MG08 Original Belt Preservation

[wooferocau]

Hi, I have just acquired a couple of early DWM MG08 belts, they have the brass spacers. The belts are in excellent condition with only a couple of very small stains on the starter tab end and the canvas/cotton is a little stiff.
What is the best method of preserving the belts? Should they be washed with any sort of fabric conditioner ? Is there anything that should be applied to the canvas/cotton....OR just leave them as is?

I have some others with the steel spacers and these are very dirty and quite oil soaked... again anything that should be done to these?

Thanks for any response..

[IMBLITZVT]

What is the best method of preserving the belts?

Sell them to me would probably be the best way to preserve them haha

You know I would like to hear the answers here too. I just picked up a 250rd belt with rust metal tabs but otherwise is in ok shape.

[wooferocau]

Anybody??

[wooferocau]

Here are a few pics of one of the 2 belts i just got....can anyone give me an indication of approx year?

[oprod]

Those are great belts. I would dearly like to find one someday. I use the vickers brass tabbed belts for shooting and display. The only thing that comes to mind as far as perserving them is to get one of those food preservation systems that suck the air out of the bag and then seals it.

[Chuckm]

I would think that it must be early war or pre-war, as they changed to steel to conserve the brass. I use the "seal a meal" bagging for a lot of things, manuals, small parts, webbing, etc. and it works great

Chuckm

P.S. and the wife even uses it for food ! ! ! ! !

[MarkFinneran]

Wooferocau as already mentioned some good belts. The brass tabbed German belts are hard to find, especially as on Ebay there are several examples of brass tabbed belts (mostly Russian maxim) being passed off as WWI German. When you say 'preserve' do you mean preserve/not use/extend life for perpetuity? or maintain in best condition for usage?
Like most on the web site I am looking for a good example of a German ammo belt so would be interested in what you mean exactly?
VMT
Mark

[alpencorps]

hallo wooferocau,

you find realy nice and rare belts, made up too the end of 1914,
the belt is clean and without damage,
its no preservation to do, leave them as is!!
Is there no date on the tab, (near the D.W.M. Types), for example: 9.14. ? (mounth and last 2 digits of the year)

Greetings from Bavaria
alpencorps

[wooferocau]

hallo wooferocau,


Is there no date on the tab, (near the D.W.M. Types), for example: 9.14. ? (mounth and last 2 digits of the year)

Greetings from Bavaria
alpencorps

alpencorps there appears to be a very faint imprint on one of the belts... 4.11 and the other has no makings other than DWM.

Mark, In preservation.. i mean how to preserve the current condition. The belts are in extremely good condition...no damage to any of the fabric or the brass tabs. There are a few minor stains on the ends of the fabric.
The canvas is a little stiff, so i was wondering about anything that could be applied to "preserve" or soften the canvas, BUT it appears that mabye the best thing to do is just leave them as is...after all they have survived this long ok.

[MarkFinneran]

Thanks. Sorry i don't know your christian name.
My only other offering to the web site is that by not using them on live firing this will clearly help the preservation. As for other belts, in the old WWI period vickers .303 manuals it gives instructions on how to clean used/soiled 250 rd ammo belts, (with ingredients) so I shall dig those out.
I have some immaculate WWI vickers ammo belts all stamped/dated so if anybody wishes to trade/sell German WWI ammo belts pse say. i appreciate all the good chaps on this forum are also after German maxim belts, both 250 and 100 rd.
Mark

[wooferocau]

Thanks. Sorry i don't know your christian name.

My only other offering to the web site is that by not using them on live firing this will clearly help the preservation. As for other belts, in the old WWI period vickers .303 manuals it gives instructions on how to clean used/soiled 250 rd ammo belts, (with ingredients) so I shall dig those out.

Mark

Hi Mark, names Paul. I would be very grateful if you could post the instructions on the cleaning procedure...

Thanks..

[wooferocau]

I also just picked up a wooden MG08 box, its is in good condition....again ANY idea of its approx vintage?

Paul.

[alpencorps]

Hallo Paul,
your wooden Box is presumably made in Wartime,
it has iron handel and fittings (looks like),
This wooden type was the first in use, from 1899 up to 1918 (see pic http://www.mg08.de/Photogallerie/Bilder.html,
the model of 1899 - 1901 - 1908 had brass handle and fittings, later in wartime made from iron.
In 1911 the double-chest (2x250 rounds) is placed in service.

greetings
Alpencorps

[dwmmg08]

Very cool info Alpencorps, I'd only add to that that of the wooden ammo boxes I've gotten here in the states, nearly all have had tags on them in Finnish, so I believe they went to Finland at some point. They often have ink stamps inside with the makers, but not years or more info, unfortunately. The Austrian ones had a very different latch assembly.

Do you know how these were used in the war? Were they just issued out to anyone, or were they with some specific group, like the Marinenkorps?

Danke!

Glen

[bmg17a1]

As Glen notes, there are other styles of latch. I have three other latch styles on the same style box in my collection. would like to know more history?

[alpencorps]

@ Glen,
Do you know how these were used in the war? Were they just issued out to anyone, or were they with some specific group, like the Marinenkorps?

I don't have Informations about using the wooden chest's by special troops, on old pics you ca find it everywhere,
i think they are used from any troops.

enclosed a pic with the most used types, one with Iron-Handle, the other with Handle made from papercloth,
both with maker, but no Year, but made in wartime. (papercloth is not known bevor war)
Both have the typical German WW1 latch assembly and color.
This Type could made very easy by every little joinery, cheap, and fast, and wood is everywhere available.

Its true, the Germans sold mutch Stuff after end of the Great war to Finnland, Pouches, Gun's, Helmets, i belive, also the Cartrige -Chest's.

Greetings
alpencorps

[alpencorps]

back too the Title,

Belt Preservation......

clean it with a dry brush (so written in the Instruction-book's)
put it in a wooden Chest, keep it dry...

and the unfilled Belt will preserved for the nex 100 Years

Greetings from Bavaria
Alpencorps

[dwmmg08]

Excellent post Alpenkorps!

It raised a question for me: I noticed both of your very nice wooden ammo chests have the arrow for the direction of fire painted on them; I have also seen a similar arrow painted on the 500 round metal ammo cans. Do you know (or does anyone know?) if this same arrow was marked on the M1915 250 round metal ammo cans in WWI? Of course, those stayed in use, and seem to have been repainted weekly after the war, by whomever was in trouble.. (joking, but...) This is the first time I have seen it painted on a can other than the 500 rounders, but it would seem to indicate that they'd kept doing that with at least some of the 250 rounders. I also noted that one is in black, and the other white; previously, I'd only ever seen white arrows, but black would make some sense.

If they did paint that arrow on their M1915 cans, where was it? Are there any pictures out there showing cans with this on them?

Thanks again for the great pictures!

Glen

[dwmmg08]

back too the Title,

Belt Preservation......

clean it with a dry brush (so written in the Instruction-book's)
put it in a wooden Chest, keep it dry...

and the unfilled Belt will preserved for the nex 100 Years

Greetings from Bavaria
Alpencorps

Love it! Ok, does the book say anything about a heavily soiled belt? I've thought of that a lot, and I know that dirt and the grit in it can be extremely destructive to cloth, even if it's not doing anything. Has anyone seen anything on washing (gently) one of these belts in say, cold water and woolite to get 100 years of nasty out of them, and then drying, say by setting it outstide stretched out or something? I seriously doubt that this is pre-shrunk fabric. Has anyone tried that???

Lastly, are there any instructions for repairing damaged belts?? I have the rivets, vickers rivet tool, and the brass spacers: are there any further instructions about patching these things?? On belts I've seen with old period repairs, I've noticed they go on for some distance around the break, on either side of it up and down the belt. Any instructions would be great!

Greetings from Oklahoma!
Glen

[wooferocau]

back too the Title,




Love it! Ok, does the book say anything about a heavily soiled belt? I've thought of that a lot, and I know that dirt and the grit in it can be extremely destructive to cloth, even if it's not doing anything. Has anyone seen anything on washing (gently) one of these belts in say, cold water and woolite to get 100 years of nasty out of them, and then drying, say by setting it outstide stretched out or something? I seriously doubt that this is pre-shrunk fabric. Has anyone tried that???



Greetings from Oklahoma!
Glen

Glen, do you mean like these......

I have 2 belts like this, very dirty....mostly oil and grime.