FEHRMANN GRUPPE TIGER 05

[HERMAN BIX]

Been away at work for a bit...............caught the spring heat wave and then the storm flooding !!

Received a package from Mr Raminator with a recoil unit and a Visaton speaker and mate, I tip my hat to you for that.
Also got another package from an address I dont know, contained another recoil unit
To that person, I send thanks and appreciation(you know who you are)

So on with the mounting.and as this is an old type H/L Tiger, there are no correct mounting points to take a Taigen recoil unit.
I got out the trusty cardboard & made a template to pick up redundant stock elevation unit mounts and to then cross over to the new Taigen system.
Worked out ok.
Used brass sheet to create the new mounting plate and planned to secure the stock Taigen plate to the brass with new screws and a good dose of PVA glue to add to the retention.
Also, tested out the Taigen plastic mantlet to the heat method to make zimmerit on the reverse side in case things went pear-shaped.
Its great to melt.
So on went the zim pattern near enough for this kid.

Began the fitting of the recoil unit from Mr Raminator based on the cardboard template & it was looking great until I got over excited and blatantly F$%#$@ d the thing
Thats for another day and another recovery mission. I'm afraid.

So in went the other one, with the lessons of the first mess firmly in front of mind.
It was a bit tight in places so I took it out again to muck around with holes and alignment.

So far - so good.

[Estnische]

Wonderful work on the zim, Herman.,You've got it down to a real art.

[philipat]

Nice work!

[Markocaster]

It's looking great Herman!
Digging the zim, I haven't been brave enough to try that method

[Raminator]

Began the fitting of the recoil unit from Mr Raminator based on the cardboard template & it was looking great until I got over excited and blatantly F$%#$@ d the thing
Thats for another day and another recovery mission. I'm afraid.

Uh oh! Any idea what went wrong?

Zimmerit looks great, and the melted plastic is going to be pretty much bulletproof.

[HERMAN BIX]

Well I wanted the 3 top screws to add to the stiffness of the plate. So I drilled them all out to use bolts.
Then I discovered that I couldnt use bolts into the internal space that is occupied by motors & slides etc
Check before you leap Gents.
I will recover it, but the screws that would need to fit the holes are too big in the head and there is not enough clearance to run counter sunk types either.
I expect I will fill the holes with resin or perhaps melt plastic into them then redrill the holes

[philipat]

Interested to see how this repair has done. I've made similar mistakes and didn't have any good ideas for fixing it.

[HERMAN BIX]

Interested to see how this repair has done. I've made similar mistakes and didn't have any good ideas for fixing it.

Once I get to using it I will certainly share the info....................if it works

[HERMAN BIX]

Been a slow news week here with this thing............
Got the suspension arms on after a bit of mucking around with them.
Got a mix of Taigen arms and Mato arms.
I drilled new spring locator holes and clocked the springs to add pre-tension to the arms.
Front 3 and rear 2 arms are clocked.
Thats why they look odd at the moment.
The Taigen arms have had the wheel axle hole drilled out to take a Taigen plain shank axle all the way through into the hull so the end acts as a travel stop.
Im using a new but old set of Mattorro Sturmtiger steel wheels as getting Taigen late Tiger steels here is a no-hope outside of importing for a bagillion dollars due to weight & postage costs.
so, the centre run of wheels needed the axle hole recessed under the hub cap & the I.D. increased to 3.9mm
The wheels are alli so will last long enough rotating on the axles until I either get brass tube to make bushes, or Taigen steel wheels to replace them if they come back in to stock down here with local suppliers.

Gear boxes soon but not until I figure out a way to make use of the very strangely designed outer/inner wheels.
A sleeve type adaptor/joiner must be made, not sure how yet outside of a lathe.

[HERMAN BIX]

A bit more minor work.
Got hold of a Mato track tensioner. Now this gadget will need a bit of creative input to work, but it will work.
Mowed the plastic idler mount off the hull with my Ryobi grinder.
Used a panel /step drill to create the necessary hole to accept the mato idler mounts, and needed to figure out a way to allow adjustment without opening the hull, or any similar intrusive hassle.
So, I mocked up the retainers inside the hull and then it dawned on me.........
How about use the actual access ports made for tensioning the tracks !!
Dragged out the razor saw & sliced off both cap s from the rear plate.
Drilled out the top bolts and used a small self-tapping screw to retain each one.

They can swivel up to expose the internal screw to be loosened as required to get the tracks right.

She'll do