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Replacement top part for mills grenade

Falcon

Falcon

Well-Known Member
I was given an inert mills grenade with one of the top parts that the pin goes through snapped off. What do you think to the idea of making a new one and brazing it back on.
 
Brazing or welding a replacement part on cast iron is near impossible. Best change is to clean the joint properly and use high quality epoxy glue.
 
To make sure it didn't come off again, I could drill down into the body and fit a couple of metal pins into the body and replacement part before glueing it on. The problem is getting hold of a small piece of cast iron to make the replacement from.
 
Soft Solder option ?

Falcon, You might find that "soft solder" is a good medium to do the repair with and it would also be pretty strong and could be coloured so any traces were not visible at first glance.
Just my pennies worth !
After all some large calibre Armour Piercing Capped projectiles have their caps "soft soldered" on and you can imagine the firing stresses they encounter.

Chris :tinysmile_shy_t:
 
repair to mills grenade.

Hi mate,
I would use milliput modelling 2 part putty.
You can get it in metal grey,terracota,and white.
This stuff is brill because it adhears to all surfaces and can be drilled,shaped and sawn.
Whats more is that you can mould it using water,to get a really smooth surface.
Just mix up a lump of the stuff (bigger than you need) and press it firmly on to grenade in the approximate oblong shape.If you need to made flat sides then use a small flat piece of metal to press the putty against.
When it has completely dry,you can sand this back with a small block to match the other side exactly.
The only drawback to using this is the fact you will have to either repaint your whole gren or paint it to match.
If you have experiance in 'ageing' stuff then this is easy.
To age an item,use a 'wash' e.g.very watery paint,this runs into the nooks and crannies and resmbles grime/dirt.
I make washes from acrylic paint,a dab of black,yellow,brown and rub or dab off the excess if required,and DONT worry,if you cock up you can rub it off and start again.
Ive used milliput to make my own mills parts,including the spoon! so I know it works.
Cheers,hope this helps
18pounder:tinysmile_twink_t:
 
I still like the idea of soft soldering a replacement piece made of cast iron onto the top of the grenade, as long as I can find some cast iron to make it from.
 
Cast Iron source !

Falcon said:
I still like the idea of soft soldering a replacement piece made of cast iron onto the top of the grenade, as long as I can find some cast iron to make it from.
Click to expand...

A possible source of material for your renovation/repair job could well be a car breakers, as a lot of the older cars had cast Iron water pumps on them and these pumps usually have cast Iron impellers inside that may be just what you are looking for if you get a big enough one!

Good luck !

Chris :tinysmile_shy_t:
 
hi falcon most car exuast manifolds are made from cast iron maybe use a part of them

regards lee
 
Brilliant idea !

leeski said:
hi falcon most car exuast manifolds are made from cast iron maybe use a part of them

regards lee
Click to expand...

Hi Falcon as Lee states, car exhaust manifolds would have the "bulk" for you to cut out a suitable piece !
Chris :tinysmile_shy_t:
 
Falcon ,,dont want to put a damper on this project ,,but are you sure you want to go to all this trouble,,You can pick up good bodies cheaply from around 15.

I will also have a look through my box of bits tomorrow i may have a piece of mills frag with the lug ,,no promises tho
 
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Spotter, you took just my words, I have several times just dumped an intreresting restoring project after considering how much efforts it requires and is it worth of that at the end. :tinysmile_angry_t:
 
restoration

i think it depends.
Some folk will bother,some dont.
I'll restore anything,because I like the challenge of getting back to how it should look,thats the point of restoration.
I will put a ceiling on cost though,and that might be higher or lower than the value.
Its a personal thing
 
If I can find a piece of cast iron, the cost of the project will be almost zero. I have access to a milling machine to get it to the right thickness, then I can file it to shape. I can then fix it on, cut the slot and drill the hole.

I like the idea of the bit of frag with the lug still attached, I hadn't thought of that.
 
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Hi why don't you section it and cut out the damaged bit as part of the section? That will also leave you with a nice bit of spare cast iron for the next project as well.

Dave.
 
spotter said:
Falcon ,,dont want to put a damper on this project ,,but are you sure you want to go to all this trouble,,You can pick up good bodies cheaply from around 15.

I will also have a look through my box of bits tomorrow i may have a piece of mills frag with the lug ,,no promises tho
Click to expand...

Hello Falcon sorry mate but the bits of mills frag i have are ALL missing the lugs
 
I had thought of sectioning it. I would have to locate a striker, spring, spoon and inert fuze however first.

No problem spotter, I'll just have to make the bit from steel if I decide to replace it.
 
Bit late to chime in on this but with the correct electrodes cast iron can be welded with an arc welder, it requires a lot of skill and the electrodes are costly and will take a fair ammount of delicate grinding /dressing to make it look right but where theres a will theres a way!
Drop into an exhaust repair shop or engineering works ( older the better) some of the older welders may be able to assist ( all the younger ones wouldnt have touched an arc welder, they view them as dinosaurs). Again like the guys have said is it realy worth it?

Regards
MG34NZ
 
I was thinking about it earlier, what I could do is cut the other lug off and grind down where the broken off one was to make it smooth. I could then turn up an inside piece with the same thread as the base plug thread, and another internal thread in the bottom so that it could fit on a car gear stick. It would be a good way to use a body that is no good from a collector's point of view.
 
grenade repair

I like to take modeling clay and form it around a lug on a good Mills to make a mold. Then put the mold on the broken grenade and fill mold with construction epoxy which sticks to cast iron really well. After the mold is removed the repair is close to perfect and may require just slight mods. Dano
Also recommend wiping grenade that mold is being made on with reel magic or some sort of penetrating oil to act as a release agent so the modeling clay will pop off.
 
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I finally got round to doing this repair recently after the grenade sat forgotten in a drawer for nearly seven years.

It's not the best looking repair in the world as the weld is visible at one end. I decided to try my luck using two tacks with a mig welder. I didn't want to do too much as not to put too much heat into it and possibly crack it.

The replacement piece is made of mild steel. It seems to have held on pretty well.

All parts are original except for the striker and spring. These are modern replicas. Am I right that the spoon should sit much closer into the body?

mills1.jpgmills2.jpg
 
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