No manufactured drama, no deafening rock/heavy metal ( tanks not included), no breathless over exuberant commentary, just fascinating work and problem solving. These videos should be one hour at least. A credit to the AA&AM.
I also read somewhere that the American herringbone style gears were far superior at transferring torque without failing, and thus the Americans had far fewer problems with final drive failures (which were a common problem with German tanks).
We used to make the best steel in the world, and cheaply. Having old Farmall tractors from this era I've NEVER seen gears of this quality go bad so long as the casing is kept full of gear oil. Having to weld pipe at work I've seen the lasting quality of old US steel compared to the junk we get from China, India, Vietnam. (That they melt down from our scrap and return in worse shape!)
@@krmould Herringbones do hold more torque per width of gear because they have more tooth for "x" width compared to a straight cut gear. They also don't produce axial forces which are harder on bearings. German Final drives used straight cut gears, because they are easier to produce (hello slave labour) they also struggled to get metals like tungsten and nickel to produce the high quality steels required.
My great uncle was a mechanic in Patton’s Third Army. He talked about having to go in the field and scrounge parts from damaged tanks to keep others going. Seeing how heavy some of that stuff is, I wonder how they got it done out in the field. More appreciation for what that generation did. Thanks for restoring this one, it’s like the one in Steven Spielberg’s movie “1941”, but that was a wooden mock-up, which I saw in a private collection once.
About 800 of the old M3 Grant tanks were converted to the M31 recovery vehicle by putting huge cranes on the front. It could lift 30 tons. A derpy looking vehicle but, as you said, they needed it in the field. There was also the M32 based on the Sherman tank chassis.
Well something months-a year off the production line will be much easier to work on than a wreck that has been sitting outside for ~70 years. These guys trying to reverse engineer the methods they used at the factor puts it into perspective how "neglect" can hurt a piece of machinery.
Loving these series. An idea for a filler episode, I would like to see an interview of the man behind the scene. How his dream got started, what he would like added to the collection, how he sources the collection etc. He could of just kept his collection behind gates yet opened the museum. Gives people rides in his toys and makes videos sharing his passion coming to life. Not many people these days come to mind are willing to do that, and from me a big thank you.
74yrs sitting in a paddock and those gears looked pristine as did the bearings. I should expect the gearbox and diff to look the same. Just remember to add the oil. It's not the first time I've forgotten.
Holy cow, the gears are in incredible condition, especially for a tank from early WWII years! The tank is going to look beautiful when you guys finish restoring it!
Awesome video. Those gears looked brand new. I've made many a gasket in my truck mechanic career the same way. I also had to deal with the same type of tapered cones on 38,000 lb. housings. Used the same methods to loosen them, only the axles were much smaller. Have a suggestion if you need to remove and replace the final drive housing again. Take some 6" long bolts, cut off the head, and grind a shallow taper on the end to use them a guide pins.
My grandfather, a tradesman panelbeater, served with the New Zealand Army in the Middle East during the Second World War, recovering and repairing tanks and other vehicles. Your team's work makes me realise how hot that work must have been in the desert. At least Pop's bolts wouldn't have been frozen. Excellent channel!
Don't forget the loose sand in parts of the desert... that must have complicated matters as well. You don't have a firm footing, and the grains would get anywhere. I reckon a mechanic's best weapon then was patience.
Cold chisel from the side on those wedges. Flattened tip will work on most but a sharp chisel may be required on the tough one. Yes it will make a mark but it won't hurt the functionability of the part. Some modern suspension still uses those. Boy you reminded me of my first frustrations with those things.
This is not meant in anyway a criticism guys. Just that when I worked at Bovington (Not the Museum) on units of that size we used longer studs so that it’s easier to line up. And then when it slides up put the bolts in.But each to their own. I think every fitter/ Mechanic has his/Her own way of doing things. Love watching you do the hard work. I’m too old now for this heavy work. But I loved my days at Bovington workshop. And I envy you guys working on these vehicles. Great work guys. Love the Channel.
the quality of the craftmanship that went into that gear box nearly 90 years ago, it is a testament to the people who did that machining of that equipment,
Really liked when you repaired the Jagd Panther next to a Russian T34-85. Is it a coincidence that you’re breaking down the Grant next to a German 50mm Pak 38?
Your channel is incredibly beautiful and your work is more than wonderful. I love you and the words “I love you” are very few. You revive honorable vehicles and military history. I love your work and you are indescribably creative. How I wish I could touch a real tank. My tears flow when I see you reviving wonderful military pieces.
Nine months on after my comment, and it is still one of the great restorations on UA-cam.I still miss working on the heavy stuff. But age and retirement catches up. Great Channel guys. What I like is that there is no drama. You see other vids,and “everything has to line up first time otherwise months of work goes down the drain “ or “ One slip now, means a years work is ruined “ Load of rubbish! Keep them coming guys. 👍👍
Those bull gears and good old Timkin roller bearings look beautiful! Nothing beats the old Timkin bearings. We’ll unfortunately never get that quality again. What a fantastic opening of that diff!
I was cringing a bit watching these guys. Definitely not very experienced. Those collars can be stubborn but the right methods work a lot better. Its alright tho they'll learn.
I only found out about Work shop Wednesday a couple of months ago , so I’m having the time of my life I choose one restoration and start at the beginning and follow through to the last episode released , it is absolutely fantastic watching these amazing people restore these beautiful old vehicles well done , all the best from Tassie
The attention to detail on the engineering on these things is astonishing. so many little details that make it go together and work well and reliably. And factories could turn these things out like they were sausages. Amazing.
Love the channel and enjoy watching all do their magic in restoring these beauties. I just have to add that I simply love the fact that if the hammer doesn’t work, you go get a bigger hammer. I have always said that as well. Captain caveman!!!
Great gasket and use if silicone on bottom threads bolts. But... An old american railroad trick that was used before these where made was to use a little low melting point wax in the grease at these points. That would melt and flow into gaps and imperfections and hardened after cooling
Rail lube/grease is/was also popular for a seal on gaskets in warmer climates. ( you want to heat it up before trying to spread it and that sh|t sticks to EVERYTHING and doesn't tend to be diluted by gear oils)
Interesting info! On my old Italian Jeep I restored I used diesel oil or left a assembly immersed overnight in a basin without breaking a bolt. Greasy stuff but I think I broke only 3 or 4 bolts this way. Quite proud of this achievement....
ya know, as a heavy equipment tech. its super funny seeing these guys working at this stuff that we do on the daily, given that we do this so well on stuff that is almost 60+ years newer. defiantly get these boys a porta power with a whole bunch of different rams to push and pull stuff apart. they need that to crack this shiz, Also teach them how to make spanner wrenches to turn slotted nuts or such, its so painful to watch them take those large nuts off with a hammer and chisle
Next time you want to make a gasket that big, use grease on the face or surface you want to make a template of and using cardboard, press it against the flange. Will give a perfect template to easily cut it from and saves the awkward cutting on the tank lol. Good work guys, amazing to see early american made stuff is still pristine after all those years. Beautiful engineering in such hard times! Im looking forward to visiting you guys, do you do workshop tours?
, , Great job and amazing how the gears are like new on the drives. Love Wednesday it’s great what your doing it’s amazing how you get the tanks to move. Look after yourself regards John
Ford used those on mid duty trucks . Part of the issue is the cone takes on the threads of the stud when compressed, so once loose you have to un screw them .
Say what you will about the M 3/M 4 Tanks, the build quality was absolutely amazing with all the machine work and being basicly interchangeable. Detroit built good equiptment and lots of it.
Great job. This is the second vid I’ve watched and now I’ve subscribed. Love the calm, unpretentious climate. Very interesting and relaxing. Hopefully a helpful tip for next time. Use a spray on contact cement (3M Super 77 in Canada) on both surfaces to hold the gasket paper to the housing. Tap out holes like you did and along housing edges. Gasket mounted when you are done. If you ever have to remove the housing, the cement isn’t very strong and clean up is fairly easy. Love the smell of aviation gasket cement. Lol. Cheers
M1 mechanic here. I started laughing when he started hitting the final drive with that little hammer. We used a 16 pound sledge and hit the sprocket as we could alternating sides with each swing.. You brought back some old memories with this video.
AHHH.. as with any good build video.. Just about the time you settle in and really are getting behind all this cool stuff it ends.. If I could have my youth back I would do this every day.. What a job!
Love this channel. How fun to autopsy a 80 year old tank. The greatest generation in the USA built some good stuff back in the 40's! On the tapered cones that were stuck on the studs, I wonder if a big air chatter gun or rattle hammer (not sure what they are called in Australia) would have gotten them out quicker?
Of course "the greatest generation" is no more....Washingstein has been hijacked by powerful interest groups.Having two eighty year old IDIOTS as candidates for president is not going to end well.Obviously Washington DC needs an insurrection to clear out the corruption. They need to have term limits and spending on candidates limits and to break up the media monopolies. Anyway...how about seeing if you can get a cheap Abrams from the US Govt...they might view it as good publicity??.
Another interesting vid . Australian weather and lack of much / any combat use and this machines like new in side !!! great resto guys , love watching .
Interesting to watch your efforts to remove the tapered washers... we always used an old socket or a pipe over the stud so the shock went all around the outside... seemed to work well!!
Wow! Built to last, for sure. Would have been interesting to see if vibration from an air hammer or an impact wrench would have helped slice through the gasket layer. 27:20 - Now that's a roller bearing!!!
No manufactured drama, no deafening rock/heavy metal ( tanks not included), no breathless over exuberant commentary, just fascinating work and problem solving. These videos should be one hour at least. A credit to the AA&AM.
The quality of those gears after all those years are simply amazing.
I've seen new gears that don't look as good. Things were made better back then. :)
They didn’t know how to do disposable back then.
I also read somewhere that the American herringbone style gears were far superior at transferring torque without failing, and thus the Americans had far fewer problems with final drive failures (which were a common problem with German tanks).
We used to make the best steel in the world, and cheaply. Having old Farmall tractors from this era I've NEVER seen gears of this quality go bad so long as the casing is kept full of gear oil. Having to weld pipe at work I've seen the lasting quality of old US steel compared to the junk we get from China, India, Vietnam. (That they melt down from our scrap and return in worse shape!)
@@krmould Herringbones do hold more torque per width of gear because they have more tooth for "x" width compared to a straight cut gear. They also don't produce axial forces which are harder on bearings. German Final drives used straight cut gears, because they are easier to produce (hello slave labour) they also struggled to get metals like tungsten and nickel to produce the high quality steels required.
My great uncle was a mechanic in Patton’s Third Army. He talked about having to go in the field and scrounge parts from damaged tanks to keep others going. Seeing how heavy some of that stuff is, I wonder how they got it done out in the field. More appreciation for what that generation did. Thanks for restoring this one, it’s like the one in Steven Spielberg’s movie “1941”, but that was a wooden mock-up, which I saw in a private collection once.
About 800 of the old M3 Grant tanks were converted to the M31 recovery vehicle by putting huge cranes on the front. It could lift 30 tons. A derpy looking vehicle but, as you said, they needed it in the field. There was also the M32 based on the Sherman tank chassis.
Well something months-a year off the production line will be much easier to work on than a wreck that has been sitting outside for ~70 years. These guys trying to reverse engineer the methods they used at the factor puts it into perspective how "neglect" can hurt a piece of machinery.
That M-3 in 1941 was primarily a miniature built by Greg Jein.
M-4 Sherman's were constantly rebuilt and restored during the war. There is a book about the horrors of recovering Sherman's during the war
Check out the book "Death Traps" by Belton Y. Cooper for a better appreciation of your uncle was doing. Pretty amazing.
Loving these series.
An idea for a filler episode, I would like to see an interview of the man behind the scene.
How his dream got started, what he would like added to the collection, how he sources the collection etc.
He could of just kept his collection behind gates yet opened the museum. Gives people rides in his toys and makes videos sharing his passion coming to life.
Not many people these days come to mind are willing to do that, and from me a big thank you.
Love to hear that story!
Man,you have to be young and have a STRONG back to restore these things!
I agree! Just watching gives me lumbago.
I would take a bunch of PCP and really get the job done.
74yrs sitting in a paddock and those gears looked pristine as did the bearings. I should expect the gearbox and diff to look the same. Just remember to add the oil. It's not the first time I've forgotten.
Yep. Tag it.
Thanks!
Holy cow, the gears are in incredible condition, especially for a tank from early WWII years! The tank is going to look beautiful when you guys finish restoring it!
They still had the American "ordinance bomb" stamp on them! Crazy!
You gentleman are great. Your appreciation of 80 year old machining, gave it another 80 years of service!!
Awesome video. Those gears looked brand new. I've made many a gasket in my truck mechanic career the same way. I also had to deal with the same type of tapered cones on 38,000 lb. housings. Used the same methods to loosen them, only the axles were much smaller. Have a suggestion if you need to remove and replace the final drive housing again. Take some 6" long bolts, cut off the head, and grind a shallow taper on the end to use them a guide pins.
My grandfather, a tradesman panelbeater, served with the New Zealand Army in the Middle East during the Second World War, recovering and repairing tanks and other vehicles. Your team's work makes me realise how hot that work must have been in the desert. At least Pop's bolts wouldn't have been frozen. Excellent channel!
Don't forget the loose sand in parts of the desert... that must have complicated matters as well. You don't have a firm footing, and the grains would get anywhere.
I reckon a mechanic's best weapon then was patience.
Those gears looked brand new! Incredible after all these decades. A real testament to old school craftsmanship!
Look forward to seeing this tank running!
The skill set of the entire team is quite impressive. I think they could do with an overhead crane with a decent capacity.
Cold chisel from the side on those wedges. Flattened tip will work on most but a sharp chisel may be required on the tough one. Yes it will make a mark but it won't hurt the functionability of the part. Some modern suspension still uses those. Boy you reminded me of my first frustrations with those things.
I always get happy seeing the reminder for Workshop Wednesdays. Love this channel. Great work!
Beau is an absolute unit. That man just does not give up and built like an OX. Give that man a pay rise !!!!!
The condition of the gears etc inside the housing is amazing
The good old boot 🥾 to get it aligned. Love it. Great work gents
This is not meant in anyway a criticism guys. Just that when I worked at Bovington (Not the Museum) on units of that size we used longer studs so that it’s easier to line up. And then when it slides up put the bolts in.But each to their own. I think every fitter/ Mechanic has his/Her own way of doing things. Love watching you do the hard work. I’m too old now for this heavy work. But I loved my days at Bovington workshop. And I envy you guys working on these vehicles. Great work guys. Love the Channel.
the quality of the craftmanship that went into that gear box nearly 90 years ago, it is a testament to the people who did that machining of that equipment,
No doubt the first time those final drives have been cracked open since they were assembled at the factory, great job guys, you deserve a beer !!!
WOW! What a find with those gears! Factory fresh.
The hammer on the gasket, I was waiting for that old school. I love it
I love that attitude of don't have it, invent it when it comes to tools
Good news on the drive housing gears and n awesome job on the gaskets.
Really liked when you repaired the Jagd Panther next to a Russian T34-85. Is it a coincidence that you’re breaking down the Grant next to a German 50mm Pak 38?
Awesome work Ryan and Beau! Keep the videos coming!
Your channel is incredibly beautiful and your work is more than wonderful. I love you and the words “I love you” are very few. You revive honorable vehicles and military history. I love your work and you are indescribably creative. How I wish I could touch a real tank. My tears flow when I see you reviving wonderful military pieces.
its so cool to open up those gear covers and see perfect American gears over 80 years old. I love this channel
Nine months on after my comment, and it is still one of the great restorations on UA-cam.I still miss working on the heavy stuff. But age and retirement catches up. Great Channel guys.
What I like is that there is no drama. You see other vids,and “everything has to line up first time otherwise months of work goes down the drain “ or “ One slip now, means a years work is ruined “ Load of rubbish! Keep them coming guys. 👍👍
Thank you for all the hard work that goes into preserving armor.
That's great! The housing did a good job of protecting everything inside. What a win!
Beautiful work with the skill that you guys have combined with often necessary cave man tatics the job gets done cheers!
You gentlemen do a fantastic job of taking apart, and then putting back together of things, like the Grant Tanks drive housing.
Those bull gears and good old Timkin roller bearings look beautiful! Nothing beats the old Timkin bearings. We’ll unfortunately never get that quality again. What a fantastic opening of that diff!
😖😖😖😖😖. Yep. We need cheap 💩.
@@markwilliams2620 Must admit I don't think of brilliant quality when I hear Timkin. Timken?
Wow, just imagine being the guy who assembled the brand new parts to these amazing machines, wish I was part of your team
Every time; it fantastic to see big lads, playing with big toys and whacking stuff with big chunks of metal. Keep up the great work.
Big lads, big toys, whacking……..hmm
Never overlook the vibration that a simple needle gun can give to help convince things to come apart!
Or a mechanic's pistol sized air hammer.
I was cringing a bit watching these guys. Definitely not very experienced. Those collars can be stubborn but the right methods work a lot better. Its alright tho they'll learn.
@@RoosterG33rs Well they did have one man with enough experience to have seen a carburetor gasket once, or so he says.
@@deconteesawyer5758 lol, whats a caburetor?
@@RoosterG33rs It's that al-u-mineeumm thingy atop the engine that sucks peetroll.
I only found out about Work shop Wednesday a couple of months ago , so I’m having the time of my life I choose one restoration and start at the beginning and follow through to the last episode released , it is absolutely fantastic watching these amazing people restore these beautiful old vehicles well done , all the best from Tassie
Great that you show the component parts working together..10 10 for gasket..
Thank you team for sharing the progress!
Tapping out a gasket and High Tack! Nice old school skills by a young guy.
The attention to detail on the engineering on these things is astonishing. so many little details that make it go together and work well and reliably. And factories could turn these things out like they were sausages. Amazing.
Still catching up on these. Absolutely fascinating.
Crazy to think these gears were sitting there for 80 years and still look brand new!
Again, excellent job on removing those heavy sprockets/gear boxes. It sure is time consuming. Way to go men!
Looking forward to next week! Awesome job!
That final drive looks brand new !
Thanks again!
Love the channel and enjoy watching all do their magic in restoring these beauties. I just have to add that I simply love the fact that if the hammer doesn’t work, you go get a bigger hammer. I have always said that as well. Captain caveman!!!
Looking good guys!!! Look forward to the rest of the resto👍😁😁
Wonderful job guys. I am 64yo and live in Brisbane, but I am determined to come up to visit your display. I hope to bring my son.
I heard during the video (21:35) some kestrel calls. is there by chance a nest inside the workshop?
Loved seeing that Mack stamp inside the housing. Very cool!
The fact that they're not using hearing protection when using sledgehammers on metal makes me cry a bit inside for their sake. Take care you!
That was a bit of ingenious engineering on those drive hubs!
Great gasket and use if silicone on bottom threads bolts. But...
An old american railroad trick that was used before these where made was to use a little low melting point wax in the grease at these points. That would melt and flow into gaps and imperfections and hardened after cooling
Rail lube/grease is/was also popular for a seal on gaskets in warmer climates. ( you want to heat it up before trying to spread it and that sh|t sticks to EVERYTHING and doesn't tend to be diluted by gear oils)
Interesting info! On my old Italian Jeep I restored I used diesel oil or left a assembly immersed overnight in a basin without breaking a bolt. Greasy stuff but I think I broke only 3 or 4 bolts this way. Quite proud of this achievement....
The original US factory workers did an amazing job building this equipment.
And quite a few of those workers were women too!
Looks brand new inside . Highly impressed. Well done folks .
ya know, as a heavy equipment tech. its super funny seeing these guys working at this stuff that we do on the daily, given that we do this so well on stuff that is almost 60+ years newer. defiantly get these boys a porta power with a whole bunch of different rams to push and pull stuff apart. they need that to crack this shiz, Also teach them how to make spanner wrenches to turn slotted nuts or such, its so painful to watch them take those large nuts off with a hammer and chisle
The condition is amazing. American mass production techniques - respect!
I am not a mechanic but I still envy these guys.
Always an outstanding video and presentation.
Next time you want to make a gasket that big, use grease on the face or surface you want to make a template of and using cardboard, press it against the flange. Will give a perfect template to easily cut it from and saves the awkward cutting on the tank lol.
Good work guys, amazing to see early american made stuff is still pristine after all those years.
Beautiful engineering in such hard times!
Im looking forward to visiting you guys, do you do workshop tours?
4:23 - 4:35 I dont know why, but the way this segment is edited gave me an exceptionally large chuckle, good work as always!
I love the lovely purple masking tape, I want some, I only have yellow or green.
Thank you again.
, ,
Great job and amazing how the gears are like new on the drives. Love Wednesday it’s great what your doing it’s amazing how you get the tanks to move. Look after yourself regards John
Ford used those on mid duty trucks . Part of the issue is the cone takes on the threads of the stud when compressed, so once loose you have to un screw them .
Patience, patience and more patience..love this channel :)
Say what you will about the M 3/M 4 Tanks, the build quality was absolutely amazing with all the machine work and being basicly interchangeable. Detroit built good equiptment and lots of it.
Great job. This is the second vid I’ve watched and now I’ve subscribed. Love the calm, unpretentious climate. Very interesting and relaxing.
Hopefully a helpful tip for next time. Use a spray on contact cement (3M Super 77 in Canada) on both surfaces to hold the gasket paper to the housing. Tap out holes like you did and along housing edges. Gasket mounted when you are done. If you ever have to remove the housing, the cement isn’t very strong and clean up is fairly easy. Love the smell of aviation gasket cement. Lol. Cheers
That’s what’s called built to last, good job boys👍👍
Love the early war stuff
Really fun to see, thanks.
Thank you for taking the time to video the process of saving this history
M1 mechanic here. I started laughing when he started hitting the final drive with that little hammer. We used a 16 pound sledge and hit the sprocket as we could alternating sides with each swing.. You brought back some old memories with this video.
Great job on this Grant restoration! Them herringbone gears are still pristine after all these years! Good work so far, Rabbit Team approves!
AHHH.. as with any good build video.. Just about the time you settle in and really are getting behind all this cool stuff it ends.. If I could have my youth back I would do this every day.. What a job!
Good work fellas!! 😀
Super nice work Guys
The quality of the original seals, gaskets, oils and everything must have been amazing to have kept the insides in such good condition.
Love this channel. How fun to autopsy a 80 year old tank. The greatest generation in the USA built some good stuff back in the 40's!
On the tapered cones that were stuck on the studs, I wonder if a big air chatter gun or rattle hammer (not sure what they are called in Australia) would have gotten them out quicker?
Of course "the greatest generation" is no more....Washingstein has been hijacked by powerful interest groups.Having two eighty year old IDIOTS as candidates for president is not going to end well.Obviously Washington DC needs an insurrection to clear out the corruption.
They need to have term limits and spending on candidates limits and to break up the media monopolies.
Anyway...how about seeing if you can get a cheap Abrams from the US Govt...they might view it as good publicity??.
Excellent video 👍
Im an early subscriber,and im looking foward to see this tank restored!
You lot are doing amazing work.
Another interesting vid . Australian weather and lack of much / any combat use and this machines like new in side !!! great resto guys , love watching .
Interesting to watch your efforts to remove the tapered washers... we always used an old socket or a pipe over the stud so the shock went all around the outside... seemed to work well!!
Wow gears were like brand new!!!
This is an exciting rebuild 🤙🏽
You could do with making up some long guide pins for when you're doing jobs like that , even bolts with the head cut off work.
Imagine repairing this in the field in 1944-45, during inclement weather. I have a new found respect for HD Mechanics. 😁
Herring-bone gears!
Andre Citreon made an impression on the Yanks it seems. Nice!
Wow! Built to last, for sure. Would have been interesting to see if vibration from an air hammer or an impact wrench would have helped slice through the gasket layer. 27:20 - Now that's a roller bearing!!!
those gears are a wonderful discovery on par with when bovington opened up their Jagtiger engine to find that in pristine condition
amazing like always
serviceability , reliability and availability is what these US tanks had over the enemy
This is a German Tank!!
@@jamesshingledecker3158 ???............a sherman tank would have been closer
Making gaskets in the old-school fashion. Good to see.
Gotta love permatex No.3 !
These guys must love their work!