The boiler plate had to be redesigned because I couldn't find a heating element similar to the original design. The element I chose has a male 1" G-thread, which requires a matching female thread to be cut into the boiler plate. I didn't really want to attempt this in the stainless part I had cut so I bought a 316 stainless bushing adapter and cut it down to fit the hole in the plate. The adapter was brazed into place (rather than welded) to keep the distortion of the plate down.
The inside...
and the out.
A month has flown by but there has been some progress on a number of fronts.
First up, the frame. This $150 (Canadian!) bender from Princess Auto (Harbor Freight's distant cousin) is actually capable of working to a surprisingly high tolerance. It is one of those this-looks-simple-so-why-can't-I-figure-it-out tools. After reading, re-reading, re-re-reading and then finally throwing away the manual I looked on YouTube to find similarly baffled owners. Once you do figure it out though, it will produce parts with two bends in this 1/8th cold-rolled stock to within 1/16th of the desired dimensions.
Vertical posts tack-welded and clamped to the two parts of the base of the frame.
Setting the cross bars that carry the boiler in place and the corner braces to which the feet will also be attached.
Test fit of the boiler (which still has its square pressure-test plate on until I finish the actual boiler plate).
