MUSIC: "Summit" by Ardie Son A huge milestone on the KV-1S this week — assembly of the running gear begins. Beau finishes the left side drive sprocket hub with a custom stub axle, preps the right side final drive housing, fits the front idler assembly, return roller axles, swing arms, and the enormous drive sprockets — which are bigger than a Tiger I's. Kurt steps in to help fit the left side housing and sprockets, with predictable results. We also answer a question we've had from a lot of viewers: why can we use MIG wire on the KV-1S when almost every other piece of WWII steel we work with needs stainless stick welding rods? It comes down to the composition of Soviet cast armour versus German rolled plate — the Soviet steel has less carbon and fewer alloying elements, so it doesn't go as hard and brittle around the weld when it cools. It's not better or worse, just a different recipe that happens to be more forgiving. Plus we test fit the right hand wheel and track tensioning unit, discover a bearing that looks horrifying but is actually perfectly usable, and Beau tackles a pair of original mud scrapers — both for the wrong side. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 – Removing the Strongbacks 01:44 – Finishing the Final Drive Housing from Last Time 03:42 – MIG Welding WWII Soviet Armour 04:51 – Prepping the Right Side Final Drive Housing 05:53 – Fitting the Front Idler Assembly 07:46 – Kurt Helps Fit the Left Side Final Drive Housing and Sprockets 11:34 – Terrible Manufacturing Standards of the KV-1S 13:51 – Fitting the Right Side Sprocket 14:36 – Does it line up? 15:18 – Swing Arms 21:50 – The Mud Scrapers (Finale) 🎥 Videography and editing by Ella from AusArmour The Australian Armour & Artillery Museum is home to the largest collection of armoured vehicles and artillery in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Cairns, North Queensland. We are dedicated to the collection, preservation, restoration and display of military vehicles from the 1800s to present day. Our collection includes over 220 armoured vehicles and artillery pieces from 15 countries. 🔧 Visit us: https://www.ausarmour.com 📱 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ausarmour #WorkshopWednesday #KV1S #TankRestoration #SovietTank #WWII #MilitaryHistory
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The work the team do and results achieved from heaps of rusty, forgotten, shattered and abandoned steel are nothing short of jaw-dropping. Always a highlight of my week!
Steve is going to love the KV-1! A Soviet vehicle he doesn't have to maintain the engine on!
Beaus horror at being blamed for Soviet manufacturing tolerances 😂
7:39 A big shout out to Mitsubishi Electric for supplying the pallet!
I'm so impressed with Beau's incredible use of the tape measure, imagine achieving two decimal places when reading the millimetre scale with his finger as a reference point. 373.87mm! Wow what a Boilermaker.
Some of those wheels look like the shopping carts I keep picking.
It’s workshop Wednesday! The highlight of my YouTube week 😜
Great work Beau, amazing how this is coming along from how it started
To get this far from a pile of shattered scrap, is some achievement. Keep it coming Lads.
Kurt, all this big gear, the boys work on. I think you should think retro fitting the shed with a 5 ton overhead crane.
Always fantastic to see Kurt doing the iconic intro! And variations there of.👍 This has been an amazing project to follow. I thought the Hummel, Tiger, Jagdpanther and StuGs were challenging projects ( and no doubts they were!) But this KV-1S has been a tough job from the start. And it's a testament to how tough these Soviet heavies were, that they can be resurrected like this. And it's brought out the best in your team's skills which are always a highlight to watch being applied in these videos. Fantastic work!
I think you two had a load of fun doing this. Great job guys.
Thank you Kurt, just in time for dinner.
The "Apprentice" will next time appear wearing safety overalls & boots with earmuffs. Thanks Kurt your explanation of specific aspects during assembly was appreciated.
This beast will look awesome when it’s done, shouldn’t have doubted you guys in bringing this wreck back from the scrap heap. Well done.
Good grief that thing’s going to be huge! Nice work, salvaging so much damaged material.
Do they have all the deck and turret parts to complete the display ???
Go on then! Might as well make it a runner have gotten this far!
Legends say that wheel from the intro is still turning.
1:10 Perfect shots for those watching with headphones.