Apr. 7, 2008.


John R. Bentley 2008.



Stack and Smokebox

From the Naphtha Engine's Flash Boiler - constructed from the 1887 patent drawings of Frank W. Ofeldt





The top was turned from a very large brass nut
The brass pipe is in correct scale with the prototype - it was made from a standard 1.5" kitchen sink drain



CONSTRUCTING THE SMOKEBOX:


Note in this picture that the stack band is loose as it not yet attached







A piece of Flowering Crab for the smokebox form







Applewood is close-grained and quite hard







Smokebox dimension marked out in pencil



(I rubbed beeswax into it while it was spinning)



Two-inch brass tubing scavenged from our old bathtub drain/stopper/shower







Cutting a suitable length in the horizontal bandsaw







Ready to start!







Annealing the pipe - for the first of a dozen times







Squishing the pipe in the bench vise to the maximum required diameter







Pounding it over the form







Looks like a piece of Babylonian pottery!







Screwed on to the form - and put back in the lathe for finishing







Polished up a bit, awaiting trimming to proper length







The underside



There will actually be an inner liner of stainless steel at the base of the stack
( and an insulating lining inside the smokebox to reduce heat discoloration )



Mocked up in position over the vaporizer assembly







Finished Stack and smokebox





        VAPOR GENERATOR (naphtha boiler) main page    


     NAPHTHA LAUNCH ENGINE PLANT main page 


OR

Back to the  ModelEngines.info  Site Homepage