Let's Build a Boiler Feed Pump! (feat. Ron Covell!)

[@rshort4296]

Sprocket for president

[@fvoisard]

Its prime minister here

[@improprietary1]

If not president then atleast mayor of your local council

[@mattomon1045]

Sprocket for president I will vote for that And Quin for vice president

[@Chef_PC]

…OF THE WORLD.

[@iamnoone.]

@@kramer00999 I can't argue with that

[@jonahbrame7874]

There is something supremely satisfying about watching you work on a casting, slowly adding precision features to the rough form, that makes these model engineering videos one of my favorite types of your videos to watch. Also, “I have never regretted making a test piece, but I have often regretted not making a test piece” is some of the best advice you can give to anyone in this hobby and in the trade.

[@elizabethturner2421]

Not just this hobby or trade! I'm finding Quinn's approach and advice WRT problem-solving and troubleshooting spill over to all kinds of pursuits.

[@JDubbsadventure]

As a boiler operator I love watching these videos. The boilers my company runs is 600lbs and 1500lbs steam from the 1940s and the equipment you make looks similar to the life size equipment.

[@pacificcoastpiper3949]

What do your boilers power?

[@JDubbsadventure]

@@pacificcoastpiper3949 we power 8 Power generator turbines 3 paper Machines and emirate of pumps, fans, dryers, digesters, heaters and anything else they don’t want to be electrical powered. It’s an old factory that was originally built 1898 and still producing paper today

[@MarcusLindblomSonestedt78]

Pressing like on the first "as is tradition", as is tradition. 😁😁

[@MarcusLindblomSonestedt78]

I wonder if Quinn can see when ppl click like in videos. Would be a fun stat to ponder over, maybe? :)

[@firebird8600]

@@MarcusLindblomSonestedt78 for statistics purposes, I always type "yay!! It's Blondihacks time!!!" While the opening ad plays, as soon as I watch.

[@mikeo7604]

This series is a dream come true! I have waited a good 45 years to watch in detail the construction of a scale steam loco. Thank you!

[@mikeo7604]

@@jeffarmstrong1308 Yes, and I intend to watch every single hour that Quinn posts!

[@MrRedstoner]

@@jeffarmstrong1308 You say that almost as if it was a bad thing.

[@Radiotexas]

The alignment trick with the suspended dead center at 15:59 was great!

[@markjmaxwell9819]

I must say her skills have improved out of sight in the last five years . 😎👍

[@Rustinox]

Nothing wrong with making test pieces first. A lot of my "first go" pieces become test pieces almost automaticly :)

[@theprojectproject01]

Funny how that can happen

[@kennypinkerton5818]

All of my pieces are "test pieces", lol.

[@MrRedstoner]

It's a test piece until proven otherwise.

[@philipmackin1025]

Just finished watching and lo and behold a Keith Appleton pops in! What a great day it is today

[@GaisaSanktejo]

Just a reference idea for when you need to drill two sizes in the same hole as you did with those dewalt bits Quinn. I've had to do similar before and needed the holes to be somewhat accurate, so I started with the larger hole, then followed through with the smaller one. That eliminated the potential drift you mentioned 😉

[@HyperactiveNeuron]

I absolutely love your sense of humor and fun. I know I would have sat and played with that boring bar/air spring for waaaaaaay too long haha! It's like popping bubble wrap or one of my new favorite things, playing with the cat and the expanded brown paper packing that I've been seeing so much lately. She loves to shred that stuff. Yeah it's a mess to clean up but she gets her angry face on and burns up some energy and has a blast.

[@wrongtown]

I always appreciate when you point out an earlier iteration which contributed to the eventual girlbossing 😁

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Quinn, Glad you found some use for the pilot point drill bits. I figured they would come in handy one day and you did mention the proper way they were to be used. When you had the pump setup to mill the feet, could you have also milled the inlet and outlet faces to square them to the feet? You and your family stay safe.

[@joergengeerds360]

14:00 you have 2 reference points machined already: put 2 gage pins into the holes in the foot you had drilled, and that should give you a vertical alignment

[@mattsadventureswithart5764]

As a viewer who found Ron through the Joy's of the youtube suggested videos, I'm really happy to find a collab video with him.

[@herzogsbuick]

I hadn't sat down to one of your videos in a while, but I saw Ron's name, so had to click. That boiler you made? I've gotta go back and watch that video, it is absolutely stunning. Just as fun yet mellow as all your other videos, thanks for uploading, Quinn. Learn a few things every time.

[@kaydog2008]

An air cooled steam condenser would be an added bonus. To recirculate the same water over and over again. An old car heater core and pressure relief on a reservoir would work nicely. Tip using only distilled water helps keep the engine and boiler internals clean of calcium build up that's present in our everyday tap water.😉👍👍

[@tomp538]

Always enjoy your non-scripted narrations as you progress through the machining processes.

[@johnpadams8079]

I have watched many of your video’s. This demonstrated some interesting methods of creating reference surfaces on uneven cast parts. Very well presented ! I love your level of detail. I think you are very talented with the right balance of humility ! The kind of person I would love to have as my neighbour 😊

[@cooperised]

Loved the intro this week 😂

[@chotuusian4127]

Good work and looking lovely

[@johnapel2856]

Very spiffy, as is tradition! Thanks, and Meow to Sprocket.

[@TheFreshmanWIT]

Nice! I made one of these a while back, and ended up doing it all on the mill. However, one thing I'd come up with that others might find useful: If you cut the holes in the feet to a strict grid, you can use gauge pins in THOSE as your 'index' surface. In my case, I used an angle plate to drill the long hole, and used a pair of gauge pins on through the two holes resting on the top of the angle plate. I ended up having zero problems with my index surfaces that way (and it was square to the webbing, since I clamped on that to!), though I DID have problems clamping to the angle plate (I used finger clamps, which gave out and ruined my first casting). Had I been smarter, I could have used the vise the way you did.

[@g.tucker8682]

Good tips about the test part and the dry run setup on the bench. I look forward to seeing the Dream Team in action!

[@dogsarebest7107]

Oh awesome Quinn! I cannot believe you got to do a colab with THE RON COVELL! You've worked so hard, you've come so far, you deserve it dude! You must be vibrating you're so excited for the next week! I know I would be! I cannot wait to see Part2. Awesome!

[@firebird8600]

Yay!! It's Blondihacks time!!!

[@Skyrmir]

Thanks for doing more shots showing you actually moving the dials on the lathe. Having to watch machining vicariously, it's interesting to see the actual manipulation of the tools as well as the results on the part.

[@travisprigge]

If you need a gauge pin in a size you don't have, you can stack 2 smaller pins with a gauge block in between. It's a little finicky to check a hole with, I usually wrap the whole stack with a rubber band, but it does work!

[@johnmolnar2957]

another interesting video. look forward to Saturday nights so I can watch Blondi Hacks

[@brandonlewis2599]

Thanks for showing us how you do your setups. I always wondered how in the hell anyone ever got accurate machined features on a casting. Now it is starting to make sense to me.

[@AncientHermit]

Thanks for taking my mind to someplace else with this. It's been a tough day of stumbling through the earliest part of the learning curve for solar power. 🙄Had a few surprises and they were not all fun, so this trip into something else that was all good was the perfect antidote.👍 Now nicely mellow. 🤨Be well.😉

[@HangarQueen]

Beautiful work, as always, and well narrated, ditto. I'll just mention that my PM-30MV mill is arriving on Monday (after four months of waiting), and that your most excellent channel was the biggest influencer for my purchase. Thank you.

[@Skaldewolf]

0:45 Nice to see that we use the same speakers in our respective workshops.

[@michaeloconnor1514]

Hello Quinn, Really enjoy your videos. Has been fun watching you learn in real time. You are an inspiration to many. Looking forward to your Koso Pennsylvania A3 Switcher series of videos. When you have chatter using a form tool as you experienced when cutting the 9/16-18 NF thread relief groove, stop short and manually turn the chuck by hand while out-feeding the tool the last thou or two. This works well on light-duty lathes and large contact form tools. Works well with large chamfers too. Your videos are always a must watch and I look forward to them every week. Thanks for your efforts to inspire people to learn about model engineering and the wonderful possibilities of home machining. Thanks again for all of your hard work. You truly make a difference educating folks about manual machining. Kind regards, Mike

[@richb419]

Hi in Kozo Hiraoka's book The Climax page 15 the shows a lathe tool post indicator that he has build for quick centering, I constructed it and it works very nice. it's an easy project too. Rich

[@Randiego]

Quinn, I recently purchased a horizontal boiler kt from PM Research. I am not a machinist so I am at the mercy of purchasing "pre-machined" kits. I am not incapable of getting a larger lathe/milling machine, however, I am not retired so the learning curve will be a very lengthly process. Hence, procuring easier kits to build. When I was talking to PMR, I asked if ther was any videos on KZbin about building their boiler kit. No luck, however, he gave me your name and said that you built a boiler and had a very detailed video of the process. Well, Quinn, not only was it an excellent video, you are quite the "teacher" in addition to your excellent machining skills. Bravo to you as I am an avid follower of any and all "Quinn" videos. From your giveaway word......."progress" which is pronounced differently than here in the US, I am assuming that you are Canadian. We, the viewing public, and society in general, have so many brilliant and capable individuals to the North. Canadians are, aftrer all, a talanted group and we are blessed to have them as our neighbors and allies. The steam industry was started in our parent country, England, and found it's way here to the Northern hemisphere. Here, we have had a much larger "stage" for steam so to speak. The steam industry evolved to "state of the art" design and application before they were replaced by the gasoline/diesel internal combustion engines of today. It's all about economics and mobility. No matter, you are not only a good teacher, but you are very articulate and I can tell, very well spoken and educated. You are a great individual to watch and learn from. I just wish I had time to delve into the machinists world. But not at this time, Quinn. I am beginning to be a "pest" to my friend, who has a machine shop. I realize that every time that I show up at his door, I am taking his time away from the work that he has to get done. I will get me a larger lathe/ milling machine in the future, but for now I am relegated to performing tasks that I can get done with my drill press only. What the laymen fail to grasp is how important precision is to the operation of the steam engine and the boiler. You iterate that you have a Chinese lathe/mill. Can you share what brand you use. Looking over the market of machine tools, it is an "Ocean" of products available. I do hope that I make the right choice for my first endeavor in obtaining the "right" lathe for my shop. AND.........that is just the beginning. The amount of tooling and measuring equipment that is necessary to do machining is baffling and expensive. Not for the meek. Wish me luck

[@MonticelloSkateTeam]

I like to drill my counter bore with the pilot point first, then drill the thru hole.

Hey Quinn, I really love your videos. Your approach to educating and amusement is wonderful. I am a carpenter by trade, now working in IT after some careless climbing in some scaffolding. Still doing woodworking as a hobby. The only need I can find for machine work would be the odd knob or fasteners. They would be a lot nicer than those from the hardware aisle at the shop. The bit that really draws me closer to the rabbit hole is the accuracy and tolerances which is unheard of in my world..

[@mlongval]

While I have absolutely no intention of ever building a model steam engine, I must say that I thouroughly enjoyed your video. It is very telling how complex the process of building precision parts can be. And while I find it very rude of myself to express jealousy, I must say that I am jealous of your many skills (engeneering and computing), and would it be that you were in this end of Canada, would definitly like to buy you a beer! Cheers form Québec! 🍻

[@willclark491]

Nice work Quinn! I'm really looking forward to the colab with Ron next week!

[@AlRoderick]

From the intro: wow I've never heard of a forking tap, is that for making multi-start threads?

[@michaelsulwer779]

When you go to assemble the check valve using the hardened ball if you tap the ball at the bottom of the seat with a calculated amount of force you are "coining" the seat. It will be a much better seat than just relying on the machining surfaces. I used this technique while manufacturing a product that had a check valve integrated into the product and it works flawlessly.

[@chucksterock]

Setup pieces are often a necessity, more-so as the part complexity and/or cost goes up. Smart move by doing the setup piece for the internal thread, and a great teaching moment too. Thanks!

[@oregonexpat]

Hi, Quinn, always good to see your video. Now for the unwelcome criticism. Here is your solution for the pilot drill thing. You drilled it first for the pilot point of the lower hole. Great, perfect. But then you drilled it out. Bad sequence. Solution; After pilot drilling full depth to the lower hole, follow that up by drilling to the pilot hole size needed for the upper hole. (Only go to depth for the upper hole mind you.) Then drill the upper hole to its depth, and finally drill the lower hole to finished size. No drilling without a pilot. Easy peasy! Hope that helps, and greetings from Germany!

[@johnmcclain3887]

I happened to have made two of these prior, and one was less than perfect, however your method allows me to correct my own error. I've been enjoying your journey as it's made my own a bit easier. Thanks, well done.

[@ericsandberg3167]

These kind of operations are where the DRO really shines....bet your glad you got them installed on your lathe.

[@donaldsutherland244]

As is becoming customary; Wow! And since it seperates us from the animals, Thank you!

[@olennemac2502]

The PMR boiler feedwater kit is really nice, good quality casting. One of my first projects. I have a boiler project waiting in the wings and this pump will be useful for pressure testing the finished boiler.

[@jlucasound]

A Colab with Ron! Yes! You both are so good.

[@andybogart2503]

I love this channel!! It’s mesmerizing and soothing and you make beautiful stuff!

[@29chevbolenschannel40]

Nice work as always. A 9/16"-18 threaded bolt is probably not going to be a common size at a local hardware store but it was a relatively common thread size used on some older (1970's and 80's before things went metric here in Canada) truck wheel studs (3/4 and 1 ton series) that you may be able to find in stock at a local auto parts store and you can usually purchase them singly if they are in stock - just a suggestion that may help if you are looking for a test bolt with the correct thread.

[@pcsmachineworks]

9/16-18 is a standard size for many hydraulic systems. Should be able to find a fitting at any supply house that deals hydraulic components.

[@lescrooge]

I admire your machining skill

[@benjamindejonge3624]

You got me hooked on for this new series

[@computername]

Thank you so much for these extremely well put-together tutorials! I always thought about getting into model engineering but I just didn't know where to start. You channel has just the right pace and level of complexity to give me the confidence I could actually do anything other than create expensive waste. Also, it is naturally helpful to follow along as a beginner, as you're taking us along on your own journey and exploring new techniques along the way. Some of the more experienced people on You Tube are just out of proportion for beginners and do projects way too ambitious. One thing I'm struggling with is to keep the workshop clean as I'm working. Always swarf ends up on the floor, sticking to shoe soles and being carried around the whole house. Maybe it would be good to see what techniques / habits you use to keep everything tidy during the work? Also, how do you keep everything lubricated and not end up with smudgy hands? Somehow everything I touch in the workshop eventually has this light coat of (dirty-ish-oil), which I think is probably not conducive for more precision kind of work. Unfortunately I only have an outside shed and a 1912 lathe, so everything needs a lot of oil to keep working and not rusting. As an ex-car mechanic i don't mind it as such but your shop looks so clean and tidy. I think it's less the general cleaning than how do you actually work in there without making a mess? If I could keep it so clean, maybe I could bring the lathe into the house :)

[@mattsadventureswithart5764]

Ref the swarf and oiliness: the only way of keeping this at a minimum is to clean up after each and every operation. If you can't do that, clean up before you go for a break and at the end of every session.

[@taboc741]

I prefer to think of these not as tutorials, but as documentaries of what happened. We for sure don't see every step, just the interesting parts.

[@richardepps8500]

Intro... 10 out of 10

[@iain3411]

As a electrical panel shop worker we used DeWalt's Power Point drills all the time drilling holes in electrical cabinet doors. These bits do not grab sheet metal like a standard twist drill , as they cut the outside first.

[@heighRick]

Thanks Quinn, helped a lot!

[@Morkvonork]

If you indicate on a casting you can take something like shimstock or a gauge block and lay it on there and then indicate of it. it takes out the casting roughness noise.

[@JoveMalcolm]

14:00, could you use gauge pins in the mounting holes to have a reference for vertical? To guarantee the axis of movement is inline with the mounting holes.

[@OGTtom]

I learn something every video , thank you Quinn

[@8017668]

like most epic crossover episodes, you never knew you needed it until it happens

[@manythingslefttobuild]

Nicely done Quinn, looking forward to the rest of the build.

[@manythingslefttobuild]

Lovely festive spam, reported.

[@paulshouse524]

The cap is back! ❤❤❤

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Great work, girl boss! Thanks for sharing.

[@terrytopliss9506]

Thanks for the video Quinn, nicely done.👍👍

[@aemmink]

I have that kit, but haven’t worked up the nerve to start on it. Your video has inspired me!

[@aemmink]

Hi Quinn. Perhaps I’m delusional, but I’m pretty sure I saw a reply from you that suggested I contact you. But I can’t find it. Which is quite consistent with my clumsy efforts when it comes to using social media! So, in case I didn’t imagine it, here I am.

[@carlwilson1772]

That was very good. Fully agree with your sentiments regarding test parts. I need to cut a 1" x 5 tpi acme internal thread for my Harrison Mill Refurb project, in bronze. I have so far got through three delrin test nuts, working the issues out of the process to gain confidence to cut the thread in the (expensive) bronze.

[@who-gives-a-toss_Bear]

Brilliant as is the norm here.

[@who-gives-a-toss_Bear]

and a reply that will NOT open to be read

[@michaelcarnasciali1311]

Top job Quin👍

[@dessilverson161]

I have a set of those Dewalt cobalt drills and they are excellent. Highly recommended.

[@joeldriver381]

Girl bossed it. 🤣

[@445supermag]

One source of 9/16-18 threaded parts are wheel studs/lugnuts, you can find them much easier locally than regular bolts. Same with 7/16 and 1/2 fine. Some older cars even used left hand pitch on one side of the car.

[@rossk7927]

15:15 note to self to avoid dinging things - maybe red masking tape as a "do not ding this" reminder. Like a string on your finger, but for the shop. Might help? Just an idea.

[@IanSlothieRolfe]

Your advice about test pieces also applies to making tooling and jigs as well, even if you are making only one or two of something, being able to be sure everything is going to align itself or if you need to redo it it will be that much easier makes for much less stress, and reduces the chances of messing up a hard to replace casting or something you've already done a dozen operations on.

[@mperry9025]

Thanks Blondi

[@Bob_Jones_]

looks like a fun project

[@davidtaylor6124]

Nice work!

[@luckyirvin]

makin good ones day by day

[@lindonwatson5402]

lovely, as always

[@williamsanders6092]

When drilling with the pilot point drills make the larger diameter shorter depth first. Allowinf the smaller deeper hole to use its pilot alsot.

[@charliemacrae1045]

Great job as always.

[@asciimation]

Mechanical pumps are cool and everything but my favourite machine (if it counts as a machine?) is the steam injector. No moving parts but able to inject water directly into a boiler against the boiler pressure using just magic! Well, steam pressure and science but it still seems like magic.

[@paulmorrey733]

Thanks Quinn

[@scotthutson736]

Question: At the 14:15 point in the video you are using the horizontal (bottom) webbing to reference. When you started the machining you used the vertical webbing with blocks to set the part in your vice to mill the bottom of the feet. Why not put a reference surface on each edge of the bottom webbing to make setup easier in this part?

[@String.Epsilon]

Saturday dinners are always the best, because I have a new blondihacks video to watch. BTW, maybe it's just me but this video has been unusually low in volume. Had to crank up system volume in addition to settitng the video to 100%. Usually I have to tune videos down.

[@andrewjames7616]

Thankyou 👍

[@paulthomas3782]

Great project thanks for sharing Cheers.

[@dass1333]

Rock Star preformance. Practice practice practice is what it takes to get a flawless finale. Could use the holes in the feet as a reference as you made them square to the body?

[@elsdp-4560]

Thank you for sharing.👍

[@foxwood67]

Don’t have the right tools? Quinn just makes them 👍

[@Mister_G]

Always make the external thread first if you have the chance. Would it have been better to set the original part up so that the valve housing was vertical & then machine the feet flat to that? Looking forward to part 2.

[@frrapp2366]

could you reference off the mounting holes of the feet? for the big bore?

[@mattsbitsnbobsworkshop]

Nice video as always, at around 14min you needed to set it vertical, would the holes you drilled in the feet not work using guage pins?

[@scottwhitcher265]

Just another way to get there: Since you were dealing with a "soft" metal, you could have used a steel 9/16-18 bolt or male fitting, cut flats or grooves on it and used it for a tap.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Great fun as always 😊

[@ocAToccd]

14:20 you do have a reference since you drilled those 4 holes in the feet... What about using pins in those (unreamed) holes?

[@DaveHojo]

The sheer amount of content knowledge always amazes me in machining work. Being able to convey the process: priceless. I have a few questions. Did you take into account the relative parallellness (is that a word?) of the bore cast to the bottom of the feet when milling the bottom or was it not very important given you had to drill it anyway? Meaning, if it wasn't cast straight, would that create an undesirable wall thickness issue? And could you have drilled the larger valve bore, then the smaller one, in that order to keep the point in solid stock or was there a reason for the other direction?

[@eric802]

No telescoping gauges, Quinn, to measure the ID of the bore before threading?

[@LizMatzelle]

Regarding the pilot point drills... would it not have been "better" to actually perform all of those drilling operations in the reverse order? Start with the largest drill which will create the shallowest feature, and then work your way "down"? That way, each pilot point drill IS drilling into solid stock, and thus the pilot portion of it will do the intended job of keeping the drill centered.

[@hsnopesium]

How do you make sure the thread cutter starts at the same point inside the tube? I mean with depth I'm sure you can use a gauge but how do you know the cutting tool is biting nto the same spot rotationally to follow the same track?

[@mederichebert]

the same way you do it with external threading; using the half-nut indicator. Assuming her leadscrew is 16 tpi, a 18 tpi thread would mean using the same number or opposite would be good.