Spanners and other stuff you could put in the tool boxes

[John Clarke]

I've been waiting for sometime for these miniature tools and others to arrive from the far east. Some made from Tibetan silver would you believe, what ever that is.

Most are key ring metal novelties, but they are all metal and some will make interesting additions to the many tool boxes that are placed around the Chieftain. a little bit of work and a lick of paint

My own experience of tool boxes really began as an apprentice at the C.E.G.B (Power stations) as a sixteen year old.
Not issued with tools straight away, so I asked to borrow some. A crusty old fitter pointed to writing on his tool box.
"The man who lends tools out, is out looking for them"

"Wise words" I thought,,,,,,,,,, then I thought.......... "selfish old git!"

Some would put their names on their tools, This was a great idea until a spanner is accidentally left in the HP manifold of a Turbine, taking out several expensive turbine blades. Still the name on the spanner soon shorten the time on the investigation and helped management find the perpetrator of the damage.

I was always happy to leave the original name on the spanners, I especially liked "Snap on", "Bedford" and my favorite "King Dick" always gave me a certain amount of pride.

These days though, there just no thought on cool tool names, their very good. But how can you respect names like "Facom tools"?

[Mark Heaps]

6 inch and 12 inch adjustables, yes. Hacksaw, yes possibly. Micrometer, no ! We did not carry a micrometer on the fitter section vehicles so no need to have one on a Chieftain. Sand off the brand names but leave the size markings.
Facom tools are great and their service is excellent. I managed to break a 3/8" 8" extension for a socket set. Replaced with no quibbles, just a request for more info on the circumstances when it broke.

[John-Heaps]

Hi all,
agree with what Mark said but we never had a hacksaw as part of a CES on any vehicle i crewed(Ch, CR1,CR2, CVRT, plus wheeled) hacksaws were for REME and micrometers were for Ints Techs if they had them, tank tool boxes were simple to allow the crew to do simple maint and repair, if more complex tools were needed it would be a REME job.
Please dont make your life harder by adding bits we did not have.

Cheers
John

[mark lawson]

The middle picture shows vernier caliper not a micrometer.

[Mark Heaps]

Granted, that they are vernier calipers and not a micrometer. I used the wrong term. Tanks did not have them.
Neither did we as REME supporting the tanks.
Mark

[John Clarke]

Hold on,,,,, I did say "some" of these tools could be used!.

And show me an engineer/mechanic who "didn't" have the odd few extra tools that make life that little bit easier. And I'll show you chocolate teapot engineer.

I can think of many extra's to keep with a standard tool kit.

Here's a few, terminal screw drivers, tweezers, a roll of insulating tape (my favorite), a magnet on a piece of string and a quality" King Dick " AF socket set.

Not everything can be fixed with a hammer ............................most things , but not all

I threw in the verniers for the uni grads..

[Mark Heaps]

I once watched someone who had dropped a tool in the pack bay and claimed he could retrieve it using his special tool, a magnet on a piece of string.
Clang, magnet stuck to hull before getting anywhere near the tool. Next attempt, clang, magnet stuck to pack before reaching tool. Multiple attempts and it did not work, but amusing to watch. We were lifting the pack at the time and even when we got it out of the way for him, his magnet clanged onto the hull floor rather than getting the tool. Someone then climbed down into the packbay, picked up the dropped tool and handed it to him.
Magnets on strings do not work with tanks which are big lumps of metal.

[John Clarke]

Your quite right Mark, He'd certainly have had better luck in the Armortek Chieftain or the not so secret Aluminum Chieftain And if he'd worked in a food factory where most things are stainless steel like I do now, he'd definitely have had a better chance.

Anyway think of the entertainment value, a perfect time to whistle the clown tune always a crowd pleaser

They weren't taking the motor out because of the "spanner" were they?

Because he could have tried, if the tool was visible, a magnet strapped to stick with (my favorite) insulating tape. Just one of a 100 things you can do with insulating tape

"Spanner" local term for clumsy fool

[John Clarke]

Picked up a few more items for the bin boxes, food and cooking utensils etc. Beer cans on the way bud.

I thought it might be nice to have an original part from a Chieftain, but what? I have an original vehicle registration plate, but it's quite large and would only fit inside the model.

So I was pleased to find this come up on flea bay. The vent tube electrical circuit firing tester. It was apparently designed by a crew member to simply and quickly test the firing circuit without the all the official testing procedures. It's something I could respect, since I come from an instrument maintenance background and tricks of the trade were always being devised and developed.

Made originally from a expended 0.625 vent tube round and a lamp.

The one I have looks to be an officially made item, it is missing the lamp and there may have been other components, a heavy lump, but it looks like it could be the real McCoy with the LIA4 stamped on the rear.

I only can guess at the procedure, some how you have load the test round, press the fire button and look for the light?
What worry me can you fire a vent tube with breech open?

Sounds a bit dangerous with a live vent tube loaded or could you view the lamp else where with the breech closed.

Or is it, you intentional blow the lamp to test the circuit?. removing the blown lamp proves the firing circuit....... so many questions?

Either way I'll drop the vent tube tester in an Armortek Chieftain bin box and a little bit of real Chieftain will find it's way into the model.

vent tester1.jpg (12.88 KiB) Viewed 11210 times

[Mark Heaps]

Hi John,
My brother John would be better able to answer some of your questions.

A flanged pea-bulb was inserted into the back of the tester, the tester clipped into the FNA ( Firing Needle Assy ), and the FNA inserted into the breech. A crewman from the tank was always present when we were inspecting the tanks and he would have done it. I just looked for the bulb to illuminate when I wanted it to and only when I wanted it to do.

Saftey interlocks would have prevented the circuit from being tested or a live vent tube from being fired with the breech open. I believe it was possible to see the lamp shining because the obturators ( breech seals ) would not have been fitted. If they had been, then it would not have been possible to see.

The official smoke grenade discharger was a similar sort of device but fiddly to use, so I always modified a coke can.

Mark

[John Clarke]

Thanks Mark I'll have a look for the lamp just to make it complete. The missing obturators make more sense now.

Bulb's go in the ground, lamps go in a fitting oh the fun and jolly japes I had with that one over the years.

But come on Mark, we're all adults, I'm questionable being born on the 29th of Feb...…. It was Beer can

[Stephen White]

Here you go gentlemen. We'll make a gunner mech out of you yet, John. And to think I knew all this stuff once.

Now, one (two actually) for John Heaps - tell me what you know about the pre-filter bypass flap valve solenoid switch. Or if that doesn't appeal, how about the rat catch plunger release catch cam (noting we're now on a different weapon.......). I knew Lulworth could seriously damage your brain.

[Mark Heaps]

learnt something this evening from Steven.
I was aware of the spare FNA and we tested both during REME inspections so that the crews knew they could rely on them when they were needed. I was not aware that crews held a spare BREC ( Breech Ring Electrical Contact ) and I also never had to change or replace one. if I knew they had a spare then I would have checked it and confirmed its serviceabilty.
I always checked the emergency firing circuit by switching off both hull and turret batteries. If both the ME and GUE generators failed , the tank would eventually lose automotive capability, gunkit and radio due to lack of electrical power. You could lose every other system but could still hand traverse / elevate on to the target and use emergency firing until run out of ammo or have to abandon the vehicle.

[John Clarke]

Fantastic Stephen, though I don't do well with authority, so many questions you see.

Do you check the bulb sorry lamp before or after the test?

[John Clarke]

Stephen/Mark

I was reading the test procedure late last night (obviously written by an avid gardener) wondering what the firing circuit voltage was?

I'm guessing 12 volts, allowing any reductions due to loss of generation or main battery capacity. Question is how can you continue to fire with the loss of all power. Could you get away with a PP3 (9 Volt) connected somewhere?

It would be a similar story in a Tigger or any weapon fired electrically.

It reminds me of the story of my mate who'd brought a used "original 88 shell casing from a TIGER", he was so proud he'd got such a rare relic.

I reluctantly said "why has it got standard primer with a firing pin mark on it"? His return remark isn't printable.

These mess tins are a pretty good at 1/6 scale, the sausage and beans and paster looks a bit yuk, beggars can't be choosers. the rest of the bits are ok

I'll be making up some food ration packs, the odd bottle of wine and a six pack.

mess.jpg (44.03 KiB) Viewed 11080 times