70036 Boadicea

[Jim]

Thanks Julian for your comments and advice, they are much appreciated.
Like much of this hobby, many of the tasks we undertake are first time learning experiences and Boadicea's boiler has been a big one for me. On this project I've gained a much better insight into what is needed and what to avoid for next time, if there should be a 'next time', which again is where your comments are appreciated.
I must confess that with the end in sight with this boiler the thought of building the MR 4-4-0 (the drawing sits enticingly on the workshop wall) is getting harder to resist

Jim

[Jim]

With the outer wrapper now silvered in place work has turned to preparing the stays starting with the long cross stays and a couple of crown stays. With all those holes to be fitted with stays I can see a good supply of engineer's energy drinks will be required if the job is to be done anytime soon.

Jim

edit: Just updated the photo having added some more stays.

[Deleted]

Hello JIM----------- not trying to tell you how to "suck an egg" but those holes might benefit from a slight countersinking to help form a fillet, do you think ??.........PS, I'm much interested in the photos of a Brit. boiler ( epecially the firebox/backhead ) as it it's v.similar to my dear old BEAR shape and sizes....

[44767]

All looking good, Jim. Not far to go now! Not the best time of year to be doing boiler work though, is it?

Mike

[jma1009]

hi jim,
you are doing extremely well!

there's a very good set of pages on the tyneside club's website of how to silver solder a boiler with oxy-acetylene including the stays as below which might be of interest (i use propane so with propane the order and sequence you have to do things is limited)

www.tsmee.co.uk/page36.php

i believe the guy in the pics makes the boilers for POLLY engineering.

mike - jim's weather in NZ this time of year is ideal! wish it was like that here at the moment!

cheers,
julian

[44767]

Jim is in Aussie though not NZ- always bloody hot in Aussie!

[jma1009]

hi mike,
sorry brain not in gear here - i ought to have remembered Jim is in Canberra! it's in cold weather i dont like making boilers. i do mine in the workshop with the door open, but even then if cold propane creates a lot of condensation which doesnt do everything else in the workshop much good. plus having to go outside to my pickling tank, then hose the stuff down afterwards in a freezing cold garden with freezing cold water from the garden hose etc.
cheers,
julian

[Jim]

Many thanks Julian, Hagley and Mike for your comments and suggestions.

Julian you're certainly not telling me how to suck eggs, your comment answers a question I was asking myself...and without getting much satisfaction I might add. I'll get in and increase the counter sinks before I tackle the job of silvering them in place. Thanks for that.

I haven't had a chance to check the link to boiler making but I'm sure it will be very handy information wise, I'll certainly add it to the reference folder.

Oz can be hot as Mike says and even here in Canberra in the ranges on the edge of the Southern Alps it still can get up in the C30's in summer but it can get very cold in winter, it's a climate I enjoy.

I've only got about 70 more stays to cut and form so best get back to the task..they say it's hobby

Jim

[Jim Scott]

there's a very good set of pages on the tyneside club's website of how to silver solder a boiler with oxy-acetylene including the stays as below which might be of interest (i use propane so with propane the order and sequence you have to do things is limited)

www.tsmee.co.uk/page36.php

i believe the guy in the pics makes the boilers for POLLY engineering.

Hi Julian

Just a small correction to your reference to boiler-making on the TSMEE website. The club has two 'professional' boiler makers of high standing and one indeed has an association with Polly Model Engineering. However, the person featured in the website article is Stu Davidson who, until fairly recently, was involved in commercial model boiler manufacture.

Jim S

[Jim]

Thanks Jim S for the link to the Tyneside Club's website and the section on silvering a boiler. Information like that is invaluable.
I must admit that I had forgotten in my old age that Geoff the Clan builder had also sent me the link some months back, so the jog to the memory was much appreciated Jim.

At last I've finished cutting and peining the heads of the last of the 118 stays needed for Boadicea's boiler. Once I've recovered from Christmas and much loved Christmas pud I'll get going on silvering up the stays and fitting the remaining two sides of the foundation ring. Then all being well the boiler will slowly be brought up to pressure in readiness for testing..hopefully.

The photos show the last of the stays waiting their turn to have the heads formed. I did them in the running lathe while forming the heads with the small hammer shown.

Another step closer

Jim

[jma1009]

hi jim,
ive done some of my most taxing stuff over the xmas holidays with the in laws staying and excused myself to the workshop as the house was 'too full'!
am looking forward very much to further progress. you are very lucky and clever being able to use oxy-acetelyne!
cheers,
julian

[Jim]

I couldn't agree more Julian, the workshop is the best of all bolt holes when the in laws arrive.

With regard to oxy-acetelyne I must say I'm very cautious in its use, relying on a 'big' propane torch to heat up the work and the oxy just to take the heat up that extra bit to 'flow' the silver into the joint. I keep the oxy moving at all times too to avoid over heating the work and boiling the silver...or worse.

Today while waiting to head to friends for a pre Christmas lunch I filled in time making up the 118 silver solder rings to fit under the heads of the stays. A minor miracle too, I managed to remember not to wipe my hands on my best trousers or get oil from the lathe on my new shirt. SWOMBO was amazed so I live to solder another day.

Jim

[Deleted]

haha.. you've a brave man Jim...well done for keeping clean.... boiler is coming on nicely, looks massive in the pictures....getting closer to a trial steaming...


Pete

[Jim]

With the mercury showing 41C in the shade and a total fire ban in place, boiler work is very much off the agenda at present so early morning work has resumed on the tender buffer beam.

Dummy rivets have been fitted to the bottom edge of the beam, the square hole for the coupling hook has been formed and the angle 'irons' bent up ready to be riveted to the upper edge of the beam in readiness for fixing to the tender body.

One small problem has already appeared in that I can't remember the name of the red I used on the loco's buffer beam, of course I didn't keep a record of the name, that would have been far to sensible.

Jim

[r707]

Sheesh. An Australian summer. Makes boiler work a winter sport...!
Phil

[Jim]

Jan 16, 2014 22:59:03 GMT r707 said:

Sheesh. An Australian summer. Makes boiler work a winter sport...!
Phil

You're not wrong Phil. At least here in Canberra the overnight temp drops to 23C and during the day time humidity is only round 16% making it a very dry heat.
Inside in front of the air cooler is the place to be and even better with a soothing ale in hand

Jim

[Jim]

A cool change has been predicted but it's still hot so spent the day completing the tender buffer beam.
The next task will be to make up a low vacuum pipe fitting. I have a high 'swan neck' fitting that I made as per the drawings then realised that Boadicea in fact carried the low fitting. The inner devil says 'fit it to the tender know one will know.' but I can't, I have the photos that show the low fittings



This will have to go on another project.
Just for interests sake the spare vacuum hose is one I made using garden irrigation tube and a micro flame soldering iron set in the lathe to cut the appropriate tpi to create the ribbed hose. The one on the swan neck is a Doug Hewson hose.

Jim

[runner42]

Hi Jim,

now that showing remarkable creativity in making that hose. How many passes did it require?

Brian

[Andrew C]

Hi jim

I hear the temperature dropped 20 degrees from Saturday to Sunday ! Well I'm told it did in Melbourne

Don't forget when the Brits were first built they had the high swan neck pipes. The lower one was a later mod. Only problem is that they did both loco and tender at the same time. That locomotives in detail book on the Brit and clan has when ... I think. I am sure you said have a copy.

As to the buffer beam colour. So long as it is about the same shade no one will see it will never be close enough to the front to compare

Andrew

[Jim]

Hi Andrew and Brian,

You're right Andrew I do have the book on the Britannias and that was my downfall. I started searching photos of Boadicea working on Eastern Region, I like white discs, and realised that for the period I was looking at Boadicea had the low vacuum pipes.

Brian, I think I may have posted these photos before somewhere but to answer your question it took only one pass to lightly 'cut' the 'thread'. A bit of trail and error will tell you how light a cut you need to create a visually nice groove. too deep and you end up with a long neoprene pig's tail. The chisel point that came with the torch melts the grove and when you're finished a simple run over with some fine wet and dry cleans the job up nicely.

By the way the photos are from a trial run so there's no short smooth section before the 'grooves' as seen on the real thing.

Jim