Stokes Mortar

[Andysarmoury]

Hi All I picked this stokes mortar up a few weeks ago and thought I would show you what I have done to it, I gave it a good wire brush and a soak in de rust dip for a couple of days, it needed a bit of filla so turned it in the lathe to get it right and a few coats of paint, all I have to do now is make a leaver for it which is the hardest part, if anybody has a relic one that they don't want i would be interested.

Andy

 

[Yodamaster]

Hi Andy,
all I have are two pictures of the fuze. Here they are.

Yoda

 

[Edwardc]

I have one of the replica mills levers you can have if you think you can adapt it, i brought it for a ww1 cutaway but changed my mind - PM me if your interested, you may be able to bend it or fix something on it i dunno

 

[smle2009]

Great job you have done there Andy,very nice


Cheers
Tony

 

[Andysarmoury]

Thanks guys its surprising what a bit of filla and paint will do and the help of my lathe, i just like restoring stuff, thank you Yoda for the pic and Edwardc i have sent you an PM
cheers
Andy

 

[Edwardc]

Thanks guys its surprising what a bit of filla and paint will do and the help of my lathe, i just like restoring stuff, thank you Yoda for the pic and Edwardc i have sent you an PM
cheers
Andy

And i replied direct via email

 

[.*.*.]

Andy,

Just wanted to say that you have done an incredible job on that Stokes ! having a lathe helps !! but really well done. WF

 

[Andysarmoury]

Thanks WF, i just love doing things up and preserving a bit of history,
cheers
Andy

 

[peregrinvs]

Very impressive. My Stokes project...

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/80358-Relic-Stokes-Mortar-Restoration-Project

...is still very much a work in progress. I've got most of the rust off via chemical means, but the stuff gumming up the fuse is proving very stubborn. I've also yet to get the base tube and plate unscrewed and in an ideal world I'd like it to be fully strippable. All tips for unfreezing seized threads gratefully received.

Mark

 

[Andysarmoury]

Hi Mark, Thank you, the fuze should come off ok but be careful as the fuze's are cast and can be very brittle you could try soaking it it hammeright rust dip and try heating it up then put it in a vice and get a wrench to grip the base thats the only way i now and it worked for me, but making sure there is no det in it first before heating it.
Cheers
Andy

 

[super7]

Andy, another restoration job well done. Hard to believe it is the same one as the rusted relic on the left.

Regards, Jan

http://www.westernfront.nl

 

[Andysarmoury]

Thanks Jan, yes i am very pleased with the way its turned out and hope the colour is right as i have never seen any original one's to compare it too.
Regards
Andy

 

[peregrinvs]

I forgot to ask: were the end caps, cartridge tube and pistol on the Stokes bomb painted or left as bare metal?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Andysarmoury]

Hi Mark, from what i can make out they were not painted as i have an old pic showing them being fused and i know its black and white but can make out there not painted
Cheers
Andy

 

[Snufkin]

Post no.4 in

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threa...ortar-Restoration-Project?p=190592#post190592

shows an original example in the Imperial War Museum


Tom.

 

[Andysarmoury]

That one is a repainted one you can tell by the red band as it should be 1/2 inch down from the top and the green band should be 1 inch wide.
Andy

 

[Snufkin]

That one is a repainted one you can tell by the red band as it should be 1/2 inch down from the top and the green band should be 1 inch wide.
Andy

I can't comment on whether the IWM displays such items that have been repainted, but the point of linking to the thread was that it shows the cartridge holder and pistol as unpainted (actually varnished metal) which is a correct option.

Photo herewith shows a Stokes pistol of known provenance, from Bombing School demonstration stock and untouched since 1918 (although the ringpull is not original to the body). Substantial shellac/varnish remains over the casting.



Tom.

 

[Andysarmoury]

Thanks Tom, what a great pic of the pistol and thanks for showing it, you would have thought the IWM would have done a bit more research into that but it gives the general public an idea of what it was like I suppose, anyway love to see the old stuff may i copy the picture.
Regards
Andy

 

[doctor]

Hi
Sometimes the stokes fuze are covered with a green forest varnish
Body of bomb can be painted in light :white grey, blue grey, yellow grey or green grey

 

[Snufkin]

Thanks Tom, what a great pic of the pistol and thanks for showing it, you would have thought the IWM would have done a bit more research into that but it gives the general public an idea of what it was like I suppose, anyway love to see the old stuff may i copy the picture.
Regards
Andy

Andy, you (and anyone else) are welcome to copy the pcture.

Hi
Sometimes the stokes fuze are covered with a green forest varnish
Body of bomb can be painted in light :white grey, blue grey, yellow grey or green grey

Another option for the pistols (and I suppose the cartridge holders) is bare metal, but rust-proofed either by coslettising or by fermangan process. I recollect seeing this in contemporary documentation but I might be pushed to find it quickly. Either way the metal surface would take on a black or grey appearance, depending on the process.



Tom.