GHQ L-1 Boiler Question

[mike_lawyer]

I am finishing up two GHQ L-1s, and I have a small problem - the boiler rides a little high such that the steam pipes do not sit right on top of the cylinder:



Does anyone have any suggestions on how to solve the problem?  My first thought was to file down on the inside of the boiler, but before doing that, I thought I would seek some advice.  Thanks!

[jargonlet]

I had to take some metal off of the mechanism to get mine to fit properly. I can’t remember where but I think there’s some documentation online from somebody else that modified theirs too

[mike_lawyer]

I am not sure whether to remove material from the mechanism or the boiler...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Which one is easier to replace if you go to far?

[mike_lawyer]

Which one is easier to replace if you go to far?

The boiler would be easier, but if anyone has tips on how to get the boiler to sit "lower", I am all ears.

[mmagliaro]

I have had this problem with that boiler. I put a cylindrical cutter in a Dremel and grazed it back and forth over the inside
of the pewter cavity until I removed enough material to get the boiler down.  It's a little tricky, because as I'm sure you've experienced with cutting attachments in a Dremel, it will tend to bounce all over the place, get caught, put gouges in the metal where you don't want them, and so on, unless you are really careful to hold the Dremel very firmly and cut with a light touch.

But anyway, that's how I did it.  If I were doing it today, I'd probably have to do it the same way, even though I have a milling machine, because I don't see a good way to clamp something as soft as that boiler in place to do the cutting.

[mike_lawyer]

I have had this problem with that boiler. I put a cylindrical cutter in a Dremel and grazed it back and forth over the inside
of the pewter cavity until I removed enough material to get the boiler down.  It's a little tricky, because as I'm sure you've experienced with cutting attachments in a Dremel, it will tend to bounce all over the place, get caught, put gouges in the metal where you don't want them, and so on, unless you are really careful to hold the Dremel very firmly and cut with a light touch.

But anyway, that's how I did it.  If I were doing it today, I'd probably have to do it the same way, even though I have a milling machine, because I don't see a good way to clamp something as soft as that boiler in place to do the cutting.

Thanks Max for the reply, much appreciated!  Did you have to remove material the entire length of the boiler, or just towards the front of the boiler?  Anyway, I am going to try this out with my boiler shells over the next week and will let everyone know how it turns out!

Mike

[mmagliaro]

Mike, as I recall, I removed material from about the middle up to the front.  That got the nose down and left the boiler sitting at an angle (rear end up too high), so then I started removing from more toward the rear until I got it level.  I think this was on my PRR L1 many years ago.  If I remember right, after I did that, I had the back end a little too low, so I ended up putting a styrene shim in there to correct it.  I think in your case, I would try to figure out where it is touching that is keeping the boiler up in the air near the front, and remove some, then test fit, over and over, until you get the nose down, and then if it's not level, start taking material out from the rear until it looks level to you.

On the NP W-5, I had the exact opposite problem.  The back was too high.  But I just had to remove material from the rear firebox area to get it to sit down.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Would this be a scenario where putting some molding clay in there to see where things hit would be helpful?

[mmagliaro]

Would this be a scenario where putting some molding clay in there to see where things hit would be helpful?

That's a good idea.  It would have to be a very very thin layer of clay so that you don't score "hits" where there really is a little bit of clearance.  I have done this by painting the inside of a body shell, and then putting it on and taking it off when the paint is not completely dry (but not completely wet either, so it doesn't make a mess!).  It will usually leave pretty reliable little paint marks where it touches.

[fire5506]

I would try painting some layout fluid on the inside of the boiler let it dry and then test fit the boiler, it should scrape the blue off and show where it's touching, The grind some and repeat. That way you are only removing metal where it needs to be removed. The bluing can be removed with alcohol. Dykem is the brand I have used in the past.

Richard Webster