Patrick Tipton

Branchville, NJ, United States

Thank you Steven. We are all here and we love to support other restorers.  We are going to have a virtual meetup next Thursday after the show.  Please try and join us - we will have a great time and there will be lots of expertise to answer questions.  Thank you for your support!

Thank you Dan!  Love the photo my friend and thank you for sharing your experience with the Gibson Girl!  That is amazing that they were in service for that long - a deal for the USMC indeed!  I may just have to assemble a complete kit just because.  Funny you mention the hydrogen can....I saw one recently and someone explained it....too cool.  Appreciate you being here!

Posted

29 Oct 08:31

Greetings folks.  Be sure to check out the new "Collections" tab above.  I am just learning how to use this new feature, but if you look at the Weasel section, there is an ability to group videos by topic....ie engines, transmissions, etc.  Over the coming weeks, we are going to be organizing the videos so you can more easily find all of the videos on ...say rebuilding a WW2 Jeep Engine...etc.

We also have closed captioning on all new videos....we are going back to old videos as well and getting that done.  The close captioning helps us in two ways....of course that you can see words on screen but also helps us more efficiently catalog what happens in each video.  This will lead to better indexing and easier searching over time.

Thank you for your support!

I hear you and this probably isn't applicable to folks doing this work infrequently.  That being said, I figured it was worth mentioning that exposure to this stuff is hard on the body - sharing to increase the collective knowledge base!Like I mentioned in the video, a buddy of mine runs a high end body shop - they repainted Nick Cage's F40 Ferrari....top notch shop.  They paint with Glasurit paint....which I guess is OEM for lots of high end brands.  Glasurit warns these guys that even with a downdraft booth and suited up with a pressurized full face mask, they are only supposed to paint xx number of vehicles because they are getting exposure which is ultimately toxic to the kidneys.  He doesn't paint anymore because he has reached his limit and says he has some symptoms of the toxicity.

Thank you for the comments Steven!  It is great to hear that you are enjoying the videos and learning - I learn every time I work on something...and the process of making the videos always make me think more about what "first principle" I am learning and can share.  Super fulfilling process...and we get to enjoy these incredible pieces of history in the process!  Thanks for being here.

Greetings Ron.  Funny you should ask this question - just got off the phone with another Weasel owner and we were discussing this very issue.  I have had the most success by using a 4.5" angle grinder with a thin kerf cutting disc....I cut the rivet heads in an x pattern...being careful to cut deep enough to weaken the head, but not so deep as to cut the grouser.  I then use an air hammer/chisel with a pointed bit to knock out the rivet - you need a good solid backing - like an anvil or a piece of steel.  The rivets will pop out - but it is a time consuming project for sure.I also have a small cutting torch - am thinking of trying to hit the heads with a cutting torch and have a partner hit the mostly cut off head/rivet with the air hammer - this may be the fastest way .... but will require careful work with the cutting torch.  We will be trying this soon!Thanks for being here!

21 Oct 08:58

Greetings Jay!  You are right....we should probably quit promoting Weasels....😂. I do love that idea from your mentor.... and wholeheartedly agree....I like to tell people that "everything is the same"....they usually look at me funny, but there are so many patterns that repeat themselves in unexpected places.  Pretty soon, something "new" to you starts to react in a predictable way because you have seen the pattern before. Thanks for your support!

Hmmmm....interesting as in "atta boys - way to adapt and overcome"....or interesting as in "that was FUBAR...but you did recover the vehicle and you didn't kill anyone so....". 🤣Thanks for watching Peter!

19 Oct 08:42

Thanks for the feedback Steven - love to hear that the videos are helping.  I too find it increasingly difficult to find people with experience with this old technology.....some of these "arts" are seemingly getting lost....This was one of the main reasons I started the channel...to try and capture this information so other enthusiasts can repair/restore/enjoy these vehicles and technology.  We are due for another virtual meetup.  We are going to schedule it for Nov 7.....around 8pm ET....try to join if you can and we can run through any issues you are having.  We usually get a small crowd, but there is always lots of experience and we all learn!Thanks again for your support Steven!

Reply

Posted

12 Oct 08:26

I have continued to work on various WW2 radios.  I mostly went down this rabbit hole because the T24 Weasel came factory equipped with an extremely rare radio. Once you start paying attention, it is hard not to find them fascinating. 

This is part of a BC-659 chassis.  The reason everything looks golden is because the entire radio was "fungus/moisture proofed". The Signal Corps would paint these radios with varnish (that had arsenic mixed in) to keep them from molding up and failing in high humidity environments.  Not all WW2 radios are so treated. 

The varnish does a great job of protecting everything but you do have to be careful when you go to repair the radio because heating varnish/arsenic is not good for your health.