Chris Boonzaier Posted 18 January , 2010 Author Share Posted 18 January , 2010 Neutralized, eh? You poor man. My main interest is in flamethrowers, and here in the U.S. flamethrowers are entirely unregulated. It's totally legal to have a working flamethrower if you can find one. Beats pointing the weapon and shouting, "Whoosh!" My good man... standing holding a tube and having a burning feeling when you say "wooooosh!" was solved with a weeks worth of tablets when i was in the army..... but 25kgs of steel and metal and a deafening "ra ta ta tat" is a problem only artillery can solve! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwianzac Posted 18 March , 2010 Share Posted 18 March , 2010 was playing with my babies today and took some photos.... Would like to point out, they are all legally altered/neutralised.... For your pleasure (I hope) and mine (I know...).... Love the Lewis gun...verrrrrrry nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vimyridge Posted 7 April , 2010 Share Posted 7 April , 2010 Very IMPRESSIVE collection!!! congrats' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 7 April , 2010 Share Posted 7 April , 2010 Chris They look pretty good to me. Paint can easily be stripped off if ncessary so it is not a problem. I would have done the same as you. Have you thought of distressing the paintwork around the dents? Not to deceive anyone, only to look more the part for your own satisfaction. W. Here's a shot I just took of my MG08 and sledge for a comparison of the color and patina. The sledge's paint was original although it did need a bit of very fine steel wool (0000) and linseed oil to clean up the rust spots. And tonnes of care not to disturb the original feldgrau! I also had to re-leather the knee and shoulder pads. Hardest bit of restoration (and most satisfying) I've yet done. While the original leather was mostly gone and what remained was crumbling away, I was able to salvage the original horse hair padding. Getting the leather to fit the curves, holding the leather over the old horse hair while stitching it into place with linen thread thru the holes in the steel plates was a b***y chore. I used every soft clamp in my shop (and every curse word too). But it was worth the effort. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 7 April , 2010 Share Posted 7 April , 2010 Here's a shot of one of the knee pads. These are almost always missing from sledge mounts. I originally tried to find someone with experience in having done this before to do it for me. I eventually found a older gent who in the past had done quite a few for an outfit here in the USA. He declined to take on my job as his vision was now fading....probably from re-doing knee/shoulder pads!! He advised me to just take my time and be patient. I used Analine dye on 1/8" tanned leather with linen thread. Lots of soaking of the leather to get it pliable. Lots of gently forming with a rubber mallet. Can't imagine how it was done originally with any degree of efficency, let alone speed. My 1 pixel camera and flash doesn't do the color justice, making it rather redder than it looks to the eye. Still, though I do say so myself, IMHO it really came out a treat. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 7 April , 2010 Share Posted 7 April , 2010 Chris They look pretty good to me. Paint can easily be stripped off if ncessary so it is not a problem. I would have done the same as you. Have you thought of distressing the paintwork around the dents? Not to deceive anyone, only to look more the part for your own satisfaction. W. Originally sledge mounts were primed with a lead based red oxide and then over coated with gloss feldgrau. Yes, gloss. (If you don't believe me ask Hayes Otoupalik who throughly researched WW1 paints before restoring his WW1 Renault tank). As the war progressed the red oxide was dropped. In the field, for protection and lubrication, the mounts were coated with whatever oil was at hand and it was the use of used motor oil (which was the most readily available) as much as anything else which in time darkened the original feldgrau so that today original paint is darker than the color used in Chris' restoration. And with handling and exposure to the elements the mounts lost much of their gloss, but most examples of surviving original paint still have a somewhat 'patina'd eggshell' gloss and not have the 'dead' look of modern mil.spec. paint. A good guide to a possible paint scheme for the guns/mounts would be the telescopic gunsite on Chris' MG08. It seems pretty typical of what one would expect for original paint both in tone and patina. Great guns but, IMHO, the feldgrau, could use a bit of work. It is of course a matter of individual taste. Indeed, originally the paint on the guns was the lighter and more uniform job that Chris has done. However, as the unpainted metal on the guns is now aged, IMHO a patina'd feldgrau scheme is called for. Given the incredible detail in all other aspects of his collection I'm sure Chris will get around to it in time if it suits his very good taste. Personally, I'd kill for the Lewis just as it is! I was too late in my quest for one. They all seem to have vanished!. Cheer, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 8 April , 2010 Share Posted 8 April , 2010 I know how you feel. I get grief from my Partner...... They just don't understand! Richard Actually, some do indeed understand! My MG08 was a suprise gift from my wife. She happened across a torn out advert for the gun sitting on my desk and called the buyer and bought it while I was out of town taking care of my father. She even managed to get it from the seller and into my office before I got home. When I got home it was leaned up in a corner with a big ribbon on it! It was unexpected, but I was not really suprised.......over the years my wife has been the biggest supporter of my interest in the Great War. I would wager that many of us could say the same. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdajd Posted 8 April , 2010 Share Posted 8 April , 2010 Its kinda like Michael Jacksons sequined glove... If I was to see the original I would think "WoW!" simply because it is part of pop history.... If I was to see my buddy Jimmy with a homemade sequined glove I would think... "what a ******!"... Either you have the origianl... or not. If you dont, just stick to the plain one, you cant go wrong... ;-) Probably the only time anyone has ever compared Michael Jackson's glove to a machine gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted 29 November , 2010 Author Share Posted 29 November , 2010 Sometimes life just smiles on you.... I found out this weekend where my 2 MGs were captured. The MG08 was captured by the 1st Canadian Division on the 27th of Sep 1918 while breaking through the Hindenburg line (Canal du Nord to Bourlon wood) The MG08/15 on the 9th of August in Hatchet Wood (A couple of VCs won there) by the 8th battalion CEF.... Having the info about them makes them just that little bit more interesting... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmg17a1 Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 I'm new to this site and am enjoying very much looking at all the posts and pictures on an amazing variety of topics. So far very entertaining and inspiring. I would like to post some pictures, but have discovered that i am limited to 100k of content. Is this a restriciton on new members? I see that there are lots of pictures that are far larger than 100k per post, so would like to know if I can post a series of pictures at some point without the 100k restriction and when does that happen? Looking forward to many visits here! Bob Naess Black River Militaria CII USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 I'm new to this site and am enjoying very much looking at all the posts and pictures on an amazing variety of topics. So far very entertaining and inspiring. I would like to post some pictures, but have discovered that i am limited to 100k of content. Is this a restriciton on new members? I see that there are lots of pictures that are far larger than 100k per post, so would like to know if I can post a series of pictures at some point without the 100k restriction and when does that happen? Looking forward to many visits here! Bob Naess Black River Militaria CII USA Hi Bob - welcome! Actually the only way to post pictures that are larger than 100kb is to host them on an external site (photobucket/Flickr etc) otherwise all of us are limited to 100kb 100KB is usually sufficient if you reduce the DPI to 75-100 and the image size to 6x4 or 5x7 this is usually sufficent for most purposes here and results in images of a suitable size. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmg17a1 Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 Chris wrote: Actually the only way to post pictures that are larger than 100kb is to host them on an external site (photobucket/Flickr etc) otherwise all of us are limited to 100kb 100KB is usually sufficient if you reduce the DPI to 75-100 and the image size to 6x4 or 5x7 this is usually sufficent for most purposes here and results in images of a suitable size. Much obliged for the response. When the opportunity arises I will us an external source to post pics. Thanks, Bob Naess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmg17a1 Posted 17 December , 2010 Share Posted 17 December , 2010 Curious about the nice MG08 and sled pictured above so have a question for Bill. What is the story on the rivets holding the right plate to the bottom plate? The rivets appear to be new and the plate re-rivetted..... Bob Naess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 18 December , 2010 Share Posted 18 December , 2010 Curious about the nice MG08 and sled pictured above so have a question for Bill. What is the story on the rivets holding the right plate to the bottom plate? The rivets appear to be new and the plate re-rivetted..... Bob Naess Hello Bob, The MG08 is a 'non-gun' display gun from IMA. The new rivets are part of the BATF spec. de-activation done by IMA. Been meaning to darken the rivets for ages. How are things at Black River these days? Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 19 December , 2010 Share Posted 19 December , 2010 Quote: Its kinda like Michael Jacksons sequined glove... Next time you're over here, drop into Newbridge Silverware. Unfortunately precious few machineguns, but there's this... http://www.newbridgesilverware.com/?operation=section&sid=53 By the way I Hate Michael Jackson and I've NO CONNECTION with the place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Finneran Posted 24 December , 2010 Share Posted 24 December , 2010 Bill (Dutchbarge) - absolute superb job on the pad replacement. My very best condition sled has its 4 original leather pads, near perfect, and I can honestly say i cannot tell the difference. If only you were living in Scotland!!! Good to see some familiar names - Chris, Steve, Richard, Tony and Bob too. When Bob N places some images of his collection on the site I fear we will all have our breath taken away...again. Bob will be a great source of expertise on this site. Now that I am back home again I don't know how the Forum Moderators feel about this but under the arms section I personally would like to see specific threads for each wpn. So I aim to start off the MG08 unless it is removed - forgive me if the images have been seen before 'pre-web site shake up and losses' By the way everybody have a great Christmas. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmg17a1 Posted 4 January , 2011 Share Posted 4 January , 2011 In response to Bill, I must say despite the "recession", my business is doing well and I'm backlogged and making every effort to get things done for my customers. sorry for the delayin repsonse, but I lost which thread I had posted on first. this is an amazingly comprehensive andinteresting site, and I'm getting better at remembering where I posted and where I have been and read. Several dozen friends are waiting for their adoption papers to come through, but Mark's offer of marriage is a first! My wife has put her foot down though and will tolerate no more wives regardless! 8^) Hope the fellows that you contacted, Mark, will follow through and reveal what they might know about the German 35th regiment MGs. I know there's something out there that I can discover with some help. After having spent some time circulating aorund and reading on this site, I see that there is not much imput on MGs, either live or deacs, and all the consequences of private possession of live MGs, which I understand, given the very unfortunate laws in Britain concerning firearms of any sort. As many of you know, it is a constant battle in the US just to preserve the laws that are Constitutional here, not to mention the fierce anti-gun climate that has prevailed for many years, culturally and politically. If I can be slightly optimistic, I feel that in the US we are making some decent headway to counter much of the anti-gun bias, and hopefully some of this will spread to GB. In my opinion, the single most unique and important aspect of the widespread private ownership of MGs in the US is that is has allowed the creation of a vast new resource of new, valuable information on maintaining, repairing, building and shooting almost every type of MG ever made. It has spurred huge import of all sorts of MG related militaria, ammo, parts and accessories that would never have happened without the interest in MGs. MGs were considered junk by the relatively new and growing gun collector fraternity in the US after WWII, some of which remains to this day. However, enterprising gun importer/retailers brought in thousands of MGs in the early fifties, which were bought incredibly cheaply on the international market, and then were made inopeprable and sold very inexpensively to new collectors in the US. I acquired my first deactivated MGs as a young teenager at that time and just kept goiong buying live MGs! As time went by, the interest grew and the current indiustry and hobby of collecting and shooting MGs is live and well here. We are very fortunate! Hopefully more and more US readers will post and bring a bit different perspective on WWI small arms and MGs to share with the board, especially those who own and shoot these historic weapons. Bob Naess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 16 January , 2011 Share Posted 16 January , 2011 Bill (Dutchbarge) - absolute superb job on the pad replacement. My very best condition sled has its 4 original leather pads, near perfect, and I can honestly say i cannot tell the difference. If only you were living in Scotland!!! Mark Thank you, Mark for your note of appreciation of the sled pads. It was, as I posted earlier, quite a job, but one that was most rewarding. Why don't you give it a try yourself? I'd be happy to walk you through it via email. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney hines Posted 26 January , 2011 Share Posted 26 January , 2011 was playing with my babies today and took some photos.... Would like to point out, they are all legally altered/neutralised.... For your pleasure (I hope) and mine (I know...).... Great pics and a superb mg08/15 set up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Finneran Posted 27 January , 2011 Share Posted 27 January , 2011 Bill - I will take you up on the offer ref pads repair. Whereas I try to leave everything original a sled here has some very 'sorry' looking knee/shoulder pads and eventually all horse hair will simply be lost forever. So may as well stop the total destruction. I notice on Chris's sled there are no knee rests at all so I will ask him what happened there. As for Bob - I cannot offer much Bob in the way of many marriage gifts and skills other than a rather tasty English home made rice pudding - I am however a useless cook so clearly your choice to remain with lovely wife is a wise one. I only wanted to 'use' you to get to your superb collection anyway so as you have spurned me then there is no point in keeping it a secret !!!! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 17 July , 2018 Share Posted 17 July , 2018 On 4/6/2010 at 10:31 PM, dutchbarge said: Here's a shot of one of the knee pads. These are almost always missing from sledge mounts. I originally tried to find someone with experience in having done this before to do it for me. I eventually found a older gent who in the past had done quite a few for an outfit here in the USA. He declined to take on my job as his vision was now fading....probably from re-doing knee/shoulder pads!! He advised me to just take my time and be patient. I used Analine dye on 1/8" tanned leather with linen thread. Lots of soaking of the leather to get it pliable. Lots of gently forming with a rubber mallet. Can't imagine how it was done originally with any degree of efficency, let alone speed. My 1 pixel camera and flash doesn't do the color justice, making it rather redder than it looks to the eye. Still, though I do say so myself, IMHO it really came out a treat. Cheers, Bill Great work, stumbled on this thread looking for information about replacing the pads on a sled mount. Unfortunately due to being a new member here I am unable to send a PM, would you mind contacting me at 6thguards(at)gmail.com. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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