Boiler making

[Peter Simpson 1Participant @petersimpson1]

I have the skills and machines make a 5" gauge loco. Is it a quantum leap to fabricate the boiler. I realise the cost of the raw material is high but is it in the realms of a novice to make the boiler ????

[Peter Simpson 1Participant @petersimpson1]

[phil gardinerParticipant @philgardiner73127]

Peter, Here in Australia it is possible to make your own boiler i have, however every step of the fabrication has to be inspected by your club boiler inspector and recorded ,with a copper boiler you will need help from someone who has been through the process before as there are certain steps you have to follow, it is quiet a long process it took quite a few weeks to build as i said before every step has to be inspected by your club boiler inspector.Good luckwith the project . Phil.

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

In the UK the regulations are not the same and you don't HAVE to have every stage inspected, however as a beginner it is wise you have it inspected as often as he and you feel necessary to give you both confidence in the finished product – talk to him and ask.

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Add to that, you will want some BIG gas torches and PLENTY of fire bricks (and a deep pocket for silver solder). An assistant can be helpful.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

What I'm going to do when I get to that stage is start with a small vertical boiler for test or a boat. Maybe more than one, Everyone used to make their own boiler back in the day with paraffin blowlamps not gas; having them professionally made is a relatively new option. The one exception is steel traction engine boilers which need a certified welder.

[J HancockParticipant @jhancock95746]

Alec Farmer wrote a series on boiler making in this (ME) magazine , that, or the book , is ESSENTIAL reading.

[Dave Smith 14Participant @davesmith14]

Peter

Look at this boiler pages on this website

**LINK**

Steve was a complete novice when he started and has built his own boiler which has at first attempt got its shell certificate. Loco is not complete so has not steamed. His build sequence is very detailed.

Dave

[Dominic BramleyParticipant @dominicbramley60728]

Peter,

If you do decide to make a small boiler to practice – I can recommend the ME vertical Boiler serialised in the magazine last year. The instructions and pictures are very clear and I successfully built it having never held a torch before in my life. I feel much more confident now about tackling my next project which is a small Traction engine boiler.

Dave – Thanks for sharing that link – an excellent source of information – I think I will be studying this a lot over the coming months!

Dom

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Posted by Bazyle on 30/09/2020 08:45:35:

What I'm going to do when I get to that stage is start with a small vertical boiler for test or a boat. Maybe more than one, Everyone used to make their own boiler back in the day with paraffin blowlamps not gas; having them professionally made is a relatively new option. The one exception is steel traction engine boilers which need a certified welder.

Before stating my Big Tich boiler I have bought the kit of copper etc for the Tubal Cain 3" Boiler that Reeves sell. It is still in the bottom drawer, but the next thing to be completed after some workshop tooling.

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 30/09/2020 14:30:51

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