Textile Mill Diorama

[J.L.]

Hi Chris,

You made my day.  I needed that! 

Shake and I'm sure slate shingles used board underlayment that was spaced apart once they had left the eave section. I would think they were close together there for ice and snow.

[b.lindsey]

Things are coming along well John. Still following along just quietly.

Bill

[J.L.]

Good to know Bill.

The steam whistle is now hooked up. You can see the chain coming from the serpentine lever of the whistle down and over a steel pulley.

[b.lindsey]

As with your other dioramas John, its hard sometimes to tell the difference between looking at the model and the feeling of being in the real boiler room. That is a testament to your skills and attention to details. Love the "sunlight" shining through the roof!!!

Bill

[scc]

It gets better with every "episode".

[wagnmkr]

...And it all looks even better in person. Almost time for another visit John.

Cheers

Tom

[zeeprogrammer]

As with your other dioramas John, its hard sometimes to tell the difference between looking at the model and the feeling of being in the real boiler room. That is a testament to your skills and attention to details. Love the "sunlight" shining through the roof!!!

Bill put it very well.

 

[J.L.]

Thank you all for your kind comments and support.

I promise I will be out of the boiler room and back at some metal work by the end of the week.

This morning I put a ladder up against the roof and had my wife hand me up the camera. In the first shot, you can see my boots and my sillouette as I take a picture of a low slope 'saddle' that was placed up against the chimney to divert the water from running down the hip roof and pooling at the join of roof and brick. I had never heard of this term before, but the roofer who was re-roofing the house suggested it be installed. The term seems appropriate.

Why this shot? Next post.

[J.L.]

The steam pipe from the boiler has to leave the boiler house high in the rafters and enter the engine room to avoid the fire door track. The pipe's  exact location can not yet be determined,  but it would be exposed to the elements in passig from boiler house to mill.

It will be covered with a little gable like roof or saddle.

The gray templates in the setup will fall away when the saddle is roofed. Just like my house, the saddle is built on the roof rather than being previously framed.  I'll cut an  opening in the roof when everything is finished outside.

[J.L.]

Here's the reason for all this work with the little gable roof (first photo). This 5/16" NPT elbow will receive the steam pipe that goes through the gable.

You can see in the second photo, that probably just a hole can be drilled through the firewall.
 

[J.L.]

Now we can move on knowing the location of where the steam pipe will come through the firewall.

The fire door track is in place on the other side of the wall. Distance above it has to be considered to accommodate the rolling hardware.

The pencil in the third photo indicates the approximate location of the hole. It looks as though the steam pipe will enter under the beams and rafters of the floor above.   

[J.L.]

Here are a series of photos showing the steam pipe fitters at work.

The next job will be to wrap the pipes and provide a union and a plug to await the completion of the valve chest on the engine.

[J.L.]

The steam pipe passing through the firewall...

[J.L.]

Industrial firedoors were traditionally clad in metal.  In looking around for something easy to use, I hit upon the idea of using aluminum foil tape - the type that is often used to seal ductwork. It is easy to cut and best of all, self-adhesive.

My six foot firedoor used one hundred fifteen little squares of metal to cover both sides.

Forgive me if I neglected to nail each panel in place...

P.S. At one point, I was considering using a tracing wheel (a dressmaker's spurred wheel for transferring patterns) and rolling it along each panel strip. But then I came to my senses.

[J.L.]

Some hardware details...