RNoe wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 10, 2023 4:14 pm

Maybe people out steaming?

That's my excuse! I've been at the meet in Eagle River, WI. I can highly recommend it. Next year it is scheduled to run September 9-14.

I built a Blackstaffe steeple from a casting kit I bought from Cliff Blackstaffe's son. Since then, I understand that the son had died, and the family threw out all of Cliff's patterns. As a result, I am in possession of the blueprints, and if you send me your email address, I can email a set to you...

That is very beautiful workmanship. Thank you for sharing!!

One query in respect of the perpendicular strips hanging from the horizontal baffle: its difficult to make out but is there a twist in those to promote a swirl? No twist, they are just straight when hanging down. At their top ends, they have a small tab pointing down that fits into holes in the top...

I believe that a lot of your problem can be traced to the coils being too "open", i.e., there is too easy of a path from the source of the fire to past the coils, so a lot of the heat is passing them by without transferring. I had the same issue with my solid fueled Blackstaffe boiler. Initially, th...

As far as I know, neither Steamboating nor the Smokestack are still being published. The Northwest Steam Society is active and produces a newsletter. They look to have about a dozen steam boats for sale in their classified ads right now, so it isn't a seller's market. I sold my first boat via an auc...

Yes, it is removable through the fire door. It could have fit if made of only two pieces, but I wanted to keep the length of the spans of the angle irons shorter. The boiler furnace is 17.375 inches inside diameter. The grate outer ring is 16.875 outside diameter, roller from .25 x 1.00 flat steel. ...

My boiler has both a stack damper and a tightly closing ash pan door. In addition, I have a Breisch duplex pump to add water to the boiler when the engine is stopped. Accordingly, usually the only time my safety valve lifts is when I intentionally test it. If I am able to plan ahead and burn down th...

Thanks, but it's not my idea. I read about it in the old Steamboating magazine decades ago. It does work pretty slick though.

I use a grate, I believe the most folks do. Mine is fabricated from steel angles, with the concave portion up to catch ashes to keep the steel cooler. The space between each angle is 5/8". There has been no sign of deterioration in the grate in five seasons of use. 20180801_204141 cropped.jpg 201808...