RE: M24 Chaffee
 

Just finished the top plate.<div>
</div><div>http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...n/topplate.png
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RE: M24 Chaffee
 

Top rear plate<div>http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...pplaterear.png
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</div><div>Upper rear plate</div><div>
</div><div>http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...rrearplate.png
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</div><div>lower rear plate</div><div>http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...rrearplate.png
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</div><div>Bottom plate</div><div>http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...ottomplate.png
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RE: M24 Chaffee
 

what are you going to be using for material
i'm sure if you made enough of these some people would buy them from you as a kit i think you could make some bucks from it keep up the great work

RE: M24 Chaffee
 

aluminum plate. probably 3003.

RE: M24 Chaffee
 

Tank barrel. It is 1in 1045 Steel 19 in long for a 12ga shotgun shell. I plan to shoot blanks out of this barrel.<div>
</div><div>http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...tankbarrel.png
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Well I have been gone for a bit. Had a deployment to Afghanistan to deal with so I was not able to work on the tank at all for a year. I had to scale the tank to 1/12th scale as the 1/6 was way too big for me to house and move around. I began welding the internal structure together today. The overall size of the tank will be 42' x 26" in size. I will post a picture of the first parts when I get home.

Ahhhhhh too bad you didn't go 1/10! I would have loved to begged borrowed or stolen a set of drawings in 1/10 scale...

Jerry

My cad drawings should scale fine.

Did you scale up 1/35 scale Chaffee parts for your CAD drawing dimensions or did you find another source for that?

I used the 1/35 scale for my drawings and managed to find a real chaffee to do a sanity check on the main part dimensions.

Many ( 20?) years ago I'd started to gather information for a 1/10 Chaffee project. I was going to use number 35 roller chain as the basis for the track as
it was fairly close in 1/10 scale. Hull was to me mostly birch ply. These days I'd just cast or machine what I need..

Jerry

I am also looking at triple strand roller chain

~~~~~~~~~~~

Wouldn't roller chain get jammed up with dirt and weeds easily?? That's kind of close tolerance mechanical stuff. What about track links, would you cast something that would attach to the chain somehow?

My memories of my bicycle roller chain when I was a young kid, and my dirt bike chain when I was an older kid, are not fun maintenance memories.

Rex

I thought about casting tracks, but I do not have the means or skill to cast them.

Well first you need to be sure you have the tools and the ability to use them. No offense but I know plenty of engineers that can work wonders on paper but couldn't a bird house with out someone holding their hand.
Yes there are no kits for the M24 or any parts available for it either. It's a great little tank but there is nothing out there for it.
not even sure you would be able to find tracks for it. Tracks and suspension are the hardest parts to acquire in larger scales.Also there are more clubs around with the 1:16 th scale than there is for the big boys. They are mainly in Europe. 1:16th is the most common scale in the US. Not that the big scales aren't cool, they are. Very cool but most of us guys around here just cant afford them. So good luck with your project and remember to nail down some tracks and sprockets first or there is no point in going any further. The hull and turret is easy compared to the other parts.

Ditto on that, the suspension and running gear is the most challenging part of any RC tank. It is often the deciding factor that determines which tank the modeler chooses to build. This doesn't mean building an M24 is not feasible in 1/12 scale, if you have access to a lathe or CNC mill, the road wheels can be easily made. 1/12 scale is somewhat close to 1/16 so you might be able to find suspension arms or springs that will fit the tank. As for the tracks, I have seen guys who have used welded hinges from the hardware store in combination with bicycle chains and sprockets, the catch is that these types of tracks do not resemble the real thing. So it also depends on what level of accuracy you wish to achieve.

On the other hand you could build in 1/16 scale instead, like you said it is simply a re-scaling of the CAD drawings in Solidworks. You might be able to fit the HL M41 Walker Bulldog road wheels and tracks onto a M24 chassis, but I see that you've already started the frame, so that might be a bit tricky. You can also consider using the HL M41 tracks for your 1/12 build too, these tracks are way too wide for 1/16 (the HL M41 model wasn't entirely accurate to begin with) so they might look to scale in 1/12. This still saves you a lot of effort since now you only have to worry about the road wheels and drive sprockets.

I already have the road wheels and sprockets. I bought a HL M41 and ZTZ99 tank today. I have a CNC and lathe at work that I use daily so I have no problems making any parts I need. I am going to start out with the triple linked drive chain for now, I know it is not the most accurate but for road driving it should be ok for now. It is going to have plenty of torque from the two wheel chair motors.

Sounds like a plan! Here is another build that was featured here a while back, this gentleman built a Leopard 1, also in 1/12 scale. His track system also consists of chains and pads:

http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forum...hp?f=33&t=9308

Video of it running:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYOaO4j3YYo Personally I think it looks great. At the end of the day, as long as you are satisfied with your tank, then it's all that matters! :D

His track system is pretty much what I had planned for mine.

Roller chain is just to frame up the track. I know some folks build up the links on the chain but I wanted to use the chain links on the outside of the track blocks.
The blocks I'd make either by casting in aluminum or forming from heat vulcanizing rubber with a frame inside.

It wouldn't be the speediest process but it could be done. Some of the older German language books from Fischer detail general idea behind the tracks using roller
or the larger bicycle chain as a basis.

Jerry