Some more fittings were manufactured for the Britt smokebox. The plumbing union nuts were manufactured on my capstan lathe, instead of buying more in. I don't like fitting different style unions to plumbing (they vary between suppliers) so I have decided to make my own from now on. The union nuts will also suit other upcoming jobs so some extras were made while the machine was set up.
The capability of being able to produce my own stock for upcoming work using the capstan lathe has been a dream for the last few years since I bought the machine off a friend. It required an overhaul and adjustments and converting from 3 phase to single phase. That has been done over the last few years.
The common bits that seem to keep turning up so to speak are threaded nipples, plugs, nuts, basically anything repetative within the job that becomes hard to do with speed and efficiency on the centre lathe with any sort of volume. I was glad to be at the bottom of the box of plumbing nuts so I could use the machine to make some. Definitely Made in Australia. Very satisfying fitting these to the job and having some to spare for upcoming needs on the Britannia. A few more of the larger size will be made at a later stage when it comes to injector plumbing.
Happy steaming!
Nigel
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