Cut the extended threaded area off from the inside, then cut two slots into the nut, 180 degrees apart. Then the nut can be easily cut off with wire cutters or equivalent. The Dremel, thin, red cut off wheels used at high speed work great for that sort of thing. Be sure to secure the tap from any movement while cutting with locking pliers or similar. Any movement will cause the wheels to shatter.. Oh, ya - and eye protection is a requirement, and a face shield is better. I have cut off stripped hub nuts on cars with those wheels. It should go through that nut no problem.

Free at Last!

Thanks, guys. The chisel didn't work because the nut was too large. Seven minutes with a hacksaw and a little encouragement from Lady Duchessa (a nice capp) and I got it done with nary a saw mark to show for it. For the other DIYers who read this, I tried the chisel using a nice, large mallet that Doug suggested, not the hammer in the background. Didn't want any broken knuckles if I missed!

For the boiler gasket I ended up going to a custom sprinkler / plumbing installation company. They had the proper material and were willing to trace the boiler opening and hand cut it for me. I think it ended up being somewhere around $60 and they turned it out in 24 hours or so. At the time I thought about trying to make the gasket myself, but a 12"x12" piece of the material cost about as much as a custom gasket. I believe Doug at OE also stocks the virgin teflon (I think the PTFE virgin is the safe kind, but double check for yourself. I have not had to get a custom gasket made in quite sometime. I am sure Doug will know.) and I am sure he would be able to make one for you when the time comes.

I just ended up getting the machine powder coated as it came to me. I think the brown you have settled on will look great!

Also, Randy, thank you for the primer on Dremel cutting wheel technique. I'll keep it in mind if I run into any more stuck fittings.

drgary wrote:Free at Last!

Thanks, guys. The chisel didn't work because the nut was too large. Seven minutes with a hacksaw and a little encouragement from Lady Duchessa (a nice capp) and I got it done with nary a saw mark to show for it. For the other DIYers who read this, I tried the chisel using a nice, large mallet that Doug suggested, not the hammer in the background. Didn't want any broken knuckles if I missed!

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Not to be a pissant but the mallet was the problem, you need to use a nice hard hammer, the mallets absorbs too much energy. I have cut off bigger nuts than yours using a chisel . I'm passing this on just as general info. Whatever works in the situ is what works. I have had to cut a 1 1/8, 3/4" wide nut off a bolt using a chisel (no access) and I managed to do it without damaging the threads. BTW I developed this ham fisted technique when my nut splitter
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-8-eighth ... 66547.html
broke. Nut splitters are really helpful in some situations.
All that being said glad you got it off without damaging anything, that is the point after all.

Hi Patrick:

zubinpatrick wrote:All that being said glad you got it off without damaging anything, that is the point after all.

I also want to give readers good information, so I appreciate your follow-up. Since your post I've clarified up top that I want to offer documentation of this restoration as a primer for those like me who are undertaking such a project for the first time.

Never knew that there is such a thing as a nut splitter. Have you had good experience with them? And to cut off a nut like that with a chisel, how do you place the chisel point?

Fearing that my hammer blow might crush small bones in my hand, I could have held the chisel in place with large pliers and made sure I was focusing on the chisel handle ("keep your eye on the ball") after getting the tip in place.

That's quite a project you've undertaken there! Enjoying seeing the progress.

Ray

Little by little ...

Today's Progress

I continued dissassembly, solving some problems but reaching a "resting point" where I'll ask you for next steps. You'll see at this point I've removed all of the frame and case components so they can be sent out for chroming and powder coating. Some parts like the Pstat and old wiring have been removed and will be replaced. Here's how it went:

Sight glass in place. If it's too hard to clean I'll replace it and have already obtained a replacement part.



Sight glass removed. Notice also the 6 bolts on the top and bottom holding the boiler to the frame. The bottom right bolt looked like it might be a problem. I had applied penetrating oil. Then heat from a propane torch:



It wouldn't budge with hand strength alone. So I used a mallet as a persuader. Off it came without much fuss.



I'd applied penetrating oil, heat, a wrench and persuader to the left bottom bolt. Didn't take into account though that this was the head of the bolt. The retaining nut was on the other side of the boiler gasket. It wouldn't budge and the head began to strip.



Strong efforts with a socket wrench cracked the frame of the cheap socket, so it began slipping too.



So I turned it over and saw the Pstat was in the way.



Removal was easy by addressing the pressure fitting at the bottom of the manometer.





I went after the retaining nut of the stuck bolt on the other side of the boiler gasket using the persuader, and it easily came off. But nothing doing. The other end still wouldn't turn. So I had to use a cutting wheel on a Dremel tool to cut the head off the bolt. Here's the start of cutting.



Several cutting wheels flew apart but went sideways, not at me, and I was wearing safety glasses. I finished it off with a chisel and hammer and a bit more cutting. And the frame came right off.



Then I tried to remove the group from the boiler, addressing the four nuts attaching it. Here you can see I ran into another problem when one of the nuts twisted off the bolt end with it. The group still won't move, and I suspect it's frozen to the group head gasket.



As you can see, I haven't yet removed the heating element terminals or the water or steam valves. I'm not quite sure what to do with those and whether I may need to take the boiler apart at the seam to get at fittings on the other side so I don't repeat my adventure of having to cut off a bolt head.



So here are my questions at this stopping point:

1. Which parts should I still try and remove from the exterior of the boiler before disassembling it?
2. How do I remove the group from the boiler? Apply heat with the propane torch to free it from the gasket and then gently pry it off?

Here's another angle of the boiler, front view, upside down on my workbench. The only parts that remain attached are the element leads, a water fitting, the steam and water valves, the group head cylinder, and the upper frame attached by one bolt. I can't easily get to that bolt without removing some of the other pieces first. It's the one just below and between the group cylinder and steam tap in the photo.



The good news is now I've completely taken apart the frame, and it's ready to be sand blasted and powder coated. Before sending the case parts in for reworking, I'm going to disassemble the case for my Olympia Coffex so I can maybe save money via less setup time to powder coat and chrome plate case parts with similar colors.

I continue to take notes and pictures (more than these) and label parts, placing some in bags I inventory and others get masking tape attached that labels what they are and how they orient for reassembly. I lucked out a couple days ago when the cigar store down the street from my office put wooden cigar boxes on sale for $2 each. These will hold the small parts in bags.



Looking Ahead to Cleaning and Lube

While the powder coating and chroming is being done, I'll need to decide which fasteners to rescue and which to replace. I do plan to replace the Pstat with a Sirai per Doug's offline suggestion and this will require new pipe. I'll also have to clean all of it and will ask your collective guidance for that. One assembly that looks like it will be challenging this way is the piston and spring with gaskets (see the photo in my first entry on page one of this thread). Doug suggested I use Coleman gas instead of regular gasoline to remove old grease because it doesn't stink, but I'm not sure where to apply that for cleanup before applying chain saw grease (he also recommends) to the lever mechanism.

After today's work I was very happy that I'd found a good hand cleaner with pumice for greasy dirt at the local hardware store.

You'll be buying an air compressor and TIG welder before you know it!

Ray

You mean this?



It belongs to our contractor. What would I use it for? (Total newbie question, but I'm allowed because I are one.)