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  #91  
Old 15-11-16, 09:49
rnixartillery rnixartillery is offline
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Default Limber spares box

Rob,

Now you have a limber box its very tempting to start looking for the contents !
These boxes are very hard to come across so you have done well finding one.
There are several variation and the differences being the 'furniture' inside and locations of where things go.

Rob................rnixartillery.

Last edited by rnixartillery; 27-07-19 at 20:58.
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  #92  
Old 15-11-16, 10:40
rob love rob love is offline
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Yes Rob, I knew, upon seeing the lengthy checklist on the lid of the box, that I had just received a new can of worms minus the unique worms. I'm not sure there is even one of these boxes in the artillery museum that I work for, or that the fittings inside this box are even applicable to the guns that I have.

Seems odd they would have the same part number for the box, but with different fittings and brackets internally for different guns. I would have expected perhaps a letter suffix for each variation.
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  #93  
Old 15-11-16, 12:25
rnixartillery rnixartillery is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rob love View Post
Yes Rob, I knew, upon seeing the lengthy checklist on the lid of the box, that I had just received a new can of worms minus the unique worms. I'm not sure there is even one of these boxes in the artillery museum that I work for, or that the fittings inside this box are even applicable to the guns that I have.

Seems odd they would have the same part number for the box, but with different fittings and brackets internally for different guns. I would have expected perhaps a letter suffix for each variation.
The Box for the MK11 would have a slightly different layout but much of the contents were the same/standard between Guns. Also the interiors were altered throughout there service pending the guns they were supplied with so there are a few variations between boxes..

Rob...................rnixartillery.
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  #94  
Old 15-11-16, 15:15
Rob Fast Rob Fast is offline
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Default Would this be a 17 pdr. limber item?

Nice find Rob.
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  #95  
Old 20-11-16, 03:03
Bob Phillips Bob Phillips is offline
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Default Limber Spares- grease gun

In the photo of the limbers spares box there is a small brass grease gun with what appears to be a hose. What fitting is on the end? (button head fitting?)
I have a small supply of similar grease guns but they have a metal pipe end with a couple of flexible knuckles on it, ending in a small button head fitting.
Is this a correct grease gun fora 25 pounder or other (17 pounder ) guns? Will attach a picture if I can get it to work....BP

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  #96  
Old 20-11-16, 03:50
rob love rob love is offline
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Your gun looks correct, but I cannot say I have seen that hose before.

Here is the standard 25 pdr grease gun courtesy of the Irish Army.
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  #97  
Old 20-11-16, 04:39
Bob Phillips Bob Phillips is offline
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Default grease gun

Thanks Rob, my gun says Tecalemit London, cast in the body and appear to have a button head fitting that is smaller than the standard UC fitting. Does your have a rubber or woven metal hose?? BP
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  #98  
Old 20-11-16, 04:41
rob love rob love is offline
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It is woven metal over rubber. We actually have about 25 of them at the museum. The majority are like this, then there is the odd variation with rubber hose.
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  #99  
Old 24-08-17, 12:54
rob love rob love is offline
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So it has been just over a year since recovery of the 2 guns, and I have been meaning to post a bit of an update. I selected one of the guns to begin restoration and have pretty much dis-asssembled it as far as I am going and begun repairing the caisson.

Disassembly was not too bad, with the exception of course of the breech. After oiling and heating, I finally just removed the tube and breech, and ran them over to the press for disassembly. Much quicker and no damages that hammering would have caused. Much thanks goes to Rob Nixon who advised me through the process. I did have a bit of a hiccup on the muzzle brake though. I warmed it up a bit, and managed to get half a turn before it stopped. I asked Rob if it was left hand thread and he responded that it turns clockwise, so I thought that meant right hand thread. I had about 8 feet of bar through the brake, with the wife standing on the end and me whacking the bar with a sledge....almost no movement. So I reversed the direction of the pipe, put the tractor bucket against the pipe and with a single whack of the handle, the brake just spun off. Looking back at Rob's advice, I guess clockwise is subjective to which way you are standing.

Photos will tell it better than I can.
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Last edited by rob love; 24-08-17 at 19:40.
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  #100  
Old 24-08-17, 13:01
rob love rob love is offline
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So the next step was to deal with some of the damages aquired by rough handling of the gun over the years. The bracket that stored the tool box was of concern, as was the hole punched through the top near the hitch, and the bent "wings". I used a porta-power C-clamp to straighten the wings, and it moved them like hot butter.
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  #101  
Old 24-08-17, 13:09
rob love rob love is offline
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Collecting all the tooling and accessories has been going along well, albeit expensive. But here are a pair of larger accessories I managed to drag home. It was only a couple thousand kms for these, but as per my usual operating procedures, one pair of socks went out the back window.
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  #102  
Old 24-08-17, 13:34
Rob Fast Rob Fast is offline
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Default Darn Rob...

where did you find these limbers? Jealous! Need one! Cheers Rob Fast
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  #103  
Old 24-08-17, 13:43
rob love rob love is offline
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Came out of a farmyard in the next province. Sorry Rob, there was just the pair, and I have 2 guns.

The axle is missing from one of them, as are bits and pieces here and there. Shouldbe very easy to restore one to exc condition, and the other may be a 10 footer....that is to say it will look good from 10 feet but wouldn't meet the judging at a display.
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  #104  
Old 24-08-17, 17:59
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Robert Bergeron Robert Bergeron is offline
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Hey Rob,

What did the farmers recycle the limbers for when they were disposed of by Crown assets ?
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  #105  
Old 24-08-17, 18:26
rob love rob love is offline
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They didn't. In general, limbers had no civilian application. Very heavy, and very small. There is no frame so to speak, they are the original unibody construction. To even get the axle out you have to cut the limber open, and cut all the linkages from the impact brakes to the handbrake system.
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  #106  
Old 22-05-18, 18:40
rob love rob love is offline
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Just back from a quick trip to Southern Ontario to pick up another 25 pounder chassis along with a twin BMG pedestal mount. These were some items from Dennis Walker, who is currently thinning out his collection.

I left Thursday morning a little before noon, and nearly got to Nipigon for the first night. The next morning, had a good breakfast in Nipigon, decided to go the lake route to Sudbury rather than the flatter Northern route, and overall was pleasantly surprised by the good condition of the roads. They do twist and wind a bit, and it can be quite a ways between gas stations. I made a mistake at Wawa Ontario when I missed the last gas station and decided to drive on rather than turn around. The Sioux was about 240kms away, and as I got further from Wawa, I was watching the fuel gauge plummet. At a little over 40 kms, I decided I had better turn around, so back to Wawa to fill. In the end, there was a station at about 140kms down the road, but it would have been very very close, and I would have been well past the low fuel light. I got out of Parry Sound and onto that dreaded 400 highway. It wasn't too bad until about Muskoka, and by Barrie had turned into some kind of race track, with guys making 4 lane changeovers at the speed of light. It was a little too much for me, so pulled in around Innisfail for fuel and called it a night in a carpool parking lot at about 11PM.

Next morning, a Tim Horton's breakfast (uugh ) and I thought I would try to stay off the 400/401 and go through Alliston/by Acton etc. I was supposed to contact Jordan Baker to act as my guide, but between the rain and the back country road system, I found myself going in circles. By the time I figured out which way was South, I headed for the QEW, and found myself on the toll road instead. I look forward to seeing the bill for that next 15 minuted of driving pleasre. Traffic density was more to my liking, and it twisted me over to the QEW, and into St Catherines.

Managed to find Dennis Walkers place, and after some introductions and a brief tour, we began loading. I was supposed to try and load a limber on the trailer for Rob Fast as well, but the logistics of loading a limber on first, then a 12 foot gun chassis, all on a 14 foot trailer, were not good. I had to leave the limber behind for another day, and after getting everything loaded, we headed to his barn to look at other things. Soon depleted of cash, it was time to head to Brian Asbury's for some quick dealing.

Got lost on the way to there, and after a couple of calls to Brian, finally managed to pull into his shop. I haven't been there in some 20+ years, and things are certainly thinning out. I had hoped to get up past Barrie that nght, but in the end slept again in the truck in Brian's shop parking lot. Up again in the morning, got breakfast in Orangeville, over to the 400 and headed up through North Bay and got to Longlac that night. I actually splurged for a $60 hotel, as I was starting to get pretty ripe.

I did find two very bad patches of road during that leg that will be memorable. Just past Kapuskasing is about 10kms of roadway that was more akin to cobblestone. When I pulled in to Hearst, I found that the security pin for the landing leg on the trailer had come out, and the leg had been skidding on the ground for an undetermined period of time. Thankfully I did not cross over any curbs going into the gas station. Then, before reaching Longlac, there was a fresh patch of pavement over a culvert with a bump sign. The bump sign should have been a ramp sign, as the sunken patch launched the truck into the air. Just as the truck landed, the trailer also went up. That was a very white knuckle moment, but fortunately all the chains held the load.

Last leg of the 2500+ km 5 day trip was uneventful. With a decent nights sleep in the hotel, and some of the highway actually divided, I made great time and was home by 9PM. Did have a minor event when, as I got closer to Manitoba and started into the mid 20 degree temps, I noticed the truck was running a little hot. Was trying to figure out why, and remembered I still had my winter cardboard in front of the radiator. Pulled that out and gauge went back to middle and the air conditioning started working even better. Overall, went through about $1,000 in fuel, which ranged from $1.23 a liter in MB to $1.46 a liter in Northern ON.

Did bring out some AMUs for Brian, and left some at Brians for Frank, who I was not able to contact. Unfortunately, due to a family issue I had to get home, so did not spend the extra day I wanted to to visit people out there. Busy now unloading the truck and trailer, and will shoot some photos of the new acquisitions in a bit. I do have some 17pdr ammo boxes here for Rob Fast, so we'll connect at some point.

Ontario: A great place to visit, but I sure prefer the peacefulness and open spaces out here.

Last edited by rob love; 28-09-20 at 05:55.
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  #107  
Old 27-05-18, 01:48
maple_leaf_eh maple_leaf_eh is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rob love View Post
....

Next morning, a Tim Horton's breakfast (uugh ) and I thought I would try to stay off the 400/401 and go through Alliston/by Acton etc. I was supposed to contact Jordan Baker to act as my guide, but between the rain and the back country road system, I found myself going in circles. By the time I figured out which way was South, I headed for the QEW, and found myself on the toll road instead. I look forward to seeing the bill for that next 15 minuted of driving pleasre. Traffic density was more to my liking, and it twisted me over to the QEW, and into St Catherines.

...

Got lost on the way to there, and after a couple of calls to Brian, finally managed to pull into his shop. I haven't been there in some 20+ years, and things are certainly thinning out.

...
Those GPS navigators are cheap and generally very worthwhile for getting around in unfamiliar territory.
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  #108  
Old 27-05-18, 04:34
rob love rob love is offline
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No doubt. I see they are on sale next week at Cdn tire, so I need to do a bit of research and pick the best model.
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  #109  
Old 27-05-18, 04:54
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Wayne Hingley Wayne Hingley is offline
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It looks like you had a successful trip overall Rob. Will you use the new 25pr chassis for your second gun? You should have a decent backlog of project work in the lineup now...

several years ago I had a similar experience to your Dodge jumping incident, where I took my truck and trailer airborne as I went over a dead moose lying on the road in the middle of the night.
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  #110  
Old 27-05-18, 08:59
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GPS in Australia I have found Garmin the most accurate.
Most people I know have switched to using there smart phones to avoid having to pay for map updates.
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  #111  
Old 27-05-18, 13:43
maple_leaf_eh maple_leaf_eh is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hrpearce View Post
GPS in Australia I have found Garmin the most accurate.
Most people I know have switched to using there smart phones to avoid having to pay for map updates.
Phones are OK, but distracted driving has now surpassed drunk driving as the leading cause of highway fatalities.

distracted, drunk, drowsy, drugged, dangerously and detached

My navigators get plugged into the PC only every year; there aren't that many new roads being built where I have to go. Look a letter L in the model number which signifies Lifetime updates included in the purchase price.
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  #112  
Old 27-05-18, 14:07
rob love rob love is offline
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It would seem the competition in the GPS field has made it so the newer Garmin GPS (along with other brands) now include free map updates.

It is the megallin seires of GPS currently on sale a Cdn tire, but they are not highly rated by the users. In some cost comparing, I see best buy has them at better prices than Cdn tires sale prices, especially the Garmin series. It is rare I will buy from best buy but I am thinking this may be the exception.

There is not a lot of need for GPS where I live. If it is around noon, and you want to go North, you drive so the shadow casts ahead of you. For East and west, take a road that has the sun out the appropriate window, considering the time of day. But Southern Ontario does not have it's roads generally going east to west, and rarely seems to have the sun showing. Your mileage may vary.

I do not know what these "smart phones" are that you speak of. My phone lets me make phone calls, and apparently I may be able to take photographs with it, although I have never intentionally done so.
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  #113  
Old 27-05-18, 15:06
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rob love View Post

But Southern Ontario does not have it's roads generally going east to west, and rarely seems to have the sun showing.
Hey now, that lack of sun is just Ohio smog blowing in. And for navigation we use the lakes. North (...ish...the lakes run at an angle) is away from the water (the Niagara region being the mind blowing exception with lakes on both sides) and water out your left or right window equates to east and west. Works well enough.
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  #114  
Old 27-05-18, 16:45
rob love rob love is offline
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Bruce

That would well enough if you are simply travelling along the QEW. But if you go inland more than a few miles, the reference point to the lakes are gone.

At night, out here, we can use the light from the next city as a reference point. That is good to about 25 miles. Way too many lights where you are at to try and use that method.

Years back, when I first came to Shilo, they had just built the new base maintenance building. It had a row of lights along the towers of the roof. You could see those 10 miles out in the training area....nearly impossible to get lost and easy to find your way back to camp. The lights have either been disconnected or else burned out over the years so that ref point is gone.
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  #115  
Old 27-05-18, 20:29
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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It's hard to explain. Once you've been here for a while you just instinctively know where the lake is. No need to actually see it. As to the lights, I'm far enough away from Toronto and the GTA to know what you mean. The local burgs of 1000 people are clear, local and bright. If conditions are right you can make out the deep, distant glow of London, 50 km away.

I mock Toronto people who once...once...in their life saw stars. All it took was an electrical blackout of the entire eastern seaboard. Well, some saw stars, that is if they weren't trapped in a non-functioning elevator in their overpriced condo.

Quote:
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Bruce

That would well enough if you are simply travelling along the QEW. But if you go inland more than a few miles, the reference point to the lakes are gone.

At night, out here, we can use the light from the next city as a reference point. That is good to about 25 miles. Way too many lights where you are at to try and use that method.

Years back, when I first came to Shilo, they had just built the new base maintenance building. It had a row of lights along the towers of the roof. You could see those 10 miles out in the training area....nearly impossible to get lost and easy to find your way back to camp. The lights have either been disconnected or else burned out over the years so that ref point is gone.
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  #116  
Old 21-06-20, 14:51
rob love rob love is offline
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Thought I would toss a couple photos for an update. With the impending return to work (the Covid threat is low around here right now), I decided to take advantage of the weather and get some sandblasting and painting done. I had the basic carriage repaired and painted last fall, so this spring's work included the hubs and brakes, the traverse and elevations mechanisms, and the barrel. The barrel had been cut in it's previous life and reasonably welded closed again. I filled a lot of the small holes with mig, and profiled it as best I could. You can see the area if you look for it, but it doesn't jump out at you.



Everything gets sandblasted and POR-15 before getting a coat of Gillespie 33070 paint. All the bolts and holes are rethreaded with appropriate BSF taps and dies, and silver antisieze applied before assembly.


I have run into a problem where I have misplaced one of my brackets to hold the shield in place. I believe it to be buried in the sand in my sandblast shed, but after shoveling and probing, it is not showing up. So I have borrowed the bracket from the other gun for now. In a few weeks I'll completely dig out the shed with the tractor and put cement on the floor.



The current tires are just temporary. They are a Michelin on a drop center rim. They came from the UK, where they were apparently a modern replacement for some of the ceremonial guns in use over there. Problem is they are too wide to allow the gun to fit onto a trailer. I think I discussed these a few years ago when I went to pick up the second gun at Bob's.


I added a photo of one of the bolts for the counterweight. Complete with property mark, part number, and inspectors marks, they must have been expensive.
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Last edited by rob love; 28-09-20 at 05:40.
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  #117  
Old 21-06-20, 21:12
Ed Storey Ed Storey is online now
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Default Q.F. 25-Pdr Howitzers

The two examples at the front gate to CFB Petawawa are in pretty shabby shape and are showing their years of neglect. Here is a photograph taken yesterday of one of the guns.

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  #118  
Old 22-06-20, 01:05
rob love rob love is offline
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A gallon of paint and a couple hours work would do wonders for those guns Ed. Quite frankly, mine were worse than those, and is coming along nicely, although this is more than cosmetic work.
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  #119  
Old 22-06-20, 01:56
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Wayne Hingley Wayne Hingley is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rob love View Post
A gallon of paint and a couple hours work would do wonders for those guns Ed...
A drive-by with the lawn mower wouldn't hurt either... The base maintenance budgets must be under pressure.

Your progress is looking great Rob. Is the second one getting the same treatment?
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  #120  
Old 22-06-20, 02:31
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The second one may end up just getting a general cleanup and being relegated to gate guard duties. Before I worry about it, I need to restore the limber, then assemble the artillery tractor. I expect to be onto the limber this summer, and possibly a start on the gun tractor this fall.
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