it all away.

This time around, my spray painting is going to be pretty much one or two small parts at a time, roughly a square foot surface area each go around. My thought is to mix enough paint to get the job done each time and then replicate the cleanup process as before. However, in the Operators Manual for my Campbell Hausfeld GP Spray Gun, they show an accessory Paint Canister and lid assembly that can be purchased (price presently unknown).

These days, it could be weeks before I would get round to another spray painting task. I am not sure the premixed paint would hold for that length of time and the cleanup time would probably still be the same, or maybe longer, if a second canister setup was in play. Would it be worth the cost to go the dual canister route, or just stick to the one and plan the mixing accordingly for the job at hand?


David

[David Dunlop]

With the sanding and stripping down of the NATO Green paint on the exterior of the coil case and back cover completed, I have been focusing on getting this paint off all the 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch surfaces created by the recess cuts for the front panel and rear cover, and the six 1/2-inch square reinforcing strips in the four box corners and backing for the rear cover.

It has been very slow but steadt work. I have now assembled a nice assortment of tools that work well on this small stuff in tight spaces and have worked out a fairly reliable pattern. Once I can break through the heavy coat of NATO Green, I have found the pine has a pretty good hardness about it, such that a hard steel edge can actually chip chunks of the paint of very easily. The only tricky bits so far are the presence of saw ridges on some of the 1/2-inch strips that require a bit of sanding to smooth down first.

The last of these small pieces I have to clean now are the inside faces of the four pine strips that form the backing for the rear cover. I need to have the case resting on its back on the bench with several gooseneck lamps in close to properly light the interior of the case to see what I am doing, and reach down and in at a steep angle. I end up starting at a midpoint and moving to one end, vacuum the bits out and then swing the case around to clean up the opposite direction. Slow but steady.

I will try and sort some meaningful photos out this weekend.


David

[Barry Churcher]

David what I have been using is these Preval sprayers for the small stuff. You can mix as little paint as you need. They used to be available from Carquest but now they are no longer selling them. They are available from Amazon though.
After buying a unit with a jar you only have to buy the refills. It's just like spraying with a spray bomb but you mix the paint your way and you can even use hardener. Twenty years ago I overhauled the loader cylinders on my tractor and used Allis Chalmers good quality orange and they look just as good today. When you are finished just put a bit of thinners in the jar and spray it out to clean the nozzle. Done.
Cheers
Barry

https://www.google.com/search?q=amaz...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[David Dunlop]

Barry! Talk about a trip down Memory Lane!

Back in the late 70's when I was restoring my first M38CDN, I found setting up the compressor for small paint jobs a RPITA!

Then one day, I was wandering through either Princess Auto or Canadian Tire and found a version of this product. It was a teardrop shaped brown plastic setup with a trigger on the top of the broad end and a 25 oz plastic bottle screwed underneath it. The jar was the same size as a modern small glass Smuckers jam jar.

On top of the small end was the spray nozzle and underneath it you screwed in the propellant can which was the same size as the Testors small modelling spray paint cans that were available back then. It was a dream to work with on small parts, but after a few years the propellant cans were no longer available.

I shall definitely be getting one of these rigs and some extra propellant. The two panel projects on my 52-Set are each only about +/- 1 Square Foot, for which this would be ideal!


Very Best Regards,


David

[David Dunlop]

One of the many mysteries for me regarding the 52-Set today, was the apparent universal usage of standard 1/4-inch Hex Bolt hardware for mounting the three components of the main set in the Carriers No. 4, and the Remote Receiver in its case.

There are absolutely no spanners, wrenches or sockets in the tool kit for the set the operator could use to easily remove any of these four items for a basic inspection or repair. The manual stated there should be no need for the Operator to ever have to remove any of these items from their cases, but at the same time provides a detailed explanation of what the Operator needs to do to reinstall the three components back into the Carriers No. 4, should all three need to be removed at once for some reason, but again, no reference for sourcing the necessary tools.

My assumption for years was simply that the hex hardware commonly found today must have replaced some form of factory original hardware, and the most logical hardware seemed to be 1/4-inch x 20 by half inch, slotted, RH Machine Screws, since a set of three slot head screw drivers were a part of the tool kit.

Then, around this time in 2021, a chap in England had a very original 52-Set Remote Receiver up for sale on eBay and I contacted him to ask if there were any stencil markings to be found anywhere on the exterior of the No. 2 Brown case. He replied, with additional photographs, that there were none anywhere. What did surprise me, however, was one side photo he sent that clearly showed a slotted hex head bolt, in No. 2 Brown paint, holding the receiver in its case. The owner confirmed, all four sets of hardware were the same, all were fitted from the outside in, the bolts were one half inch long and the nuts were all skinny. A mystery finally solved.

My Remote Receiver had 1/4-inch x 20 x half inch hex bolts, split washers and hex nuts in all four locations, but all were installed from the inside. I had always thought this had looked rather ugly and unfinished with the open ends of the bolts and nuts sticking out so far, so I was pleased to turn them all around with the heads to the outside. What I discovered with that change, was that the two upper sets of hardware stuck out so far, the upper service panel on the receiver er could not be removed. The combination of the hex nut and split washer actually exceeded the bolt length just enough to create the problem. So I flipped the hardware back around while I tried to sort out the problem.

For the last three years, I have swept the internet from time to time looking for slotted 1/4-inch hex bolts with little success. Lots of shouldered head stuff out there, like you find for automotive licence plates, but not the basic hex head bolt style. Then, 10 days ago, I did another sweep and found a company in Chicago with an extensive illustrated inventory. For some reason, I typed in “1/4-inch slotted hex head” and forgot the word ‘bolt’. Up popped a bunch of items called “Cap Screws”, and among them was a one inch long 1/4-inch x 20 in packs of 100, dirt cheap with free US shipping. After I calmed down a bit, I decided to see if they might have matching thin headed hex nuts so typed that in next. Up came 1/4-inch only, also in packs of 100. They were described a ‘Jam Nuts’, half the thickness of a standard hex nut.

That just left the issue of the lock washers. When I took a close look at existing split style lock washers in my wartime wireless equipment, they are all noticeably thicker than modern ones available today. When you do a similar comparison between wartime Shakeproof style lock washers and their modern equivalent internal toothed lock washers, there is very little, if any, difference in thickness.

So after several years of off and on searching, with somewhat incorrect parameters, I finally figured out what was originally used for mounting hardware for the main components of the 52-Set. I could only get 1-inch length Cap Screws but I have had to trim hardware down before, so that is not a problem. It will be a nice bench project over the winter.


David

[David Dunlop]

Here are some photos I promised of the cramped quarters being worked in to strip out the last of the NATO Green paint.

The rearmost 1/2-inch trim is the worse, with just the lower right area section actually done. Once that stuff is gone, I can work my way forward through the interior panels with my two sanders easily enough to get rid of the last of this postwar paint.


David

[Harry Moon]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Finally got over to Princess Auto this morning to pick up a can of Xylene.

Thanks again for the tip, Barry.

That raises a slightly related question.

When I was last actively spray painting military vehicle parts with a compressor/air gun combination, I was typically working with a large number of parts at a time so was prepping and using the paint pretty much on a full paint canister basis each time. When done, the canister got cleaned out with thinner and a quantity of thinner was also sprayed through the gun to clean it all out before putting it all away.

This time around, my spray painting is going to be pretty much one or two small parts at a time, roughly a square foot surface area each go around. My thought is to mix enough paint to get the job done each time and then replicate the cleanup process as before. However, in the Operators Manual for my Campbell Hausfeld GP Spray Gun, they show an accessory Paint Canister and lid assembly that can be purchased (price presently unknown).

These days, it could be weeks before I would get round to another spray painting task. I am not sure the premixed paint would hold for that length of time and the cleanup time would probably still be the same, or maybe longer, if a second canister setup was in play. Would it be worth the cost to go the dual canister route, or just stick to the one and plan the mixing accordingly for the job at hand?


David

I have a second much smaller spray gun that I use for such small touchups. Pretty reasonable at Princess Auto. holds about a fifth of my reguler gun.

[David Dunlop]

That is not a bad idea, Harry.

I do have an Air Brush Gun I purchased years ago to work on a 1/16 Scale RC Tiger I model, but I am not sure I could get a lot of paint out of the can it is equipped with at the moment. Might be worth looking into what accessories might be available for it in that regard.


David

[David Dunlop]

The main painting of the wooden coil case and back panel was done this morning so it is finally back in original Flat Olive Drab finish, probably for the first time since the 1950’s.

Tomorrow I hope to get any touchups completed and it can then sit for two weeks to hard cure before I set about getting all the parts which need to be reinstalled, back onto it.



David

[David Dunlop]

Last evening I was able to give the wooden coil case a lat final inspection of the paint work and touch up a few missed bits. It is now resting on the bench for its two week hard cure. It looks a bit odd to me still in Flat Olive Drab paint. Since I saw my first one back in the 1970’s, I have only ever seen them in NATO Green.

I added two photos this time. Essentially the same shot on the bench, then only change being one task light was slightly re-angled to better highlight the interior of the case. But notice how the tone of the Flat Olive Drab suddenly shifts from a green to brown. I am sure i have commented on this before with this paint. In mottled sunlight or shade, it can drive you nuts trying to figure out the actual colour!

My thought at the moment is the first item to reunite with this case will probably be the green felt pad on the floor of it that the coil chassis assembly rests on.



David

[David Dunlop]

Some decal supplies arrived today. I have never worked with either of these items before so another new learning curve looms on the horizon.


David