Garden Railway Forum

I'm doing a steel smokebox again, as steel is what I have. I'll paint it internally this time.

Here's the marked-out front plate. Who else uses their digital calipers for scribing lines?

dewintondave wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:35 am Who else uses their digital calipers for scribing lines?

Guilty! Nice to see some progress on this!

dewintondave wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:35 am I'm doing a steel smokebox again, as steel is what I have. I'll paint it internally this time.

Here's the marked-out front plate. Who else uses their digital calipers for scribing lines?

Hi Dave,
Do you use 16 gauge on this type of project?
Do you paint internally with gal?
Thanks Tim

11thHour wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 7:25 am
Hi Dave,
Do you use 16 gauge on this type of project?
Do you paint internally with gal?
Thanks Tim

It's 1.6mm Tim, I'll just use ordinary household oil based enamel. The last one wasn't coated with anything except steam oil for a year before I started coal firing

This end-of-workbench clamp makes sawing sheet a pleasure

Starting off the smokebox door hole with a holesaw, the rest had to be bored out

Progress shot! After lots of boring, sawing, and filing. I love all that stuff

When properly engineered, even the simplest of parts are a joy to look at.

Old Man Aaron wrote: ↑Fri Sep 17, 2021 1:00 pm When properly engineered, even the simplest of parts are a joy to look at.

They do Aaron

Here's the back plate from 4mm hot rolled steel. I wanted it thicker to engage better with the boiler shell. The profiles were scribed from the front plate. The hole will be a lot bigger

That's a big hole for the boiler barrel, turned in the lathe on a faceplate. I'm just sawing off the excess before grinding and filing to profile. I used the bench grinder, very satisfying. Lots of checking with the digital caliper to get the curve even

Very tidy - and a damn sight quicker than chain-drilling and filing!

Old Man Aaron wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:05 am Very tidy - and a damn sight quicker than chain-drilling and filing!

Whatever it takes to get the job done

Checking the fit with the boiler barrel material, I bought that about 10 years ago from Macc Models, for this model

Marking out the smokebox wrapper, needing to saw off a thin strip to true up the edge

Turning down the bending radius for the smokebox wrapper. I used this for forming the Large De Winton boiler shell in 2006!

Here's the first build log. The rolling chassis

The steel smokebox shell, and chimney

Fitting the smokebox to the frames, and a start on the cylinders