A-FURNACE Part 44 - Final Fitting

No one get excited, "final fitting" doesn't mean I'm close to being done.   It was basically a final repositioning of all the components of A-Furnace to test their fit with each other, before taking apart again and finishing each piece separately.  The next time they are all together I hope is for the final assembly.   If you haven't been following along, A-Furnace is being built in five different parts, or elements.  This is primarily for practical construction and painting reasons.    The elements are - The casthouse/blast furnace - the stoves - the precipitators - gas washing framework - and the dust catcher.    Unfortunately for the construction process, these elements are interconnected by piping.    The precipitators are connected to the stoves (gas pipe for burners) and the gas washing plant.  (One of the pipes for this latter connection actually rests on an extension of the cast house roof.   The gas washers are connected to the precipitators and the dust catcher (and maybe the blast furnace if I model the bleeder pipe - checking whether this would have been on the furnace in the 1950's)    The stoves connect to the precipitators and the cast house, also, eventually a connection to the blowing engine house for the cold blast.  You get the picture.   Most of these pipes are curved and not straight connections.   I've noticed while building A-Furnace, some minor alignment issues here and there.  I put off addressing them as when you adjust one alignment issue you usually create another.   I took some time and carefully adjusted everything to get all the connections right.   I also had to shim up the stove base about 1.25"  I'll create a raised "hill" or platform for a permanent solution.  This was to align the hot blast main with the bustle pipe and also to allow for good spacing on future stairs between the stoves and furnace - there are three (two from upper stove platform to main deck on furnace, as well as a connecting staircase from the back of the stoves to a door on the bell hoist cylinder building.   You will notice I'm up to four trusses built on the casthouse.

While doing the alignment of the piping, I got sick of the furnace top falling over constantly so I  added the sections of uptake between the main platform and the furnace itself.   This section of piping has two different angles on each end.  I used a 1" belt sander to adjust the angle until I had it right.  

Cast house roof trusses -