I’m not sure if this “fits” here or not. Remove if necessary.
This is my scratch built clone of the M3 37mm Anti tank gun.
After over 8 years, and 1000’s of hours of sourcing raw materials and machining parts it is firing.
This was built using original microfilm blueprints on a CD that I bought from eBay in 2012 or 2013.
I started on this in April of 2014. I have machined or custom fabricated from scratch nearly every part of this gun.
The wheels and spindles were from an M38 Jeep.
The elevation mechanism is two heavily modified old screw type bottle jacks.
The traverse mechanism is a heavily modified 90 degree worm gear box from a sub station.
Other than standard nuts, bolts, and springs, every piece has spent hours in planning, lathing, milling, etc.
Other than the wheels, the things that I didn’t heavily modify or make from scratch would fit in a shoe box.
Everything works like it should including recoil,rapid traverse, elevation, and traverse. Even the coarse and fine sight adjustments.
Heck I even made a rudimentary rifling machine and rifled it. It’s rough, but it has rifling.
Many times I’ve looked at this and wondered “what was I thinking!?” However now it is a source of mechanical pride for me.
I did apply to the ATF and did receive permission to build this as a destructive device, and I have the NFA tax stamp and paperwork.
I want to use it for WWII re-enactments.
Several months ago I was at an event where the Germans had a 37mm PAK anti tank that was converted to shoot 12 guage shells.
That got my wheels to turning in my head.
I started with an old single barrel shotgun barrel, and made a sub caliber insert from scratch. I custom made a breech block and all the firing components.
It cocks on opening and it ejects the shells.
These are 2 3/4” shotgun shell hulls loaded from primer to crimp with FFFG black powder.
It gives a nice report and great flash.
It needs a good coat of fresh paint, as it has been painted in stages for nearly 8 years. It’s also covered in random oil stains, but it looks all the more “original” like that I think…at least that’s what I told myself.
Comments? Concerns? Nasty Remarks? Rotten fruit?
Here’s a short video of us playing with it.
This is my scratch built clone of the M3 37mm Anti tank gun.
After over 8 years, and 1000’s of hours of sourcing raw materials and machining parts it is firing.
This was built using original microfilm blueprints on a CD that I bought from eBay in 2012 or 2013.
I started on this in April of 2014. I have machined or custom fabricated from scratch nearly every part of this gun.
The wheels and spindles were from an M38 Jeep.
The elevation mechanism is two heavily modified old screw type bottle jacks.
The traverse mechanism is a heavily modified 90 degree worm gear box from a sub station.
Other than standard nuts, bolts, and springs, every piece has spent hours in planning, lathing, milling, etc.
Other than the wheels, the things that I didn’t heavily modify or make from scratch would fit in a shoe box.
Everything works like it should including recoil,rapid traverse, elevation, and traverse. Even the coarse and fine sight adjustments.
Heck I even made a rudimentary rifling machine and rifled it. It’s rough, but it has rifling.
Many times I’ve looked at this and wondered “what was I thinking!?” However now it is a source of mechanical pride for me.
I did apply to the ATF and did receive permission to build this as a destructive device, and I have the NFA tax stamp and paperwork.
I want to use it for WWII re-enactments.
Several months ago I was at an event where the Germans had a 37mm PAK anti tank that was converted to shoot 12 guage shells.
That got my wheels to turning in my head.
I started with an old single barrel shotgun barrel, and made a sub caliber insert from scratch. I custom made a breech block and all the firing components.
It cocks on opening and it ejects the shells.
These are 2 3/4” shotgun shell hulls loaded from primer to crimp with FFFG black powder.
It gives a nice report and great flash.
It needs a good coat of fresh paint, as it has been painted in stages for nearly 8 years. It’s also covered in random oil stains, but it looks all the more “original” like that I think…at least that’s what I told myself.
Comments? Concerns? Nasty Remarks? Rotten fruit?
Here’s a short video of us playing with it.
