serge joe | 27 Jan 2015 12:15 p.m. PST |
Hi , I would like to know how long it wil took a blacksmith to repair a wheel with two spokes damaged together with steel rim? greetings serge joe |
MajorB | 27 Jan 2015 12:17 p.m. PST |
You need a wheelwright for that, not a blacksmith. About 6 hours? |
serge joe | 27 Jan 2015 12:21 p.m. PST |
Could be done in a battle of one day or more? greetings serge joe |
serge joe | 27 Jan 2015 12:24 p.m. PST |
Major B Sorry about that greetings serge joe |
Lion in the Stars | 27 Jan 2015 12:26 p.m. PST |
Blacksmith to make the steel rim, wheelwright to fix the spokes. The pieces are designed to be fixed, so as long as it was just a couple spokes and not a lot more pieces it's something that could probably be fixed in an evening. Faster if there were pre-made spokes, slower if someone needed to carve the spokes. Assuming the steel rim itself was OK, you probably wouldn't even need a blacksmith. |
serge joe | 27 Jan 2015 12:26 p.m. PST |
And otherTings like amo boxes artilery pieces? greetings serge joe |
serge joe | 27 Jan 2015 12:33 p.m. PST |
PLease do not answer to fast can not make a comment on that should not what if the wheel is out line ? best to you serge joe |
deadhead | 27 Jan 2015 1:18 p.m. PST |
A wheel would surely be replaced and any repairs done when things quietened down…if at all. Firewood more likely pre Waterloo. I assume from above we are talking about a prolonged battle and not a simple march to contact or peacetime. |
jeffreyw3 | 27 Jan 2015 2:18 p.m. PST |
Me--I would carry a bunch of spares and fix it later. |
Timmo uk | 27 Jan 2015 3:18 p.m. PST |
The French artillery caissons carried spare wheels but I'm not sure if they would have been the right size for guns or not. Either way I suspect they had spares ready. Impossible task under fire I'd think as they'd need to erect sheer legs etc etc. |
deadhead | 27 Jan 2015 3:24 p.m. PST |
New wheel onto a gun, "easy", (ish), with well trained crews. The question was more about repairing a damaged wheel. Standardisation in any army was essential to ensure that wheels could be swapped or substituted. Thus, a front wheel off a French ambulance could replace the wheel on a limber. The wheel on the back of a caisson could be either size, the larger replacing any gun carriage wheel, the smaller a limber or a front wheel off anything with four wheels……….. |
jeffreyw3 | 27 Jan 2015 3:44 p.m. PST |
I think I have the Russian battery official spares count at home--I'll post it. |
jeffreyw3 | 27 Jan 2015 7:00 p.m. PST |
Supposedly, a heavy field battery should have had six spare gun carriages, so spare wheels shouldn't have been a problem? |
Cerdic | 28 Jan 2015 12:29 a.m. PST |
They had spare wheels. Fixing a wheel needs special equipment. A wheel was held together by the iron rim which was fitted by the heat-shrink method. First you need to heat the rim so it expands. But not overheated. A skilled blacksmith can tell by the colour when it is hot enough. Then the rim is dropped onto the wheel and immediately quenched with several buckets of cold water. The rim will shrink onto the wheel, binding the whole thing together. The quenching needs to be done fast or the heat from the rim will set the wooden wheel on fire! I doubt they fired up the forge during a battle! |
serge joe | 28 Jan 2015 4:42 a.m. PST |
And what if 2 or more only differant sizes ? greetings serge joe |
Major Function | 28 Jan 2015 12:22 p.m. PST |
During a battle to replace a wheel not repair it would take less than 1 hour. Some tools to remove the wheel and equipment to jack up the cart/wagon or gun. Replacing wheel was not a diffcult job. It would probably take longer to change a wagon's wheel because of the weight of the wagon's load. |
138SquadronRAF | 28 Jan 2015 12:36 p.m. PST |
During a battle to replace a wheel not repair it would take less than 1 hour. Some tools to remove the wheel and equipment to jack up the cart/wagon or gun.Replacing wheel was not a diffcult job. It would probably take longer to change a wagon's wheel because of the weight of the wagon's load. This is how we do it with re-enactors and a 12pd Napoleon. Yes, French guns are heavier. I've manned one of those too. Take the trail-spike and place under the axle. Takes 3 of 4 men. 1 man knocks out the retaining pin and pulls the wheel off with the help of a second man. These 2 men lift the wheel back onto the axle. One then hammers back the retaining pin. Process takes only a couple of minutes, if you don't put the gun down. Dropping a 2,000lbs of gun onto the ground gives you a whole different set of problems – 4 men serving as support, not so much. It's part of regular maintenance to grease the wheel. |