Now that DSB K 582, 4-4-0, is relocated to our Græsted location for the summer, there is plenty of room to spread out Helsingør-Hornbæk Banen #4 for its rebuilding. (See http://www.veterantoget.dk/materiel/damplokomotiver/hhb-4.aspx).
HHB 4 sometimes takes two steps forward and one step back. The boiler has already been test fired a few times, but our experience with K582 has caused us to decide to back up and work on the HHB 4 boiler again. We originally planned to keep many of the old staybolts, but this same decision was made on the K582 years ago, and each year is filled with apprehension as we find new broken staybolts and wonder whether we can replace them in time for the season start. In particular, on both of these engines, many staybolts are not accessible without lifting the boiler off of the frame.
Most Danish engines have copper fireboxes, so we have to be careful to tap staybolt holes in one go from the inside out, so that steel chips do not tear up the copper firebox. Here are some pictures.
Here's me cutting out staybolts. With a copper firebox, we can go wild torching out the steel staybolts and pretty much leave the copper threads intact, but it is not without hazards. Some more experienced guys can direct the torch and the molten metal away from their bodies, but I was not so lucky. I was not wearing correct protective clothing, and two weeks later I still have burns on my chest and arms.
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Here are the guys drilling out the staybolt from the outside. Note the drill brace that bolts to the boiler.
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Here are the taps we use
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