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A few years ago I stumbled across a very badly battered steam engine on the internet.
Doll 511/2 - Stationary Locomobile
The engine had apparently been burned down once and was not treated very lovingly. A previous owner had tried to put an oiler on the steam pipe. The oiler may have served its purpose, but the whole structure was not attractive. The original chimney was missing and had been replaced by a small Wilesco chimney. After searching in vain for the original part for quite a while, I decided to build a chimney myself. The paint of the foundation was ruined, so I repainted the foundation.
First, pictures of the little machine when I received it.
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The following are pictures taken during the restoration.
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Finally two small videos of the running machine.
https://youtu.be/8GOeqgV-Cs4
https://youtu.be/E-MiEOMbW1A
Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed it. -
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Hi Jurgen,
Nice job, wel done.
Ever thought about Re-bluing the boiler ?
Maurice. -
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professional job - well done and a good runner!
I agree with Maurice - the boiler in blue wood even look more original
Arnold -
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Thanks for the appreciation Maurice and Arnold.
You are right about the reblueing. When I restored the machine (it's been a while), I didn't think about it. I was also still looking for a suitable means to bronze non-ferrous metal at the time. In the meantime I have found what I was looking for. "Nerofor" from Ballistol. I am very satisfied with the agent. I'm still waiting for the original chimney. Maybe I disassemble the machine again and then reblue the boiler. Although, I was really glad that all connections to the boiler were tight after assembly.
Have a good day and stay healthy. -
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Hi Jurgen,
I would very much appreciate if you can share some of your bluing experiece, preferably in a different post.
There is not much info regarding this except a post from Danny.
I use a Brazilian version of "Super blue" and I actually get the bluish/grey finish, depending on the brass composition.
I have never tried the chemicals for brass because it looks that the color goes brown / black.
Regards,
Maurice.
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Hello Maurice,
When using "Nerofor" on brass, the same reaction you described is seen. The coloration goes into the brownish, but with a blue shimmer. The intensity of the coloration depends on the time the chemical acts on the material. After pretreating the material to be blued with citric acid to remove fingerprints and any oily residue, I paint the object with Nerofor until a uniform brown-black layer is formed. I then leave the chemical on for varying lengths of time, depending on the degree of tinting I want to achieve. Then the object is washed off with clear water.
I have no idea what the blue burnishing of the old steam engines looked like in the original. After all, it was 100 years ago. In the meantime, after careful cleaning, all my burnish boilers have a brownish base tone with a blue sheen. I always try to preserve the original burnishing. Damaged areas, as described above, can be perfectly repainted with Nerofor. In any case, I have only had good experiences with the agent, but have not yet tried anything else.
I am not a chemist or metallurgist to be able to explain the exact mode of action of burnishing agents. However, I suspect that the available substances do not differ much in their mode of action.
However, looking at the kettle you have shown, I think I can see that
the "blueing effect" is somewhat stronger with Super Blue than with Nerofor. However, this may also be due to the respective exposure time. I would like to try Super Blue.
Examples of my use of Nerofor can be found in this forum in the following thread:
https://www.officeofsteamforum.com/collections-pictures/doll-3441-in-new-splendor/15/
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I just bought it on ebay. Now waiting for delivery. Nothing special, but I like the painting of the foundation.
Doll 343/1
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Dampfmaschine-von-Doll-/234042589710?nma=true&si=Qfsup1ZF8srD8Y0oHf3AbrTmQcE%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
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VERY well done on that locomobile Jürgen, it looks great!
Congrats on your new little 343, i love those smoked bases as well
It looks like it will be an easy job, compared to others you´ve worked your magic on. Do you have a burner for it? -
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You've got it right, Jan. This steam engine will probably give me little work. Clean it and that's it.
I don't have a burner yet. But I know a seller, whom I got to know through the German "Ebay Kleinanzeigen". From him I will get the matching original burner sometime. This requires only a little patience. There are also some other sellers. But this seller (pseudonym: private) sells at moderate prices.
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A wonderful job on the 511/2 , it looks amazing now. The 343/1 is in extremely nice condition from the start. Very well done Sir.
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I received mail today. A package.
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What will be in it?
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The tension is growing.
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It is the expected steam engine. The seller has packed the parts safely and shockproof, so the machine reached its destination undamaged.
The machine is as the pictures on the Internet suggested.
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I am fully satisfied. There is still some work to be done. The paint of the foundation is in better condition than I expected from the pictures. Much of what I assumed was damage is just dirt. Even the unsightly stain in front of the rechaud's burner port appears to be just crusted dirt. I will find out. It's nice if it's just dirt.
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The inside of the rechaud needs to be cleaned of a layer of soot. There is also some rust that needs to be removed.On the outside, the burner housing has been repainted with black lacquer in a few places. Since I don't know if the repainted varnish is heat resistant, the housing will be completely stripped of varnish and repainted with stovepipe varnish or motor varnish.
The water level screw on the boiler is not original. I have to get a new one (next to the burner). I'm a little picky about that.
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Then the chimney support is also somewhat deformed. But this is nothing that worries me. The burner housing has to be dismantled anyway. Then I can also remove the bracket and bring it back into shape.
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The steam engine is on the desk next to me right now. The work will probably have to wait for quite a while. Summer has just begun here with temperatures that are abnormal for our area. 33 degrees + and no wind. I worked today and it was no fun. One would prefer not to move and if one does, then only very slowly.
Heavy thunderstorms are reported for this night and tomorrow. Then my neighbor can drive submarine in his garage again. -