An Early Christmas Gift ...

... arrived the other day.  Teak decking from Boulter Plywood.  Boulter has provided most of the wood for Iona, so this is also a plug for Chris and the gang - thank you!

The first box laid out on the horses:

Carefully opened ...

Ahh ... vertical grain quarter-sawn 1.75" x 0.5" Burmese teak.  It will be planed to a thinner dimension before setting on the sub-deck.

A morale poster also showed up in the Works.  Best Beloved is puzzling over its significance ...

The Smokebox

The boiler was on hold for a while as I pursued other things, as seen in recent posts.  The smokebox design then finally drafted by Mr Anderson, and the laser-cut pieces arrived, demanding attention and fabrication.

Below is the incomplete furnace frame with the partial smokebox frame set in place to adjust fit.  A hydraulic press punched the box frames for the door dog bolts.  I'm tacking the pieces together by stick, later to be seal-welded with 0.023 MIG wire.  The furnace and ash frames will be fitted with protruding sealing lips, and custom doors made with the appropriate drafting devices.  To be fitting and welding again is a great joy.

And yes, the boiler is on end inside the roof sheet of a Belpaire boiler, standing on its nose. A totally unrelated railway project ...