Three Drum Boilers

A special section just for steam engines and boilers, as without these you may as well fit a sail.
Kiwi Noel
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Three Drum Boilers

Post by Kiwi Noel » Thu May 17, 2012 8:46 am

Hi Everyone
We are building two three drum water tube boilers John King design, it involves drilling and reaming a total of 744 12mm holes in the 100mm mud drums and 150mm steam drums SCH40 pipe. The drilling and reaming is not a problem, we will have no problem deburring the holes on the outside of the pipes, it's the burrs on the inside that we can see no easy solution to. We found in the Travers Tools catalogue a Burrzit Debtool they say that it would do the job it's just that by the time we get it to New Zealand the cost is about $205.00. Our question is has anyone used one of these tools, do they work? Or has anyone other ways to clean up the inside of the pipes to make them ready for the expanding of the tubes?
All help will be greatly appreciated.
Noel
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by Johnlanark » Fri May 18, 2012 12:21 pm

Hi Noel, so where are the pictures then!

I have my own similar boiler drums drilled and reamed. The inside flash is very minor, and I can't say I saw it as a problem. I had thought that perhaps a rub over with coarse abrasive paper on a curved backing block ought to be enough.

Incidentally, have you seen John's article in Funnel No 149 (Summer 2011) on the strength of these expanded cunifer joints? He suggests that for ease of assembly it is beneficial to increase the holes to 12.1mm. May be best to ask him before you do them all.
Good luck, John
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by fredrosse » Sat May 19, 2012 4:36 am

Cleaning up the burs on the inside of these drums should be possible using the driver that you will have to use to roll the tubes? Alternately, small right angle drives are sold for attachment to ordinary electric hand drills, and countersink bits are commonly sold for these drives. The Milwaukee model shown is 2 inches height, and takes standard 1/4 hexagonal tool bits. You could position the tool bit into the tube hole from one end of the drum, and force it against the hole with a wooden lever from the other end.

As stated by John, minor flash is not a problem, provided a loose ring of flash does not get between the tube and drum joint area. Important points to achieve while roller expanding tubes: a reamed hole surface, very clean tube hole and tube outside diameter (no oil there), and avoid excessive tube wall thinning during expansion.

The tubesheets on the Margaret S. boiler were reamed at the tube Outside Diameter (1.250 inch), and thus had a tight fit for the tubes. This was inhibiting assembly, and some additional clearance was required. Since I only had a 1.250 reamer, I found that putting a soft steel shim covering about half the diameter of the reamer, (leaving three of the six cutting flutes covered, three cutting flutes exposed) allowed opening up the tube holes sufficiently. The shim stock was 0.006 inches thick (0.015mm), and I was able to re-ream 96 holes with only two shim fittings, running the operation with generous oil flooding. Of course, if you have an oversize reamer this method is not necessary.

This re-reaming process was on flat tubesheets with a drill press. Alignment on the drill press was easily established co-axial to the tube holes, and I would think that good alignment to the axis of your drum holes would be necessary for proper results. Attaining that alignment on the pipe drums can be (and should be) accomplished by any of several methods, depending on your machine tool arrangement.
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Kiwi Noel
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by Kiwi Noel » Sat May 19, 2012 9:32 am

Hello John and Fred,
Thanks for the help, I have emailed John King about the hole sizes so will see what his thoughts are, a UKSBA member in Ashburton has a copy of the Funnel Mag you refer to John and is going to send it down to me, I have only been a member since the beginning of the year. I have purchased from the USA two decimal chucking reamers that are equivalent 12.1 mm they should be here any day. I have made a drive with sprockets and chain to work the tube expanders, but I like the idea of getting and using the Milwaukee angle drive on a battery drill to clean up the holes. Fred thats a clever way to get a bit of extra clearance with a reamer. We are setting up the drums up in a Bridgeport mill between centers using a rotary table to drill the five rows at the degrees on the drawings and a digital scale for the spacing down the pipes. Thanks again Guys and please keep the hints and tips coming. I will post some photos when we get under way.
Kiwi Noel
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by Kiwi Noel » Sat May 26, 2012 3:43 am

Hi All,
Have just finished drilling some holes in an off cut from the steam drum to see how things would work out. I used a12 mm spotting drill first they don't wander around and as the 12.1 mm chucking reamers haven't arrived as yet I used a hand expanding reamer in the mill to carefully take them out to 12.1 mm and with a countersink de-burred them on the outside, the inside is not to bad you can take the dags off with emery tape but I think one of those angle drives with a countersink and a drill will do the best job.
Last edited by Kiwi Noel on Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by DetroiTug » Sat May 26, 2012 11:34 am

For chamfering holes internally. tack weld a discarded 1/4" socket to the shank of a single flute chamfer bit. Then chuck a 1/4" extension of sufficient length in a drill. Hold the chamfer bit over the hole you wish to do, and send the extension through the outside of the tube adjacent the hole.

-Ron
Kiwi Noel
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by Kiwi Noel » Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:15 am

Here is a link to photo bucket the photos show a little of what we have been up to with the boiler build, my friend is making a tube straightener and jig to cut the tubes to length so the next stage is to cut and bend 372 water tubes, so far all is going well we are enjoying the build. http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o618/KiwiNoel/
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by Johnlanark » Wed Jul 18, 2012 7:43 am

Great progress Noel, thanks for these pictures which are very helpful to other builders. I particularly like your driver for the deburring and expanding - may ask you for more details presently. John
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by Lopez Mike » Wed Jul 18, 2012 5:54 pm

I am so impressed! I know little about water tube boilers and am learning as much from this build as from any text.

That said, I am also impressed by the complexity. I have built several fire tube boilers both horizontal and vertical and none of it was nearly this complicated. The only work done on the mill was to clamp the tube sheets to each other and drill and ream the tube holes. This could have as easily been done on a large drill press.

Now I'm not nearly as open to pro water tube arguments that claim simplicity of construction.

Great work.

Mike
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Kiwi Noel
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Re: Three Drum Boilers

Post by Kiwi Noel » Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:55 am

Hi ,
We have completed the core of one boiler and are halfway through fitting the tubes in number two boiler the assembly has gone really well, wouldn't hesitate building another. Have had some blocks of gunmetal cast and are now machining the water gauge, shut off valves and blowdown cocks there are some more photos on http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o618/KiwiNoel/ showing progress. There was also an open day at the local Traction Engine Club where we displayed our work and I was able to steam my Ray Hasbrouck No 5 for a couple of hours again makes me really want to get it into a boat.
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