Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

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Marty_Knox
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by Marty_Knox »

daves1459 wrote: A friend of mine just lost the boiler on his Allen 10 wheeler after 22 years. He meticulously took care of it and it finally rusted through. He says Marty Knox estimated a replacement boiler at $4,200. ( Marty will have to confirm.) His and my boiler are approximately the same size. So for 22 +/-
years life, effort, and cost one has to ask if copper is a valid choice for a 1 1/2" scale medium size boiler. For me it has been a project of passion as I've built several steel boilers that had to be repaired eventually and I just wanted to try making one.
$4200 IS my current price for my 'true keyhole firebox' Ten Wheeler boiler, with formed inner firebox, 28 5/8" OD tubes, and a 5/8" wide water space. For a standard Allen Ten Wheeler boiler, with a square corner firebox, 25 5/8" OD tubes, and a 3/8" wide water space, the price is $3900.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by Bill Shields »

I am surprised that you did it for $10K...really...especially with the cost of silver / acetylene and copper being what it is / was.

General experience is that if you double the size, the cost goes up by a factor of 10 just for basic materials.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by Bill Shields »

Too many things going on to bother listing them.
daves1459
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by daves1459 »

Bill Shields wrote:I am surprised that you did it for $10K...really...especially with the cost of silver / acetylene and copper being what it is / was.

General experience is that if you double the size, the cost goes up by a factor of 10 just for basic materials.
Bill, How did you come up with ".....$10K...."?
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Bill Shields
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by Bill Shields »

by multiplying $1000 x 10 -> I had thought - thumb in the air - that a boiler that size, were I to build it for someone, would cost $10K
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
daves1459
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by daves1459 »

Bill Shields wrote:by multiplying $1000 x 10 -> I had thought - thumb in the air - that a boiler that size, were I to build it for someone, would cost $10K
So then, if I understand you, if Marty can build a similar boiler in steel for $4,200 if you built the same boiler in copper it would be $10,000.
rkcarguy
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by rkcarguy »

Amazing craftsmanship in this boiler work!
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Bill Shields
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Re: Coppersmithing a Boiler - Southern Railways Bulleid Pacific

Post by Bill Shields »

my gut 'ballpark guess' to building that boiler from copper would be $10k..which would be a reasonable price for the material and labor involved.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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