Steam Stoker Engine: Setting up the Main Casting on the Metal Planer

[@chrischapel9165]

OMG, the STOKER is BACK! I've been waiting for this for what,2 yrs maybe 3? ...

[@danielcobbins8861]

Me, too. I was wondering when Keith would restart this project.

[@zorbakaput8537]

Try 5 years.

[@chrisquinn3751]

I remember it coming into the shop and some of the earlier machining - but I can't remember how long ago it was! I'm bowled over to see it on the shaper, maybe that is what they used to machine it originally. This will be the most interesting Vintage Machinery project in some time, and that is saying an awful lot. Good luck Keith, there will be a lot of people rooting for you. A very happy Christmas to you and your family and a healthy and prosperous 2025.

[@chrischapel9165]

@@zorbakaput8537 really? WOW

[@tpobrienjr]

I recall seeing one of those in operation on a N&W locomotive, courtesy of my grandfather, who let me hitch a ride in the cab, for a very short run between Crewe and Farmville, VA. It was amazing, and no shovel was required!

[@billdoodson4232]

I recall that Adam Booth had a go at this with his big shaper and due to tool access issues he couldn't do it. Looking forward to seeing how it goes on the planer.

[@philipmackin1025]

I remember that. Hopefully Keith can make his tool rigid enough for the job.

[@garybrenner6236]

This should be a lot of laughs!

[@ydonl]

@@garybrenner6236 huh? If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, I’m not sure I’d want a friend like you.

[@Blondihacks]

So wonderful to see this back, Keith! This is probably my favourite project of yours. 😄 Wonderful work, as always.

[@Pamudder]

My thoughts exactly

[@ellieprice363]

After so many years with many questions and no answers I thought Keith and Adam had given up on this project. So glad it’s now revived and on the front burner now. That long extended tool will be a piece of work but Keith is the man to get it done.

[@thirzapeevey2395]

So glad to see this project back on the front burner. Really sorry that the crankshaft guy suffered so much.

[@jamesbonnema1041]

I can't see you ever getting bored during retirement! And I'm thankful to you for sharing your projects!

[@DavidSellars-b8l]

I'm not sure that Keith knows that he's retired. More like just doesn't go to one job anymore but full time at his part time gig. At some point, that shop will have to acquire more square feet and hopefully a bridge crane.

[@FredMiller]

As a LONG time viewer I am so pleased to see you working again on this project. Since you started the Planer rebuild I had an idea that its first big job would be this casting. Best of luck on making the tooling. They certainly have the right man with the right machine for this very special job...

[@markbernier8434]

This one goes back so far maybe it deserves a playlist of its own.

[@Turbo-Drew]

Really "Stoked " to see this Again... Hope i live long enough to see it Completed :D

[@geneard639]

YAY! Finally its back! Its been close to 5 years since we last saw this!

[@Hoaxer51]

It doesn’t seem that long, time sure flies!

[@BlinkoBureau-q4o]

In the beginning I remember "Abom79" was helping you out with this project. . . Well, he now has a whole new shop (very large) with lots of New machines that might be helpful. . . . Love to see both of you collaborate again on this project. . . Others too maybe. . . 😊

[@namespacetoosmall]

I'm surprised nobody said yet they're stoked to see this project back 😉

[@phlodel]

Somebody needed to say it. This is one of those times you get to be somebody.

[@CothranMike]

I see what you did there!

[@Pamudder]

It’s great to see the stoker engine project moving ahead again. And perhaps even greater to see the metal planer working, after having watched your major investment of time, effort and money into restoring that very ancient machine tool and then not having many jobs for it.

[@donkultgen4643]

Great...now I have 17 videos to watch from the Stoker playlist!!

[@robertmatthews4285]

Glad to see this back. This project is why I started watching the channel.

[@HaraldFinster]

That's quite a coincidence: I talked about this (seemingly dead) project to someone and was wondering why you don't use your metal planer. Thus, I am delighted to see exactly this approach becoming reality. A special thanks for sharing your setup procedure and your "thinking aloud" while doing it. Personally, I find it pretty easy to show chips flying but really hard to explain the thinking behind any non trivial setup. You are doing an excellent job on this.

[@Mishn0]

I had a suspicion that the planer was such a high priority because Keith saw it as the solution to the stoker.

[@bryansmant870]

Great to see this project coming back! Looking forward to seeing the tool holder build.

[@alexguir903]

Stoker, stoker... o yes, the stoker! Any project you work on it is facinating to see how you always have the necessary tools. Also you always put the affort into getting the set up right so that the actual work is smooth, easy and accurate. Looking forward to that tool holder project.

[@WillyBemis]

So happy to see the stocker engine again! Looking forward to the story going forward.

[@masteruniverse3506]

As usual, you are rebuilding things to closer tolerances than the original build.

[@paulgammidge-jefferson9536]

Thank you Keith. Wonderful. Spending time with you is always enjoyable and worthwhile.

[@311Bob]

always thought your hbm was for this,I guessed wrong. for awhile I thought I missed the finishing of this project, and was looking for it in your list of projects now I know why I couldn't find it. now if I can see diesel creeks gantry crane go up my life will be complete.

[@normmcrae1140]

Glad to see the Stoker Engine back! Sounds like you have a decent plan and solutions for a tough problem! Nice to see the 100+ year old Planer getting put to use to do a job that MODERN machines can't seem to do!

[@MickOhrberg]

THIS is a blast from the past - this is too cool for school!

[@edsmachine93]

Thanks Keith, nice setup. Big job for sure. Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend. 👍🇺🇸👍

[@fireotters]

I am fairly certain that this is the first project I found your channel through as you were disassembling this stoker. Glad to see it again!

[@DAKOTANSHELBY]

Christmas arrived early this year! It's the return of the Steam Stoker Engine!

[@WreckDiver99]

Well, for the troll/hater that has been going after Keith for being a hack, and ignoring the stoker engine. Here you go. It's here! Thanks Keith, and 100% understandable why this has been on the back burner. It's great to see the engine getting some love. I agree with the assessment that this had a dedicated, single purpose machine working on this item. It isn't that uncommon for machines to be purpose made for one task. Having been in the automotive world, we quite literally have THOUSANDS of single task machines that are built for making parts or even assembling vehicles.

[@CothranMike]

That would be gary brenner

[@paulcopeland9035]

@@CothranMike Yes, it would! Gary can now peacefully move on to other channels with his constant bitching and "know-it-all" attitude!!

[@garybrenner6236]

@@CothranMike Hallelujah, Hallelujah, this should be lots of laughs! And BTW I am not a "hater", I just have the balls to say what any competent machinist is thinking when watching this guy! Case in point, what he is trying to machine off is a layer of metal that he and an accomplice weld layered onto the floor of that casting, now he is indicating off of those surfaces that are warped, and possibly hairline cracked, from the heat of that welding! I am a machinist, and when I want to enjoy a good one I go to CEE, I just watch this guy for laughs!

[@CothranMike]

@garybrenner6236 Gary, you know Keith had nothing to do with any welding on the stoker. He had nothing to do with the metal addition done by both Lance and Adam. Also, that work was done at non-welding temps if you remember. Would you have done this in a different fashion? Please tell us in some detail what YOU would do.

[@ydonl]

@@garybrenner6236 Are you sure you don’t have some kind of ego problem? Always trying to prove how magnificent you are?

[@paulmonce7625]

Glad to see the stoker back. Can't wait to see more.

[@Steve2024-y6h]

An automatic stoker looks like every fireman’s dream machine. My late father drove locomotives for British Railways, his favourite comment was ‘people who like steam locomotives wouldn’t be so keen if they had to shovel forty tons of coal from Doncaster to Kings Cross and another forty on the way back’. (Kings Cross is in London).

[@johnmcanulty7341]

I'm confident of project success, thank you for explaining the slowdown - now I'm excited to see the completed stoker in action.

[@rgigliotti7576]

Nice to see the Stoker back!!!!

[@walterplummer3808]

Good morning Keith! Good to see the project come back. Have a great weekend.

[@phillipjones3342]

Well alright finally a challenge for you Mr Keith can't wait to see your new tool go to work

[@joe74ta1]

That's very impressive accuracy nice group Sam

[@williamhastings7182]

Been waiting to.see this stoker engine again for like 3 years ago and even when Abom took a stab at it too...let get a plan and get it done...been waiting for I think 3 years to see it again

[@marcpavlik]

I figured this was one main reason for that planer. Great to see the stoker again.

[@frankdoner8402]

Thanks Keith, so much patience and work. I really appreciate the fact you take us on the journey 😊

[@kennethtencza9209]

The stoker engine got me hooked on this channel and machining awesome.

[@marcelpost4052]

I just watched the first episode of the stoker engine project and boy, do you look a whole lot healthier now! Good on ya, Keith!

[@patrickcolahan7499]

This thing has sure made its rounds. Difficult access. Looks like the planer is the final answer. Thanks for sharing.

[@Unrivaledanime]

Wow what a Christmas present its been how many years now since we first seen the stoker OMG.. Well i can only hope this finally gets done.. Once completed you need to do a compilation video of all the attempts with all the obstacles and with a video of the stocker installed and feeding coal.. WooHoo !!!!!

[@andywithers592]

Awesome! I’ve commented a few times over the years, here and on IG, when the stoker engine makes a cameo appearance on a pallet somewhere in your workshop. Really great to see the stoker engine is back on the job list.

[@PaulStaples-h2f]

Wow amazing video keith, i can't wait for your future projects, have a great day.

[@peterdolamore7808]

Hi Keith. Looking forward to seeing this project progressing!

[@garyfeltus9801]

Been waiting a long time to see this stoker engine get done.

[@kdenyer1]

Keith clamp the plate in position then move the casting on the plate.😊

[@WilliamLeue]

It's geat to see this project back on track. The planer looks like the perfect tool to restore the slides in the case.

[@scania357]

Can remember this project well and wondered what had happened to it. Glad to see it back, very interesting.

[@paulputnam2305]

Woohoo! Way to go on the setup Professor!

[@phisigmakappa010588]

So exited for the stoker, I've watched that series 3x

[@GooseGosselin]

Can't help but think of the term "herding cats" seeing you get that levelled out, well done!

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing. Great set up video explaining you findings.

[@geneard639]

Can I give this all the thumbs up? and, I still think a short Dog Leg Cutter, starting from the middle about 55% of the length and doing both sides, then swapping it around and finishing up doing the same might be the best plan of attack.

[@pirtatejoe]

I'm still a bit confused about what he's trying to accomplish. At this point, wouldn't hand scraping in that journal be better? I would think it wouldn't be much different than scraping in some square or box ways. After years of trying various machines and tooling and setups, I would think making a custom sized gauge block that you could blue up to scrape in those journals would be the easiest way to go about it. They don't seem particularly large and from what he was saying, he doesn't really have to machine away much metal. Could machine down a straight edge to blue the journal and even use the surface grinder along with his current setup to make sure the scraping stays in plane.

[@CothranMike]

​@@pirtatejoe Joe, a journal is a round surface where a bearing runs. These are the undercut areas where the cross heads run in a linear fashion to create straight line motion for the crankshaft, the pistons go in and out, the crank goes round and round to make the worm gear turn the auger to move the coal chunks to the firebox.

[@pirtatejoe]

@@CothranMike I get that... from the video, can see the flat areas he is trying to machine that the pistons ride on. Still not sure why it can't be hand scraped.

[@CothranMike]

@pirtatejoe Joe, the surfaces he is using to indicate from, the ones the parallel is supported on are the places the hold downs for the cross head bolts to. The surfaces needing work are below them and slightly up the sides of those finished ribs. Those flat surfaces were worn, pitted, and needed to be built up. Lance and Abom used a eutectic mixture applied as an atomized spray at Lance's workshop. They preheated the casting to around 350 to 400°F and sprayed the mixture at around 500°F. It built up nicely, just like they had practiced on other parts. This metal now needs to be milled and cut so it is correct for the purpose intended. Currently, it is rough, over-sized and would need several 10s of thousandth to be removed BEFORE any hand scraping could be done (scraping only removes .0001-.0003) there is literally hundreds of times that amount to be removed yet before anyone would consider scraping to be useful, if needed at all. These surfaces were not scraped originally. There was no need then or now.

[@pirtatejoe]

@@CothranMike Ahhhh so the answer is he has too much material to remove. Could see those areas between the surfaces he was indicating from that he was going to machine, but from what he said, I was under the impression he was just trying to "clean up" those areas. He never really said how much material needed to remove.

[@MrIRMOS]

I've been waiting for this, thanks you. This is the machining part that got me hooked to your channel...

[@sbrunner69]

This is a bold endeavor.

[@pdxRetired]

It will be fun to see the old planer earn it's keep! Making the tool holder will also be interesting from the standpoint of DIY.

[@wendellgrange8557]

I have been waiting for this for years

[@Prewarpostwaramdmore]

I got so excited when I saw the stoker engine back. I had completely forgotten about it.

[@johncloar1692]

Nice setup a lot of changes good to see the Stoker back again. Thanks Keith for the video.

[@tudedude]

Nicely done - a lot of work just preparing to cut.

[@mr.b2232]

Looking forward to seeing that job completed 👍😎.

[@johnbaker1039]

Wow, a blast from the past...

[@WobblycogsUk]

Great to see the planner being put to work.

[@susannovotney1903]

Great to see it back!

[@KennyP88]

Man oh man, sometimes getting something indicated in, can take many frustrating hours. Good job. As big as tool holder has to be, hope you don’t have to move the whole casting around again. Good luck.😊

[@markmonroe7330]

Excellent presentation. Thank you. Love the projects.

[@charleswelch249]

That's a difficult project. I know you will figure it out, Keith. Seeing the planer in action will be worth the time IMO.

[@SettledBatches]

22:21 - Looking GOOD! 28:02 - Hard to do better than that. Good luck.

[@russtuff]

It's back!!

[@stevem3413]

This was my first video and it got me hooked on this channel for the better 😅

[@tonyn3123]

Not a machinist by any means, but I remember this project well and wondered several times if it was still possible. I also remember it from Adam Booth's efforts. I can easily see your challenge with anything but a specialty machine for production runs, as you stated. I think you have a good solution if the tool holder is rigid enough and not be too brittle. I am looking forward to the actual cutting. Best of luck! Thanks.

[@stephaniewilley727]

While making chips is kinda the goal, setup is everything and is often 90+% of the work. Thanks for showing us this most tedious and precision part of the job.

[@TomokosEnterprize]

Hi Keith, I always loved the challenge of doing a setup like this one. Subtle movements that can suprize a fella with the smalest of tightining up this or that or the same as for the opposite. I once set up a large 20 cyl ships like engine that took 2 of us 2 weeks. Well my friend. Looks like this winter is going to be a great time. Onward my friend.

[@timmienorrie]

About bloody time!

[@MartsGarage]

Hi Keith. Nice to see the stoker motor up on the planer. I just hope and pray it can cope with such a long tool stickout. Fingers crossed for positive news in the next episode. All the best, Mart in England.

[@irvine40]

Yes it’s back!

[@joehamblin3297]

The Stoker is back and Metal Planer to the rescue :D

[@frankerceg4349]

Thank you Keith!

[@chrispekarik3889]

I always learn something! Thank you!

[@richardsurber8226]

Thanks for the video Keith

[@davidhudson5452]

Nice to see it again will be better than new was i bet

[@transmundanium]

I work like that too. Got a big project on the go, but a lot of little ones I call 'work avoidance projects' that divert my interest. :D

[@timf6916]

Wow, a big job just to do the job. You got this.

[@alanchamberlin2384]

Hey, good morning. I enjoyed watching your process on getting the casting all squared up on the table. I can’t believe how much work it is to get it dialed in. Nice work.

[@Hoaxer51]

I wonder how much time it actually took to get in all dialed in, I’d almost think you’d have to go over each axis at least 3 times, maybe more. Keith seems pretty efficient when it comes to these kinds of setups, or he’s really good at editing. Lol

[@garybrenner6236]

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, this should be lots of laughs!

[@ianbutler1983]

Thanks Keith.

[@richardtaylor7199]

Great job.

[@chrisrollins3519]

Will be pretty cool to see the planer doing this job. I believe I would have used the boring mill though. Seems set up would’ve been easier and probably could’ve found an off the shelf tooling option for reaching in there. That’s what’s cool about machinist, not a one of us will do something the same way 😂.

[@cabrini00]

I was wondering what happened to the stoker engine; glad to see that you are back on the project.

[@Joewho99]

Interesting video thanks for posting . Kep up the good work .

[@truracer20]

I was really hoping that this was the project that the latest planer refresher was for.

[@gregmizell7861]

I'm happy to see this project re-surface. Just the other day I was wondering if it had been abandoned or was still on the back burner. Looking forward to seeing it!

[@deemstyle]

There's sure to be a lot of "OG" comments which made me wonder when I subbed (not that it's a competition; just a personal curiosity). Going back through your old videos, I recall the addition of the American Rotary phase converter to your shop, and I even recall the old "Shop Tour" series in 2017- but I don't seem to recall the shop build itself. Looks like I must have subbed late 2016ish. Man you have had a LOT of projects, change, growth, and loss over that time. It's been a fun ride for sure, and I know I speak for the masses on this one: it is really great to see an old project like this stoker engine return for some love. Keep kickin' Keith!

[@MorseB]

The Stoker! I figured that got outsourced. You could say.... I'm stoked....

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas to you and your family 😊

[@davidcallista2580]

My dad was a horizontal boring mill operator at the Standard Stoker co. during the 1930's and 1940's. If he were still around today I feel sure he would tell you that you should be using the machine behind you to do this job.

[@george-b3i-d2d]

YEA!!!! stoker engine is alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@joseantoniofernandez8827]

I was sure you did not give up in this “almost antique” project! ……you never do! And here it comes. A “modest” tool holder is not going to stop you; that’s for sure!

[@garybrenner6236]

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, this should be lots of laughs!

[@tomswindler64]

Nice,been awhile.just continue on doing what you do best.waiting on next installment,great video be safe 👍👍👍😎😎😎

[@willemvantsant5105]

Tool stick out is extreme, looking forward to the chatter. HBM with end mill would be my choice.