Trying to find a boiler tube expander/ correct one.

[ChooChooChris]

Building an 0-4-0 LE and am having a heck of a time finding an expander. https://www.mcmaster.com/3628K63/ Is the only one I have found so far that even seems close to correct. Copper tubes i have are .75 od and apx .6 id and walls are .068. I think that makes them Type L 15 gauge?

No other supplies that I find want to list a price without first setting up a vendor account so... Any guidance is appreciated.

[Pontiacguy1]

There are 3 thicknesses of copper pipe (tube and pipe are different) that are generally available: Type K, Type L, Type M. All 3 have the same Outside Diameter, but the wall thickness is different on all three.

Type K will be the thickest wall thickness, and thus the smallest OD. Type L is in the middle and is typically what most hardware stores or home improvement places will stock, if they keep it at all. Type M is thinnest, and I don't see it very much at all.

The dimensions you gave are 0.75" OD, which says you are using 5/8" copper pipe. The wall thickness for 5/8" Type K is 0.049" and type L is 0.040", so if your dimensions are correct, it looks like you have a non-standard size. I have seen this before, and had to order a special roller for doing this. It was a 5/8" copper pipe that had a wall thickness of 0.062", which is way over the standard thickness.

I ordered the roller for this job from Thomas C. Wilson Company, in New York. Here is their contact info:
Thomas C. Wilson, LLC
21-11 44th Avenue
Long Island City, NY, USA 11101
Phone: (800) 230-2636 • (718) 729-3360
www.tcwilson.com

The one I ordered was a ( 41C EXPANDER 5/8" OD X 15-17 ) The 15-17 refers to the wall thickness of your pipe converted to gauge thickness, and the 5/8" is the OD size of the pipe. The roller was about $275 with shipping, so be prepared for that. I also had to make a new body for it when I got it so that I could roll the tubes right up next to the crown sheet and side sheets. The body on these are larger in diameter and have thrust bearings in them. Nice, but they don't give you the clearance you need. It wasn't very difficult to build a body for it that would work just fine.

It is also very helpful to people for you to put your general location in your posts or in your signature line, so that people can figure out how best to help you.

Make 100% sure that the dimensions you gave are accurate before you try anything. Measure several different pipes, and make sure.

Hope I have helped you.

P.S. I ordered this just last year, about the first of November, so everything should be current and available.

[Bill Shields]

second on the TCW connection if you are a beginner at this.

there are other suppliers...but hang on to $$$ (Elliott is the industry standard for big stuff)...

I have one from EGI -> Equipment Group International, and it has worked just fine for me.

https://www.equipmentgroup.com/expanders

Series G800 fit my requirement -> but may not fit yours...

https://www.equipmentgroup.com/product- ... eries-g800

Had it for 20+ years - was a bit less $$$ than the TCW unit at the time -> and I knew exactly what I wanted, and knew that I was not going to need support -> so you get what you $$$ for....used it 20 times and been sitting in the box ever since (no -> it is not the size you are seeking)..

yes, people do it with expanding plugs, and yes people do it with a taper pin...

I grew up on BIG INDUSTRIAL BOILERS and non-fired HEX where when things go BOOM in the night people die -> so I have a survival preference for doing it properly.

REMEMBER - you have to get the roller in both ends...the firebox and smoke box sheets require rolling.

Generally, the firebox end is the problem...so plan ahead.

some boilers require that you reach all the way through from the smokebox end to get to the firebox end because you cannot get the roller in any other way -> this requires a LONG roller...

[Harold_V]

Have you considered using urethane for expanding the tubes?

H

[ChooChooChris]

I was looking at the Elliot tools the one they recommended however is 11 inches long and I only have 7ish inches inside the firebox I know I could angle it in most likely but the McMaster car one is only 8.5 inches

[Bill Shields]

These things can be disassembled to be inserted into the tube.

As I said.. sometimes you have to come in from the smoke box to do the firebox.

Did you look to see what TCW offers? There is a lot there if you dig through the pages

[Greg_Lewis]

John Bailie of Sacramento designed a roller that you can make yourself if you have a lathe and mill. It can be sized for any tube. I wrote it up for Live Steam many years ago and will send you a copy of the article if you PM me your email address. I made one with two bodies for two different i.d tubes and both worked fine. Here's a photo:

fig1.jpg (10.25 KiB) Viewed 4590 times

[Greg_Lewis]

I got a couple of requests for the article but may have screwed up the message system. If you asked for a copy and didn't get one, just email me directly:
gregl
at
csufresno
dot
edu

[FLSTEAM]

Just to set the record straight there are two copper tube standards. Plumbing and Refrigeration. I used the Refrigeration tubes on my Shay.

[Sandiapaul]

Greg,

What issue is that article of yours in?

Thanks!

[Greg_Lewis]

Nov/Dec 2003. If you can't find it, just email me at the address in post #8 above and I'll send it to you.

[318J]

It may be a long shot, but these do come up on ebay regularly, and for a lot lower price than new. I got a lot of 9 Wilson tube expanders ranging between 1/2", 5/8", and 3/4" for $100 last month. I used the "save search" option to filter results by size and kept checking until someone listed what I needed.