Boiler Fire Box - Model Boiler Build, Part 12!

This episode on Blondihacks, I’m making the firebox for my fire tube boiler! Exclusive videos, drawings, models & plans available on Patreon!
/ quinndunki
Buy Blondihacks stuff in my store! www.blondihacks.com/store
Mr. Crispin goes nuts: • Machining Nuts
Here are links for many of the tools that you see me using:
(I earn small commissions on these links)
High Temp Clear Coat : amzn.to/3BJdbv6
BBQ Paint : amzn.to/3CRPYIq
• Mill clamping set : amzn.to/2xc9vqr
• Chamfering Tool : amzn.to/2IJsAUs
• Zero Flute Chamfering Tool : amzn.to/3bmPLPe
• NOGA Deburring set : amzn.to/2Jv3RlW
• NOGA Reversible Deburring Tool : amzn.to/2X07WX1
• Knurling Tool : amzn.to/2FblXb1
• Tapered Reamer : amzn.to/2Gn0b3G
• Chucking Reamer set : amzn.to/3odnVvh
• Nicholson files : amzn.to/2VcHkls
• Nicholson needle files : amzn.to/2BDt7ph
• 1-2-3 Blocks : amzn.to/2EvAsGq
• Dormer center drills : amzn.to/2X7U6ij
• 6” Divider : amzn.to/2GTncM3
• NOGA arm with magnetic base : amzn.to/2U2bGTI
• NOGA arm Big Boy : amzn.to/381acji
• Collet Block set : amzn.to/2UkF1vZ
• DeWalt drill and driver kit : amzn.to/2Gp6IeJ
• DeWalt portable band saw : amzn.to/2U4Mhsw
• DeWalt band saw blades : amzn.to/2H2J4X0
• High Speed Steel parting blade : amzn.to/2YcdYBv
• High Speed Steel blade holder : amzn.to/2JgO0IK
• High Speed Steel tool blanks : amzn.to/2H1qoqr
• Grizzly Pre-ground tool bits : amzn.to/2H4yr5z
• AXA tool holders : amzn.to/2V1gOHl
• Quick Change Toolpost : amzn.to/310mshq
• Norton oil stone kit : amzn.to/2EbLEH3
• Norton small sharpening stone: amzn.to/2PQwex9
• End mills : amzn.to/2U76Vsf
• Milling machine starter pack : amzn.to/2tA2M4e
• Forceps : amzn.to/2Ww5dFT
• Mill Parallels : amzn.to/2lfW82i
• GearWrench ratcheting tap & die set : amzn.to/2lMwZfV
• Step bits : amzn.to/2q54yfJ
• Starrett automatic center punch : amzn.to/2DCI7C9
• Budget transfer punch set : amzn.to/2yfDgHi
• Precision shim stock : amzn.to/34lJlME
• Jet 2-ton press : amzn.to/2SLas1s
• Gear Wrench locking puller : amzn.to/2ubBV1W
• Starrett tap wrenches : amzn.to/35jxM9e
• Goldenrod oiler : amzn.to/2TTS0En
• Acid brushes : amzn.to/36qWCo5
• Cratex (Bright Boy) block : amzn.to/38fNm72
• Scotchbrite deburring wheel : amzn.to/3ks0P2V
• Fein Turbo I shop vac : amzn.to/2vXpech
• Loc-Line (1/2”) : amzn.to/2U7JznB
• Loc-Line Pliers : amzn.to/2vWlXKf
• Machinist’s scale : amzn.to/2Zk6oVj
• Mixed metric/imperial dial caliper : amzn.to/2KKARYY
• Mitutoyo dial caliper : amzn.to/2IMIxJE
• Mitutoyo micrometer set : amzn.to/2GtICPx
• Mitutoyo depth micrometer : amzn.to/33M8aSH
• Mitutoyo edge finder : amzn.to/2G36omq
• Mitutoyo dial indicator : amzn.to/2H09gBr
• Mitutoyo dial test indicator : amzn.to/2E5lRQw
• Coaxial indicator : amzn.to/3bbBEwE
• Mitutoyo telescoping gauge set : amzn.to/2Z6houn
• Fowler dial bore gauge : amzn.to/2KQJNf2
• Fowler inside micrometer : amzn.to/2TVm7Jo
• Starrett 98-6 Level : amzn.to/38K7lMD
• Grizzly Height Gage : amzn.to/2PDTr7i
• Thread Checker : amzn.to/2CpvAUU
• The Amateur’s Lathe book : amzn.to/3jIYlwe
• Anchor Lube : amzn.to/2H9X6oQ
• Boeshield T-9 : amzn.to/2TCE0wB
• Brownell’s Oxpho Blue : amzn.to/2YhZTmR
• JAX Metal Blackener : amzn.to/2MVe8wj
• Dykem layout fluid : amzn.to/2U7KQts
• Dykem dauber : amzn.to/2uoXtbm
• Tap Magic cutting oil : amzn.to/37uYzRS
• WD-40 : amzn.to/2GYV8rY
• Super 77 Spray Glue : amzn.to/2YScxZl
• Loctite 603 : amzn.to/2EYsPbi
• Loctite 242 : amzn.to/2RIt3sQ
• Way oil : amzn.to/38Gl9qW
• High pressure grease : amzn.to/2GloHTd
• CMD Extreme Pressure lube : amzn.to/36JPNy9
• Dry graphite lube : amzn.to/2U0YEZH
• 3-in-1 oil : amzn.to/36in43e
• Kroil : amzn.to/2uCf1RL
• Evaporust : amzn.to/36NSkII
• Brasso : amzn.to/3buE6yL
Commenting policy : blondihacks.com/commenting-po...
Want more content like this? Try these places:
Blondihacks on Instagram : / blondihacks
Blondihacks on Twitter : / quinndunki
Blondihacks on Patreon : / quinndunki
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@PeterWMeek]

I firmly believe that holes can move after drilling. The harder it is to make the part, the more likely the holes are to move. Good job on beating them into submission.

[@klauswittrupjensen]

Mastering a trade is a function of how many ways you know to repair your mistakes

[@tylerhensley2312]

As an actual boiler technician that has worked on boilers the size lunch boxes all the way up to building size boilers, I've definitely enjoying this series. Thank you!

[@cra4512]

LOL Don't ever change. This is educational and entertaining. You encourage others and show mistakes are survivable. I love the Kitty conversation and the Franken cartoon. Keep it up. I know it's a lot of work to make these videos and it's a privilege for us to watch them. Thank you.

[@kevinpreid]

Theory about the cause of holes not lining up: When the ring was clamped in the 3-jaw chuck for drilling, it was visibly distorted out of round due to not being a close fit to the old-boiler mandrel underneath it (most visible at 11:11 where the drill makes it flex). This distortion would cause angular positions on the ring to be pushed away from the jaw locations, so that after the ring returns to round, each hole position will be shifted _towards_ the jaw positions, by a distance that varies depending on the angle from the drill position to the jaw position.

[@davidtaylor6124]

Yes, with the one hole that was showed being drilled in the first attempt it looked like the drill wasn't drilling very close to the center drill mark due to the ring flexing. I'm a hack so I would have gone straight to the 'opening out the holes' stage rather than making a second one. Depending on how far out things were I might have opened all of them, or just a couple as Quinn did. The bolt heads will hide the shame.

[@kevinkohler2750]

It's a courageous move to weather the trolls by showing your mistakes and turning them into teaching examples for all of us, rather than hiding them and trying to look perfect. It's a joy to learn from you and with you!

[@BeeGeeTheImp]

I like how you pretend to make mistakes, then fix them. You have almost convinced me that you are a mere mortal like the rest of us. Almost.

[@raymitchell9736]

😸Sprocket is a pretty good judge of what what the viewers on your channel want to see... I like the fact that you show the mistakes. When you asked if we noticed the mistake when you drilled the wrong end of the boiler... I actually noticed it before you asked. I make bonehead mistakes like that too, only difference is that I don't have a camera recording it so I have more plausible deniability on my side. 😜 LOL... Very educational and entertaining as always!

[@AMRosa10]

The multi-operation form tool is genius. Always appreciate your persistence in the face of challenge.

[@morilamorila2825]

im actualy now in my new job as a real life machinist, and your videos have helped me so much. Thanks! I love the concept of the "non-perfect" youtuber. Let other people learn from your mistakes! ps: Where can i find a shop cat? I`ve looked, but they are not available at McMaster-Carr...

[@roundtuitracingaz132]

It's better to get shop cats from the recycling shelter or off the street. That's where I got mine.

[@Blondihacks]

We’re all non-perfect, it’s just that some folks lie about that more than others. 😬

[@Roy_Tellason]

Better to let that feline companion find you...

[@danharold3087]

Have an all grey tame female outside kitten ready to leave home. Come and get her ! :)

[@billmielke7395]

Shop cats come from MSC, you can buy them from Shars, but they tend to be mangy snaggletooths with bad attitudes.

[@MrCrispinEnterprises]

Nice work and thanks for the mention. Cheers!

[@RichardBetel]

"Nailed it!" well, yes, but technically, you screwed it!

[@mrimmortal1579]

I thought she bolted it…

[@d00dEEE]

@@mrimmortal1579 Bolting after screwing is a common occurrence in these sorts of things.

[@twotone3070]

@@d00dEEE Love it.

[@ashleyking3961]

The best thing about watching things going wrong. Is seeing ways of fixing it when they do.

[@stumccabe]

It's turning out to be a handsome boiler. "The only real mistakes are the ones we don't learn from." (Some wise person.)

[@ErikBongers]

I'm impressed that you used a tape measure with this futuristic and novel unit system called metric.

[@AMRosa10]

Quinn may live in the US, but that is because she was abducted from her home in Canada and smuggled across the Northern Border by machinist elves working for Bad Santa.

[@thomasthecrunkengine3512]

I love the idea of the kitty conversation corner, absolutely amazing!

[@Blondihacks]

She’s never wrong

[@Preso58]

Copper is the devil's metal. Nice recovery.

[@twotone3070]

A Blondihacks/Mr Crispen colab, a match made in engineering heaven.

[@daniel_bohrer]

Yaay, transparent talks about failures… uhm, I mean… yaaaaay, Sprocket content! 😻 All kidding aside: the error culture on this channel deserves everyone's respect.

[@fredflintstone8048]

Ahh , that sinking feeling we all get when we didn't pay attention when we really needed to and work on the wrong end of a part. Since I know I can do that myself I tend to think ahead and use my sharpie to clearly mark things in such a way so I can't miss it.

[@sledgehammer9966]

I think its really impressive that you got it round again. Tried to sth. similar once and failed miserably, so nicely done! ;D

[@zzmike]

Just discovered your channel a day or three ago, and have greatly enjoyed watching many of your videos since. Great content, delivered perfectly. Thanks a bunch for the entertainment and insight! --Mike

[@SkeeterPondRC]

Horray! New Blondihacks video!

[@AMRosa10]

I was thinking last night "well, at least there will be a new Blondihacks video tomorrow...."

[@dickvercouteren1424]

There once was a Finn named Quinn, from her shop came a terrible din, her soldering used to be funky, now it's the best, no time for rest, all hail the Mighty Quinn Dunki !

[@fellipec]

The bolt mass manufacturing was super super cool!!!

[@blainedyck3836]

The way I see it , it sucks that a person makes mistakes but if you don’t make mistakes you don’t learn . You learn from it and move on , that’s life

[@ericmulder5789]

Oh nice, measuring circumference with a metric measurement tape in centimeters. Makes me (a Dutch guy) happy 😆

[@donsengine3158]

Nice to see I'm not the only one that uses a trash barrel as a paint booth... good job!

[@squelchstuff]

SPOILER! Traditional face off results in a smackdown, but Quinn has the brass to claw back a result.

[@mousemade1]

It's looking good Quinn! When you are 'centre finding' using your rule you may find it easier to use a spring loaded tap follower instead of a centre drill. It takes care of the vertical movement for you and you don't have to chase the quill all the time.

[@darrenshepherd3984]

For some reason I love them little brass hex head screws/bolts more than the intestine bits. Cheers blondihacks ta.

[@toolbox-gua]

Another great video. As is tradition!!!

[@pesterenan]

That mass produced forming tool was really cool! You nailed indeed! Well, you screwed it, I guess. English is not my main language. :D

[@davidjohnston1971]

Metal polishing brass/ copper, nickel silver ; Get Bobbing compound for removing sand paper and other scratches, will also remove surface porosity. Brass/ copper finish polish with Green Chrome compound, this brings up a beautiful, bright polish. For NS use White Diamond compound. Try 0K solder (zero K) a gold colored solder with characteristics of silver solder, blends perfectly with brass. Rio Grande (not sponsored) jewelry supply is a good source.

[@Blondihacks]

Good tips, thank you!

[@paulthomas3782]

Nice recovery Boiler is looking awesome.

[@chrisbaker3844]

Mistakes are only mistakes if you keep doing the same thing and not learn from them. Another great video

[@componenx]

The form tool idea is a good one!

[@HexenzirkelZuluhed]

Those mini-bolts are my favorite this episode. Great technique.

[@mith5168]

Use a automotive hose clamp to “stiffen” the tube when using internal jaws on lathe chuck.

[@gjkozy]

Glad you're honest about mistakes. I make them often too many I don't see coming.

[@PrimalEdge]

I’ve been watching machinist videos for years now, and it took KZbin this long to recommend your channel. I’m both pissed and excited. I’m excited that I found your channel but I’m pissed it took KZbin so long. Great Contant! I love this project. I’ll be binging your channel!!!! ATB

[@leaflee2066]

You should have used your Brothers toothbrush to clean the brass bolts!

[@Blondihacks]

I see what you did there 😉

[@robertwalker7457]

I feel much better in myself knowing that some one else uses their wheelie bin as a spray booth. Thank you and nice work on the boiler.

[@fredmorton1631]

Very nice job all round. A little chamfer on the hex heads would maybe given them a little les of a 'cut' appearance, but hey!... whatever fires your boiler! stay safe.

[@robertmatel8136]

I second that idea.

[@Blondihacks]

Agreed- that would look nice

[@terrytopliss9506]

Well done Quinn,Mr Crispin’s channel is usually interesting.👍👍

[@Blondihacks]

He’s brilliant. Love his content

[@mrimmortal1579]

@@Blondihacks I found his channel after you mentioned him once before, and have loved his content ever since. Your previous mention earned him a huge jump in subscribers, he actually commented on that in one of his videos. It’s good to see KZbinrs supporting each others’ work!

[@dragade101]

Thats a smart way to form tubing!

[@MachiningandMicrowaves]

Nice save! I've had too many nightmares with machining horrible squishy, gummy C101 copper, so now I use the short-chipping C109/CW113C Tellurium copper or C111 with sulphur. Can't bring myself to type "sulfur" as we are supposed to these days. Anyway, my life is transformed and I can flycut copper blocks without tearing or chatter

[@tasesq]

Your match drilling comment is the way we do it in aircraft sheet metal. Drill a small hole through all the parts in one location, cleco it together then drill all the others using a cleco in each hole as you go. Then remove one cleco at a time and ream to final size. You could have also dimpled the ring (using a dimple die set) and countersunk the firebox and boiler skin - then flush riveted it together.

[@robert_g_fbg]

The Frankenboiler lives! 😁👍🏻

[@firebird8600]

Yay Blondihacks! [Forgot to comment yesterday on my lunch break when I started watching the video]

[@LaddGardner4]

Showing the mistakes along the way is great, and the final result is impressive. Nice, work, Quinn.

[@Baldorcete]

A trick I seen Keith Appleton use for the bolts, and looks veri nice: Use a bit of threaded rod and fix a nut to it with thread locker. Rod should protude the same in all nuts. Now you have bolts that look a lot more like the real thing.

[@AdeSwash]

Lovely work there Quinn - big thumbs up :)

[@jimsvideos7201]

I admire equally your process, your results, your candor and Sprocket 😊

[@ericg7044]

Could it be that the brass ring stretched or deformed a little bit causing the holes to not line up? Since it's so thin. Also that bolt making tool was amazing.

[@BrianFullerton]

Very difficult to keep the pattern when drilling on an angle from the inside during the second operation. Not sure what might have gone bad in the original operation. Possibly backlash in the rotating head, or misread the scale, or a burr left after the center drill caught the drill tip and pulled it off, or the center drill did not go deep enough into the curved OD to keep the tap drill concentric. Easy to lose both precision and accuracy on small holes like those. 1/64th off on a #5 screw is a large fraction of the diameter. 1/64th on a 1" bolt is not normally a problem.

[@roundtuitracingaz132]

I think the problem lays in the fact they are different diameters. Even though the same process was used for drilling it would seem it should work. Someone good with geometry may be able to explain it. I have seen weirder stuff happen before.

[@ron827]

Success is achieved when one exhausts all the wrong ways of doing something.

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Another excellent video, thanks.

[@ChristopheD_]

The Blondihacks Way :-)) ❤

[@rx1laser]

Great! Recovery... Well Done!

[@vicmiller7191]

this is going to be nothing less than a work of fine art. I love the little bolts.

[@Cashatoo]

That lil boiler is looking like IG-11, ready to make us tea and scald anyone who dares to threaten us.

[@andrewcampbell4396]

Well done got there, one of the difficulties with drilling the ring is that it must be an extremely tight fit around the tube, yours showed signs of being very slightly to large, this is going to compound the very small expansion of the ring caused by the drilling of the holes, this is especially prevalent on thin material. One way round this problem is to wrap the material round the cylinder and drill the first hole and bolt it, remove any clamps and retighten the ring, drill and bolt the next hole, continue in this manner until you reach the final hole. Rather than silver soldering the joint a swaged and lapped joint with a bolt is a good way to finish., space the bolt holes accordingly. Other people have made great suggestions, when it comes to the home builder many of the most important techniques may not be known, I love watching your vids as I have encountered all of the same problems that you have had but you have the intelligence and bravery to show them on line.

[@LockeLeCruset]

As a tool-oriented-guy (I hate toil), I really love what you did to batch up those bolts. I'll have to write that down for when I get the shop set up. I also like the way the band looks with the staggered bolts. The wood lagging will probably give this a nice, arcane look.

[@backtoearth1983]

You paint on top of your wheely bin.... I see you too are a man of culture.

[@Blondihacks]

Woman of culture, perhaps 🤔

[@Chlorate299]

12:30 - I bought a pair of those Knipex parallel jaw pliers just the other day! I wandered around the house looking for things to unscrew because....you know, new toy.

[@Chlorate299]

Also that custom form tool trick is amazing, will have to remember that.

[@djhscorp]

Sorting the problems is a skill in it own. Enjoy your vids. Thanks.😁

[@007Moron]

Nice recovery! Wise people watch and learn from other people's mistakes. And, I shall note, you never have a hissy fit (on camera at least)! Kudos to you for showing how you failed, and what you did to recover (including the notation of a pipefitter's suggestion to help solve the problem).

[@justovision]

Now you have a little steampunk friend!

[@JamesP_TheShedShop]

The holes at the bottom are for solder flow......yeah that the ticket.😁 Rock on Quinn.

[@markkouri9837]

That HSS tool for mass producing the bolts was a clever idea.

[@gavdawiziscool]

We all know there's more to come but that boiler looks so ready to steam! Can't wait for the next instalment 😁

[@softyzz69]

Great job as always, thank you for the update

[@manythingslefttobuild]

Great video Quinn

[@paulmorrey733]

Thanks Quinn

[@joshwalker5605]

content-free comment to drive engagement for my favorite channels

[@VincentGroenewold]

Thanks for showing these things!! So important.

[@joevostoch8768]

I am working on a project which has two guide rails, an upper and a lower, for a small conveyor belt. The base of the guide rails are each made from 1 1/4" x 36" x 1/16" Aluminum flat bar stock with a 3/4" x 1/2" x 36" Aluminum angle running down each side underneath the base to form a channel with 3/4" tall sides and 1 1/4" wide. These three pieces bolt onto small 0.5" x 1.5" x 0.5" mending plates in 4 places using 8 6-32 x 3/8" flat head bolts that screw into J type 6-32 speed nuts. The mending plate has 3 5/32" inch holes in it 1/2" apart and the speed nuts are clipped over the outer two holes. I had to use a Dremel tool to shave 1/16" off one side of each speed nut as they were too wide to fit under the outer holes in the mending plates. So I have a 3 layer sandwich of 24 sheet metal holes that have to line up over a distance of 3 feet. The top hole had to be countersunk as well so the bottoms of the guide ways would be smooth. Lining up 24 holes through three pieces of sheet metal twice, one for the top and once for the bottom, definitely turned out to be the hardest part of the project. I spent the last several days "adjusting" a few of the holes to get everything to fit then half of today deburring, sanding, cleaning with Acetone, and finally polishing them. They look great just like your project does but I never thought it would be so difficult. Wish I could send you a photo!

[@RichieCat4223]

I would have liked to have seen a bevel on the head of the brass bolts.

[@vaderdudenator1]

Awesome video as always? I try not to armchair quarterback too much but considering the softness of the annealed copper, this might have been a perfect application for a 5-40 form tap to make the threads a bit stronger

[@MachiningandMicrowaves]

Excellent point. I use metric form taps in copper, and it has made my life so much easier. Making 800 M3 tapped through holes and 200 M2.5 blind holes in 12 mm copper bars, I snapped two drills and three taps in the first 150 holes. I swapped to a 2.75 cobalt stub drill and a forming tap and the rest of the holes went perfectly. I also wrecked three 5mm carbide end mills removing the broken taps, but managed a Quinn-level recovery by reaming the hole to 6.00 mm, making soft rivets and peening them, then re-facing the part. Redrill and tap and you'd never know. Definitely a +1 for forming taps.

[@jonjohnson102]

A brass wire mesh in the firebox might look cool

[@tdck2978]

It keeps getting better and better.

[@mikelamuraglia5645]

Looks Great

[@Jeroendorrestein]

Great job. Love the way you show your mistakes and how to fix and learn from them. Keep it up

[@michaelryan6884]

Nice job and it does look good!

[@ssboot5663]

Nice! Very Nice! YOU ARE so patient and so talented!

[@tristin5723]

When I worked on aircraft I was tough that riveting sequence is extremely important with sheet metal. I believe the same process happened on the brass band. When you drilled there was some growth in the material that was compound when going in radial sequence. If you where to drill opposing sides sequence simulator to torquing on a car wheel this might have been minimized.

[@iamarawn]

Thank you for making these informative and enjoyable videos. They brighten my days and I learn a lt from i.

[@bobvines00]

Quinn, thanks for sharing the "oops" _and_ your fixes again! ;) You should also get a Mr. Pete-type turntable for making painting small parts like your turntable much easier! I think you'd like that.

[@andrewfanner2245]

Looking good. Seems that Sprocket is pretty switched on as well, judging by the warning or commenting miaows, ++Dreamie:-)

[@spider616]

Please keep sharing your mistakes and whoopsies, it makes me feel less bad about the mess-ups I make lol. I love learning from your vids.

[@denislamadeleine1181]

That looks fantastic!

[@henrikstenlund5385]

Yesss, soft copper forces the bit to hog heavily much deeper than adjusted and thus it will cast the thing to the ceiling. My experience too. That's why I hate copper.

[@HeidiLandRover]

A nice Ron Covell moment there :-)

[@billbaggins]

No fun if it's easy... you just had a bit more fun than planned 😁

[@BrianEltherington]

Bonus! No one can accuse you of passing the buck.

[@rpavlik1]

Ok, that make-it-round trick is really awesome. So is the bolt mass production cutter. The grill paint is pretty good, have used it. If you ever want anything a pretty bright orange (like the color of Simplicity lawn equipment), glossy, and high temp capable, Rust-Oleum also makes a "Chevy Red" engine enamel spray paint.

[@keithpattison6763]

Hello Quinn, during my apprenticeship in fitting and turning, I used to make up all types of shapes of form tools to set up in automatic and capstan lathes. Speeds up the process by having less tools to do the job, nice one.

[@jimsmith6937]

Didn’t even blow a breaker or rip the tool out…….😁. Great work.

[@davidtaylor6124]

Love the form tool! The copper dig in was no surprise, because copper. I did notice you flipped the boiler when picking it up, but only right after you said it and primed the alertness. I probably would have done one hole in the ring and the firebox, tapped it, put a bolt in, and then done the others straight through tapping size with clamps to try and keep the ring in vertical alignment. But I would have not done the clamps up tight enough and the ring would move and it would be wonky. So I'd open the holes up into slots! I use aluminium inserts for brass & bronze and they're fantastic. I've used them on steel occasionally, with a very good result. I assume it's just because they're so sharp. But that's hand-feeding and not much depth of cut for the steel. Thanks for making these videos, I look forward to seeing them each week.

[@paulsto6516]

Good show!