Armourer's wooden horse

[Nigel]

can anyone provide dimensions of the armourer's wooden horse that was bench mounted with a single bolt securing it to the bench. If anyone has one if you could trace around it post a scan of the tracing - that would be great. I fancy making one.

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[Bathurst72]

Hi mate, from all of the pictures that I have found on the net, which is not many, they all seem a little different in timber size. I believe that most may have been manufactured inhouse as they needed them. i just made one for my armourers box, so as it fitted into one of the compartments.

[Peter Laidler]

I'm surprised that Tankie hasn't come up with a sketch yet. Where are you when we need you tankie?

Another little known thing we had was a 1 foot long strip of horsehair matting (usually the same stuff used to repair Bren chests) that hung over, left to right, across the bottom of the extending part of your vice jaws. This ensured that when you put a rifle into the vice, the actual butt didn't touch or ding against the edge of the extending part and put a small ding into the underside of the butt. Sloppy practice.

[Nigel]

could you guys give me a clue about dimensions - width, height and length. Many thanks

[Bathurst72]

Hi mate, from the pictures I proportioned to the gun and its use, so i just guessed in the end. The height will be so as the gun when held a vice by the butt and the forewood would rest, pretty much level on the horse. The length again would be if you were going to have this as a bench mount, now depending on how much you want from the pivot/screw down point to the edge of the bench. The top piece will be long enough to hang out past the bench and to allow the forewood to rest on. As for the material thickness, again i guessed from the pictures.

My armourers box at some stage on the opposite end from the vice, has hole drilled into the top edge of the box. There are signs of two small screw holes to attache what ever this is?????

My guess it was a bushing/pivot point for a horse to be attached to the end of the bos to be used when the vice is fitted. So from my guess, I manufactured a Horse to fit inside one of the compartments and still work in conjunction with the vice.

Again, I just guessed on all measurements and construction.

cheers

[Bathurst72]

---------- Post added at 11:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 AM ----------

[browningautorifle]

Some good pics, working out in a tent...

[ufo8mydog]

Great photos

[CINDERS]

Isn't that a young P L 2nd last pic far end of tent when he was over here learning how to do things the Aussie way????

[Peter Laidler]

Funny you should say that Cinders but I learned pretty quick. One day I looked through a cupola opening to querie something that someone had said about doing something and commented words to the effect that '.......that's not the way we did it in England.......' That's as far as I got when Johnny Cotterell said in no uncertain terms '.....well get hold of your tool box and xxxx-off back to England then'. Guess what you do when you're in Rome........? Yep...., quick lesson. Turned out to be one of the best blokes I even knew. Went to Oz as a boy from Reading.

Photo 3 and 6 looks like they're working from the let down sides of their Armourers workshop lorry. Ours was an old Bedford 77YC16 that towed a 110v generator trailer. We also had a couple of bigger pommie Commer BH type Binners as I recall. We hardly ever wore shirts at work, just shorts and short leather ammo boots that you see. But later we gradually got rubber soled shortie boots with socks rolled over the top. From about '68, calf length black leather rubber soled leather boots with grey or khaki socks rolled over the tops. The sweat used to run down, soak the tops of your socks and then run into your boots so you'd squelch around. Best were the canvas and rubberised jungle boots but alas, no real protection