2012 Tiger 1 (Late) rebuild - s.Pz-Abt.510

[Jerry Carducci]

I've developed a very healthy respect for how well those taper locks hold. I've read several posts on machining forums that discuss
these.

I've set aside better quality keys (Allen branded) just for these; none of those sort that come with a piece of 'assemble it yourself' garden furniture...

Jerry

[Tim Page]

well, that proved to be a bit of a nightmare (understatement of the year).

The sprocket is now off, but has been relocated to the bin in the garage as its in a number of broken & damaged pieces.
I managed to break 2 allen keys in the process with the second breaking the end off inside the removal screw which i could not get out.

I then started tapping the front face of the sprocket as it states in the manual but this did nothing. So, i then started tapping the rear and i saw a little bit of movement. So, I rotated the sprocket and tapped a bit more, and repeated a few more times and i guess it maybe moved 5mm.

It was about that time that i noticed a crack at the rear of the sprocket which did not improve my mood or the situation.
Stuff it, I thought, the whole sprocket needs replacing now so lets get the blasted thing off. The net result was that the rear ring came away completely.

After that i got out my 3 legged puller and the sprocket was off in about 30 seconds.

The key was completely jammed into the keyway in the taperlock bush which is still jammed into the remains of the sprocket. I managed to tap out the key with a hammer and punch but i think it will be best to replace it.
The shaft looks to have a pretty big burr next to the keyway which i assume is part of the reason for the problems.
I dont know if this was caused by instalation or running the tank or me trying to remove the sprocket.
That will have to be checked to make sure the shaft is not damaged and I hope that the burr can be sorted easily

I will now obviously have to order a new sprocket plus rings and a new taperlock bush with screws and a new key.

My Panther has had the end of each key drilled at tapped to they can be easily extracted. I think that is probably worth doing to the Tiger as well now.

Thats all for now but will contact Sales at Armortek in the morning to see whats available and how much tonights carnage will cost to put right.

Looks like i also need a new set of Allen wrenches too.

Cheers
Tim (Mr Grumpy)

[Tim Page]

Hi all, been doing a few more Tiger mods today.
I removed all the roadwheels from the left side of the tank to see what needed to be done.
I then removed the final drive housing.

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My plan was to fit the Steve Winstone brass bump stops and then reposition the track pin return plate to be angled as this was introduced in March 1944.
This really shows the difference between the Armoretk bumpstop and the Steve Winstone part.

I primed all the brass parts with an etch primer first and then red oxide primer, both from Halfords.

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This is the original position of the track pin plate and is correct for mid production Tigers.

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The screws will also need to be replaced and then fill the holes once it has been repositioned.

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The pencil line shows the original position and i think it was only dropped 6mm in total.
I am not 100% happy with the position of the track pin plate which looks to be positioned too far back. I think it needs to me moved forward 15mm or so after comparing my pix with other sources. I will look into this and update later if needed.

I also took the opportunity to start filling in some of the hull plate mounting bolts. Many of these were a little proud so i removed them one at a time, drilled a little deeper as required and then refitted the bolt with threadlok 220.
This was done over the entire hull.
I then mixed up a batch of Milliput and started filling the holes. Most of these will be covered with zimmerite eventually but some may not but either way, filling them all now will help later on.

Cheers
Tim

[Tim Page]

Been busy doing a few more jobs to the rear end of the Tiger over the last few evenings.
Apologies, but the pix might look a bit odd as the hull was being worked on upside down when i took the photos.

I fitted the tow hitch and fabricated the lower part which is missing form the kit and was then bolted in place with 4 brass castle nuts.

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I also made a start adding some milliput weld lines to the lower hull. I got a bit carried away and also added some weld lines around the tow hitch which i now believe is wrong so will have to remove that.

I have added casting numbers and casting effect to the armoured exhaust covers and finally added the brass lift lugs.

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I have also refitted the track adjuster covers to see where averything gets positioned.

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I have also fitted the starter cover which has been fitted in place using a cone bolt.

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The bolts are not long enough to pass through the hull so i drilled a 3.5mm pilot then drilled a 6mm counterbore deep enough to locate an m3 nyloc nut which was then glued in place. I dont know how strong it will be but will be easy enough to reglue if required and seems fine so far.

I have also fitted the resin printed heater acces port that i made on my 3d printer a few weeks ago. This is also held in place with captive nylocs.

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I have got 2 sets of Tiger 1 heat shields. The aftermarket set are a little longer and have the 2 reinforcing ribs in them so i will be using those as i have them.

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I test fitted one to ensure it fitted ok and also to get the correct positioning for the 4 brass lift lugs.
I think it might need a slight tweak with a file as it was a very tight fit over the armoured exhaust covers and scratched away the primer.
Otherwise, it seems fine.

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I realise that i dont yet have any of the square standoff bolts that the heat shield bolts onto so will need to order a few from Armortek unless anyone has 8 spare that they can stick in the post.
I wont do any further work on the heat shields until i get thes square standoff bolts fitted.

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It almost seems a shame adding casting numbers and casting effect to the armoured exhaust covers as they are then covered by the heat shields. hey ho.

I think that will probably do for tonight.
Cheers
Tim

[Tim Page]

I have now added the Steve Winstone bump stops to both sides of the lower hull and also repositioned the track pin plates to both sides.
All visible bolt holes have been filled in the lower hull as well, although there are a few at the front which i will leave until I get the armoured covers for the final drives as i am not sure what mounting points will be required.

I also got a tube of black mastic to seal up the lower hull. I did this on my Panzer 3 and it seemed to work very well to stop water getting inside the tank. I ran this along all the seams internally and will apply to the belly plate as well when it is next upside down wanting it's tummy tickled.

I decided to make the 4 shock absorber bolts which are not included in the kit but are quite prominent. I printed these in resin and are 13.3mm diameter and i think 4.5mm high. I then glued a caphead bolt into the back of it and it seems to work fine for a 'decorative piece'.

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I would have preferred them in metal but none are available to purchase and i dont have a lathe so will make do with what i have and hope the tracks dont find them.

I have also done some CAD files and started printing the other half of the pannier support brackets. I was not originally planning on doing this but might as well give it a go.

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I am planning to hold both parts of the support brackets in place with m2.5 button head bolts and will also glue the new parts in place. I have also got a load of the Armortek copper rivets so will attempt to use these as well to secure in place.

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I have fitted the 2 shock absorber bolts into their correct places on the left side and then placed one of the brackets in position to see how it looks.

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Still need to do a bit more tidying up and then add another coat of primer.

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I think it is starting to look ok now but it is now looking like ive got a solid week of weld line application ahead of me on the lower hull.

Cheers
Tim

[Tim Page]

Decided to do a bit of a test fit with the rivets in place.
Now waiting for the m2.5 button heads to arrive before i can fit it all together and permanantly attached.

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Really pleased with the way these turned out and i think they will make a decent improvement to the look of the tank when painted and all the weld lines have been added.

Cheers
Tim

[Tim Page]

Hi again, I mentioned a few days ago that i was not sure about the position of the track pin deflector plates and felt that they were positioned too close to the rear.
Well, this has been bothering me and after checking a few books and photos, I decided that it was definately in the wrong postion and as a result, i would have a problem applying the rear plate weld lines.

So, I removed the pin deflector plate from the previous postion and moved it forward 15mm. I kept the same angled alignment that is correct for the late Tigers.
The new position will allow me to add the weld lines in the right place and I am now a lot happier. I should get the right side done in the next day or so.

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As you can see, I have also added some more weld lines for the pannier support on the left side. This run is almost complete but wont do any more near the front until i have all the replacement parts from Armortek and i have permanantly fitted both parts of the pannier supports.

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I will then have to do it all again on the other side. I think i did the full run less 6 inches this evening in about 1hour so not too bad.
I think that is enough in a single session and I will generally move onto another task or go back in the house, clean up, and get a cup of tea.


Cheers
Tim

[Tim Page]

I want to add in the weld lines for the rear plate lugs where it would have passed through the oval slot in the lower hull side plate to secure the rear end in place.
Unfortunately, this cutout is present for the front glacis plate but not included for the rear plate on the 2012 series. It looks like it was added for the 2015 or 2017 series Tigers from what i can see.

So, i decided to make a little template that i can place in position and then draw around to mark the correct location. I had to guess the dimensions but the rear plate is aprox 12.5mm thick so i made it 46mm x 12.5mm. This looks about right to me and should be smaller than the front cutout.

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The plan is to use my Proxxon to carefully grind out a groove which i can then fill with a thin bead of Milliput to simulate the welds.

That will be tonights task and hopefully it turns out ok.

Cheers
Tim

[Vince Cutajar]

Hi Tim

This is the best photo that I have showing that location:

viewtopic.php?p=59486#p59486

Hope it helps.

Vince

[Tim Page]

Many thanks Vince, I am now unsure if moving the track deflector forward last night was correct.
I will do some measuring this evening and hopefully make the correct decision.

I also note that you made your shock absorber mounting bolts 18mm dia. Were these enlarged for the 1944 late Tigers?
The info i found stated 13.3mm diameter for an early/mid Tiger 1.
I could not find any further info regarding a change for late Tigers, so made them that size.

Has anyone got any additional info regarding the correct size of these bolt heads?

Cheers
Tim

[Vince Cutajar]

Tim, do you have the book "Germany's Tiger Tank"? The information is there.
On page 123 there is a nice line drawing of both types of shock absorber bolts. The only dimension on that drawing is that they are 250mm long. One can then easily interpolate the other dimensions, but me being a lazy so-and-so I just traced it into my CAD and got all dimensions from CAD.

Top is the old version

In 1/6 scale the diameter should be 17.6mm but being lazy used an 18mm bar and left it like that.

Also, the same book, page 154 has a good photo of the track deflector on a late Tiger 1. Unfortunately, due to copyright I am not reproducing them here.

Vince

[Tim Page]

Hi Vince, Many thanks again, I have that book and despite having gone through it numerous times, i had failed to spot the 2 pix in question.

It will be easy enough to do a new CAD file and reprint tonight though.

Looking at the pix on page 154 it does look like the Armortek track deflector is a bit too short and i might need to reposition mine back a litle but will wait until ive got the weld lines sorted.

Cheers
Tim

[Tim Page]

Had a break last night but was out in the garage for another session this evening.

I removed the left side track pin deflector to give me a bit more room and then got the proxxon out with a small ball shaped grinding bit to grind out a weld channel. I expected it to be an awkward job as the bit is hard to control but I got the job done and then added a bead of Milliput.
It is a bit scruffy but will look fine once painted.

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As you can see from this photo I also added weld lines to the rear idler mounting boss and the shock absorber bolt head.

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I also moved the track pin deflector back 5mm and then applied welds again for the 3rd and final time.

After a bit more research last night I realised that the vertical part of the scalloped pannier bracket is fitted with flush mounted countersunk bolts and there should be no holes visible like there is with the original Armortek fitment.

So, i removed the caphead screws and replaced them with m3 countersunk screws and then covered over with Milliput.

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I also completed the weld lines on this part.

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The next job will be to permanantly fix the other side of the scalloped edge pannier bracket and apply the weld lines to that and then complete the rest of the pannier welds.
Another couple of evenings work and i will be able to give it a wipe down and a coat of red primer before moving onto the right side of the lower hull to start all over again.

Cheers
Tim

[Tim Page]

Top section of the scalloped pannier bracket is now secured into position and I have applied the weld lines to the entire length this evening.

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I think the next jobs will be to complete the weld lines on the pannier where it meets the upper hull sides as that it only 1/3 done.
After that i think it will be the weld lines around the glacis plate lug.

Getting pretty close to completing this side now.

Cheers
Tim

[Robert Tanzer]

Well done Tim