4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Vapor, Liquid or Cooling Management. Flutes, plates, etc.

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DetroitDIY
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4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

This thread is for the plans and progress of a flute build I’m starting. Critiques, concerns and guidance are all welcome. I’m still on the steep portion of my learning curve, but having read through the entire Flute Talk and Dan’s Flue threads among others has been extremely helpful. Thanks to all of you who share your opinions and knowledge.

Up to this point, I’ve been running a pot still with an anemic leibig on a beer keg over propane. I enjoy rum, want to try whiskey, and wanted to include options for more clean spirits in my build.

I’ve kept careful record of sources and costs for all the components which I’m happy to share if people are interested.

The design is a 4”Ø, using perforated plates. I’ve drawn up a plate pattern targeting 8% opening on the wet area with 1/16”Ø holes spaced equidistant in a hex arrangement. The column is broken into 4 segments each with a different number of plates (1, 2, 3, and 4 plates) allowing mixing and matching for a column of anywhere from 1 to 10 plates. Probably excessive, but this will allow me to experiment for different degrees of purity vs. flavor.
The plates are 4.75” apart in Z, regardless of which combinations of column segments are used. Downcomers are 0.75” ending with a 1.25” cup that is fixed 0.5” above the plate below. The downcomer extends 0.25” above the plate it’s fixed to, with different lengths of 0.75” couplings to slide over the top and extend the height (0.5”, 0.75”, and 1” heights).

The sight glasses are modified from the 2” Cello sweat trap adapters used by others, 2.25”Ø x 1/8” thick borosilicate glass, sealed with 1/32” musical cork on both sides (perhaps excessive on the outside, but I thought it would look nicer).

All four segments of plates are connected via tri-clamps. Column will be mounted on a 15.5 gal keg with a 9” tall stainless expansion fitting from 2” to 4”.

After the plates, I have a 4”Ø x 6” tall dephleg planned with 19, 0.5”Ø tubes and 3 internal plates for serpentine cooling flow around the tubes. I’m including thermowells above and below the dephleg. After this It reduces to 2”Ø pipe, and loops back down to a 2”Ø x 20” tall condenser of 5, 0.5”Ø tubes and 11 internal plates. This ends with some progressive reducers down to 0.5” where it feeds into a parrot.

The condensers share a 0.5”Ø water supply, split with a “T” fitting and feeding the lower portion of both the dephleg and the product condenser. They are joined again at their output from the top of the condensers into a 3 way, T type ball valve to simultaneously control flow through both condensers. Both sides of the “T” inlet and outlet include unions (as well as the parrot) for disassembly and cleaning. The connections are all rigid, so I’m expecting that they will help to support the cantilevered product condenser.

Most components are copper… a few stainless 304 or 316. The 4” column ferrules are machined brass which I’ll be tinning on the vapor/distillate surfaces. All polymers (gaskets and valve seats) are PTFE. The 4” pipe is DWV, which I understand is plenty strong. The copper for the plates is Cu110 grade… pretty sure this has no Pb based on my research, but if anyone knows otherwise I appreciate the heads up. The plates are only 0.022” thick (16 Oz., 24 gauge). Pretty thin, but I’m planning to solder it to the wall of the 4” pipe. Has anyone else used this thin of material for their plates?
One lesson I’ve learned in the process… 2.5” diameter copper for the loop and product condenser seems cool, but that diameter is difficult and expensive to find. Better to stick to the whole numbers above 2”.

An interesting thought I’ve had… what about designing plates with “snap rings” that are slightly larger diameter than the ID of the 4” pipe so they can be placed in, help to seal against the ID, and are easily removable/replaceable. There are some issues with the idea, so I decided not to pursue it.
Another interesting idea (which I later saw another person mention) is to add a couple of rivets to a perforated plate to allow for the variable flow and have audible feedback when things begin to bubble.

I’m close to collecting all my parts, but haven’t actually built anything yet. So it’s not too late for me to adjust if you see things amiss. I have a number of modifications to my boiler planned too… going electric among other things, but that’ll be the subject of a different posting.
I will be slow in building (too busy), so forgive the quite spells that are sure to come. I also have a few artistic plans for the column and such which will slow me down a bit.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

DetroitDIY
Attachments
Condenser Cross Sections
Condenser Cross Sections
Perforated Plate with 417 1/8" Holes
Perforated Plate with 417 1/8" Holes
Assembly w/ All 10 Plates
Assembly w/ All 10 Plates
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Danespirit
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Danespirit »

This looks like a very nice build..!
I wouldn't say 10 plates are over the top. There are a few members in here that run that kind of numbers, with good results.
Now, for the plates... 0,022" are just 0,55 mm. I foresee a lot of trouble when you are trying to solder them to the column.
They will warp like hell, resulting in a bad performance. Be aware of your heat when you solder the downcomer etc to the plates, or the torch will just melt the plate completely..!
Also, the cleaning will be more difficult than it has to be.
Two solutions for this:
1. Use thicker gauge plate.
2. Stick with the thin ones, but make a removable plate tree.
Everything else looks just fine and will function excellently.
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Swedish Pride »

I would split the water supply so you have a separate gate valve per condenser.
Adding a 2' packed section would allow you to make a vodka as well, or so im told, I've yet to build a proper plated column.
Last edited by Swedish Pride on Tue Feb 21, 2017 12:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by cob »

what is "fourth triangle" ?
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Swedish Pride wrote:I would split the water supply so you have a separate gate valve per condenser.
+1
DetroitDIY wrote:The column is broken into 4 segments each with a different number of plates (1, 2, 3, and 4 plates) allowing mixing and matching for a column of anywhere from 1 to 10 plates. Probably excessive, but this will allow me to experiment for different degrees of purity vs. flavor.
I think your causing yourself a lot of work for little gain there, You will probably never use more than 5 plates for flavored spirits.
If you want to make vodkas or Netural 4 plates topped by a packed section will do anything and probably more than 10 plates will.
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Dane – Thanks, I kind of figured it was too thin. :think: I’ve picked up some 0.065” (16 gauge / 72 Oz.) metal for the plates and some 0.125” (10 gauge / 96 Oz.) metal for the ends of the condensers (thick enough to counter bore the OD of the 0.5”Ø tubes so they can be easily located and the plate position controlled… should have a more finished appearance as well). I’m re-purposing the really thin stuff I already picked up just for the baffles to create the serpentine coolant flow in the condensers. I figure these can be just tack soldered on in a few locations to fix them in place, and so the risk of overheating is reduced, and a bit of warping won’t bother them in this application.

Swedish Pride and Saltbush Bill – So you’re suggesting to completely separate the two lines… why is that? I’ve seen plenty of designs as you suggest, but had also seen a few use the combined 3 way T valve to simplify control (at the sacrifice of independent control). I hadn’t seen any negative reports regarding the 3 way valves… do you know that solution has a flaw? There’s ton’s I haven’t read, so I may just not be up to speed with the latest lessons learned on this.

Regarding the packed section, I’ve seen a lot of talk about what you describe. You got me thinking and I agree that there's not much benefit of having 7, 8, or 9 plates, if a packed column will do the same more effectively. I think I just liked the symmetry of the 1/2/3/4 plate sections. OK, I guess that’s stupid. :? I’ll search for symmetry and beauty in other forms.

Considering your feedback, I’m planning to adjust to a set of 1/2/3 plate sections. I have a 10’ pipe, so after the 3 segments and some for the dephleg, I’m left with 26” of 4”Ø pipe for a packed column, and another 5’ section for a friend. I see that you recommended a 2” diameter, so I’m guessing my roughly 2’ of 4”Ø column may be excessive, but I picked up the 4” pipe at such a good deal that it would be cheaper for me to use that than pick up more 2”Ø and choke the 4” to 2” for the packed section, and then re-expand to 4” for the dephleg.

Cob – Considering the 1/2/3/4/ plat sections, I kept thinking of 4! (4 factorial). But that’s really 4x3x2x1 where I have 4+3+2+1. Truth be told I had to look it up… what was the mathematical formula for what I had. I learned it was called the Nth Triangle. Think of a triangle of stacked pipes: 1 at the top (n=1), 2 below that supporting it (n=2), 3 below that (n=3), and 4 below that (n=4). I thought this nicely summarized this flexible design… that is until Swedish Pride and Saltbush Bill’s feedback lead me to just a 1/2/3 arrangement. So now I guess I’ll have to re-badge my still the 3rd Triangle. Sorry for geeking out, but I like that kind of junk.

Thanks,
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Swedish Pride »

the benifit from seperate feed lines are better control, a gate vale has finer control than a ball valve.
I meant to say 2' (foot) of packed section, so the piece you have left is perfect for it, don't use a 2" packed section on a 4" column, it will severely hamper your stills performance.
Apologies for the confusion.

you lost me with the math stuff :)
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Danespirit »

+1 Swedish Pride
Swedish Pride and Saltbush Bill – So you’re suggesting to completely separate the two lines… why is that? I’ve seen plenty of designs as you suggest, but had also seen a few use the combined 3 way T valve to simplify control (at the sacrifice of independent control). I hadn’t seen any negative reports regarding the 3 way valves… do you know that solution has a flaw? There’s ton’s I haven’t read, so I may just not be up to speed with the latest lessons learned on this.
A 3-way valve, will also work fine.
However, my wallet seems to be made out of mole skin, as it goes deeper and deeper in my pocket when I look at the price tag. :wtf:
A cheap needle valve like the one on the picture can do the job (not even 3$ on E-bay and free shipping).
Mount it on the return line from the dephlegmator, to get rid of the air pockets.
I'd suggest a 1/4" one with a barbed hose connector attached
1/8" and 1/4" are available.
1/8" and 1/4" are available.
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Saltbush Bill »

Keep in mind that the needle valve for the dephlegmator has two job, one is to provide enough water flow to obtain full reflux when needed, the other is to provide fine adjustment of low water flow once your running and bleeding off foreshots and running heads or hearts.
To small a needle valve could struggle to provide enough water for full reflux if you don't have a lot of water pressure.
A larger needle valve will do both jobs with ease.
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

OK. I’ve updated my plans/drawings based on the packed column link. If it’s not obvious in my drawings, coolant I/Os are on the back side, and temp gauges are on the front. The column images are shown in their tallest and shortest configurations. And I’ve updated my perf plate pattern to a sunflower a la Fibonacci pattern… for no good reason other than artistic idiosyncrasies (which won’t be seen). Still working on my design patterns for the copper tubing, so I haven’t started to cut anything yet. I’ve kept the 3 way valve as I had already purchased it.

I’m also attaching the rough steps I plan for the dephleg build segment. I’m doing this largely because there is so much soldering and I want to minimize my opportunity to screw up my previous solder work as I do my next solder work. I’m thinking this will be most critical as I insert and join the tube/baffle assembly into the larger pipes of the dephleg and condenser (with all their reducer and ferrule couplings so close). I’m playing with different types of solder to help accomplish this, and would appreciate any feedback on flaws the community sees in my plans.

I have 3 solders at my disposal:

AlphaFry 95/5 Tin/Antimony with a melting point of 240 C (464 F),
Worthington Premium Silver with a melting point of 227 C (440 F), and
Worthington Sterling Silver with a melting point of 210 C (410 F).

This is my process for the dephleg (product condenser is essentially the same).

Dephleg
1 Cut 4" pipe to length
2 Cut 2" pipes to length
3 Solder 4" brass ferrule onto pipe w/ 95/5
4 Pack 2" pipe w/ Cu sheet out to 2" SS ferrule & solder w/ 95/5
5 Tin inside of brass ferrule w/ Premium
6 Grind coolant I/O fittings to 4.125" arc using pipe OD on lathe
7 Polish pipe ODs & 4x2 reducer on lathe
8 Polish 90 by hand
9 Polish 2" cross pipe on lathe
10 Drill 1/2" coolant I/Os
11 Drill 7/8" thermowell ports, first into reducer, then 4"
12 Sand blast patterns
13 Solder coolant I/O fittings w/ 95/5
14 Cut 1/2" tubes to length
15 Trim chord on 3 baffel plates
16 Countersink drill 0.625" boars half way through end plates
17 Drill 0.5" holes fully through top/bottom plates
18 Loose fit end plates w/ 3 baffels between
19 Solder tubes to end plates w/ 95/5
20 Space baffels and tack w/ Premium
21 Solder dephleg inner into 4" pipe w/ Premium
22 Solder 90 to (2) 2" segments w/ 95/5
23 Solder 2" assembly & thermowells into 4" assembly w/ Sterling
Attachments
Perf Plates: Closest Cubic & Fibonacci for 8% Wet Area Open
Perf Plates: Closest Cubic & Fibonacci for 8% Wet Area Open
"3rd Triangle" Column w/ Packed Column & Integrated Collection Shelf
"3rd Triangle" Column w/ Packed Column & Integrated Collection Shelf
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Oops. The left plate is a closest hex packed, not a closest cubic packed...
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Danespirit »

AlphaFry 95/5 Tin/Antimony with a melting point of 240 C (464 F),
Worthington Premium Silver with a melting point of 227 C (440 F), and
Worthington Sterling Silver with a melting point of 210 C (410 F).
I'd say, fry the Alpha Fry :lol: ...and stick to one of the other two you mentioned.
The Alpha Fry also contains Antimonium, the other two don't. (see pdf for the Sterling silver product).
STERLING-Lead-Free-Solder-COC.pdf
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DSM Loki »

Glad to see I'm not the only one with an appreciation for complex patterns and designing my hobby still in CAD.

I'm in the kzoo area, let me know if you're ever out this way and we can grab a drink
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by corene1 »

Just a quick thought. The math and design is way above my ability to process. The 3 solders you mentioned. I am assuming your plan would be to use a progressively lower melting temp to try and insure not ruining the previous connection. In my experience it would be nearly impossible to detect a 24 degree change in heat input using conventional torch setups. As was mentioned in an earlier post make a check on the compounds of the solder you are planning on using. I have had good luck with Harris products but even they are very similar in flow temperatures. They seem to vary from the mid 460 degree range to the mid 700 range . You also need to know the setting temperature where the solder becomes solid. This can vary with the compounds of the solder also. You may find one that flows at 600 degree but not set until it is in the low 300 degree range while another compound may flow at 525 degrees and set at 460 degrees . You may consider doing your first assemblies with silver braze which flows at 1125 degrees and do your sub assemblies with a standard lead free solder. Any copper to stainless connection you plan on should be a silver bearing solder at minimum to insure a good joint. Just some thoughts to think about.
Quick edit, here is a link to Harris solders to look at. http://www.harrisproductsgroup.com/en/P ... ering.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by Opdog »

+1 to everything Corene1 said. I used these on the water side of my shotgun condensers. https://www.acwholesalers.com/Sil-Fos/9 ... AtWQ8P8HAQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

They require at least Map gas to get the cooper hot enough, but they work very well and are reasonably inexpensive. You might be able to find them cheaper on EBay.
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Loki - Nice name. I would be happy to connect sometime. I'm big on the patterns and artwork. I'm at a slow phase right now as I'm fine tuning the beginning of some sand blasting some patterns into portions of the copper pipe. I generally burn a lot of time in the planning phase of a project. For these designs I'm not using CAD, the scale drawings are done in Adobi Illustrator, which also suits my projects for sand blasting (and a bit of laser etching on the sight glasses) as both require some raster files to get going. It's my first time playing with Illustrator. With some luck, I'll begin cutting the 4" pipe to length this weekend and solder the ferrules and prep the surface by turning them on the lathe. I like the controlled, finished look that Dan got on his flutes via his hill billy lathe (I think that's what he called it), but I have an easy out with a regular wood working lathe.

Corene and Opdog - Yes, I was thinking to use the different melting temperatures of the solders as you describe Corene. I know the temps are close, and I work with MAPP gas, so it'll be easy to overshoot temps. But I'm thinking this plan gives me a better shot than no plan, and I'll work (heat) as carefully as possible. I don't actually intend to measure any temps, just keep gently adding heat until the lower melting solders begin to flow and hope it works out. I was thinking your braze temperature would be too high, but I just looked up MAPP and it burns at 2,020 C, so I guess it's plenty capable of handling those braze temperatures... and that copper melts at 1,085 C... so I gather your 1125 degrees is F (607 C).

Regarding your recommendation for silver bearing solder for the primary structural elements... I see the Worthington Premium Silver has <1% silver, but their "Silver Bearing" solder has the same amount. Are they the same in your book (other than that the wide pasty temp rang that you cautioned)? Forgive my ignorance, but why is the silver important for the SS joints? I actually only have 1 location with Cu to SS joints, but it's at the "180" on the top of my column and so will have a bit of a bending moment once fully assembled trying to mis-align the copper pipe with respect to the stainless ferrules. Looking up the silver braze options there seem to be many options (pretty expensive), and I'm not so sure which I would need and what the benefit is.
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

OK, I broke ground, or cut copper, or worked the flux out of the solder and didn’t break the swat, or whatever… which is a milestone for me as I’m an over planner and procrastinate on the physical start.
The first few pics are of the parts I’ve collected… I think all that I’ll need to complete the project. The pipe and solder (½”, ¾”, 1”, 1½”, 2”, 4” ID), the fittings and such to connect to the pipe, and the heating components.
Attachments
Pipes
Pipes
Fittings, Valves, Plates, Sights, Ferrules, &amp; Such
Fittings, Valves, Plates, Sights, Ferrules, & Such
Heating Components
Heating Components
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

The next few pics are of my boiler which I just had a friend of mine weld on a number fittings as I don’t trust my welding skills. One of two 5.5 kW heaters (yes redundant, but I heard too many stories of cheap heaters breaking and didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of a run with a boiler full of hot wash and column on top), One of the drain fitting and valve at the bottom (shown upside down… wooden stand to be fabricated), and one of the top with the column attachment stem, a thermowell (I know, it’s no value, but I’m a scientist and I like to understand the system), and a 4 inch fill port.
Attachments
Heating Element Connections
Heating Element Connections
Drain Valve
Drain Valve
Boiler Top I/Os
Boiler Top I/Os
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Next pics and I’m into the project. Marking, cutting and squaring the pipe.
Attachments
Marking the Cut by Tracing a Paper Edge
Marking the Cut by Tracing a Paper Edge
Fixturing on the Table Saw
Fixturing on the Table Saw
Cut it Off
Cut it Off
Squaring with a Disk Sander
Squaring with a Disk Sander
Square Pipe = Happy Pappy
Square Pipe = Happy Pappy
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Cut 4” pipe, soldered ferrules, and cleaning up the pipe on the lathe.
Attachments
Copper Cut to Length (3 for plates, 1 for rashings, 1 for dephleg)
Copper Cut to Length (3 for plates, 1 for rashings, 1 for dephleg)
Ferrules Soldered and Wet Side Tinned
Ferrules Soldered and Wet Side Tinned
Lathe Fixture 1st View
Lathe Fixture 1st View
Lathe Fixture 2nd View
Lathe Fixture 2nd View
Sanding on the Lathe
Sanding on the Lathe
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Cleaned vs. uncleaned pipe, preparing to grind out the 4” curvature of the sigh glass bases, unground sight glass, ground sight glass, and completed job. You can see I ran the last (top) three sights faster and they got hotter (the pretty iridescent copper hue). Some of the sight glasses have a very nice fit against the 4” pipe. A few had 1/16 – 3/32 gaps at one or two spot (too much wigging my hands while grinding on the lathe). I’m hoping to make it work, but if the veterans among you give me a vote of no confidence I can take the poor fitting ones back to the lathe.
Attachments
Polished vs. Unpolished
Polished vs. Unpolished
Grinding Jig Set-up
Grinding Jig Set-up
Pre Grind
Pre Grind
Post Grind
Post Grind
Ground Sight Glasses
Ground Sight Glasses
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

This last image is where I got stuck. I bought a cheap bastard 2 1/8” “diamond” abrasive hole saw. Trialed it on a piece of wood first and it cut a 2 ¼” hole, just large enough for my sight glasses to get no purchase on. So I’m ordering a better carbide tipped 53 mm cutter instead. I tried to tin the sight glasses ground edges, but that’s was working pretty poorly, so I’m hoping to solder them to the face of the 4” pipe in a more traditional manner.

You'll notice I haven't added to opposite side ferrules. I noticed that since I've used thin walled 4" pipe (DWV), the ID of the pipe is larger than the ID of the brass ferrules. I want to fix my plates inside the column, so I'll need to make and install them before I can put on the opposite end ferrules.

OK, that's all for now... need to find more time to get out to the shop.

Take care,
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Attachments
Visualizing Next Steps
Visualizing Next Steps
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by WIski »

WOW......this is a beauty all ready. Thanks for sharing and good luck with the rest of the project. :thumbup:
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DSM Loki »

Really makes me want to get my lathe up and running... Awesome work so far, I'm excited to see how it progresses

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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

WIski… another good name. I hail from the Mad City before my present location, and miss it. :D

The work is progressing… slowly.

Carbide tipped cutter arrived and makes a nice cut. I spaced and center punched the hole positions to be cut. I rigged up a fixture or two to constrain the pipes while cutting the holes. This first picture is the one that ended up working the best for repeatable results. I’m not a big fan of spending time machining nice fixtures, so most of mine tend to look impromptu like this one. The next picture shows the cutting in progress. I cut the holes in several small plunges, adding a spot of oil into the cut track frequently. One complete hole is cut in the next image, and three holes in the fixture set-up. The fixture here actually has a 1 plate column section and a 2 plate column section (the middle orange strap is covering the union of the two sections). And the last image is of all the pipes with the holes complete. The holes are sized such that their ID is the same as the sight glass system ID, so the sight glasses will be flush soldered to the OD of the 4” column sections. I tried tinning the trim edge of one of the sight glass in preparation for soldering them onto the sections, but my skills were wanting and I’m planning to solder these a little more traditionally… at a later point. This won’t progress until I complete the design work on the outside of the column sections.
Attachments
1 &amp; 2 Sections in Fixture
1 & 2 Sections in Fixture
Cut In Progress
Cut In Progress
First Complete Cut
First Complete Cut
Completed 1 &amp; 2 Sections in Fixture
Completed 1 & 2 Sections in Fixture
Completed Sight Glass Holes
Completed Sight Glass Holes
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Switching to the perforated plates (and dephleg and condenser plates), I first tried rough cutting the plates out using a scroll saw as you can see in the first image. It worked well, but broke my (woodworking) blade reasonably quick and was very slow going. I picked up some metal cutting blades for the saw, but they seemed to break just as quick.  So I tried just placing the plates from which I plan to cut the perf plates on a bolt to spin them on the drill press and grind them down with a file… failure number two… the discs need to be pretty close to their final dimension (and pretty round… not square (and then octagonal) as I tried and as you can see in the second image. One trip to my local kick butt hardware store and I found the plate disc cutter that I could never seem to find on line (must have been searching on the wrong key words). That was the trick! You can see the hole cutter adjusted for just larger than 4” in the next image, with some double sided adhesive tape stuck to one side of the (now octagonally cut) plates. This whole process would have been much easier (and quicker) had I just used the disc cutter on the larger sheet stock copper that I started with rather than these cut octagons. These shapes left me with no surface to clamp the copper with as I cut the rounds. So… double sided tape (which was only marginally effective as the plates got very hot while cutting and the tape adhesive gave out), and a couple of steel rules to abut against the trim edges of the discs and prevent them from spinning as the cutter did it’s magic. You can see this in the next image, followed by a picture of the well cut rounds being turned down via a course file and the drill press trick. It’s important to use a course file so I can be cleaned. I gummed up a finer file with the soft copper in earlier experimentation and it’s very difficult to clean. I found an old wire brush for cleaning copper pipes before sweating them does a good job on the file cleaning.
Attachments
Copper Plates in Scroll Saw
Copper Plates in Scroll Saw
How NOT To Prep Plates for Filing Round
How NOT To Prep Plates for Filing Round
Plate Round Cuter &amp; Cu w/ Double Sided Tape
Plate Round Cuter & Cu w/ Double Sided Tape
Bracing the Copper in Place
Bracing the Copper in Place
Fine Tuning the Plate Roundness
Fine Tuning the Plate Roundness
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DetroitDIY
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

This next set of images continues on the perforated plates. The first one shows the plate as filed round on the drill press at 12 O’clock, the plate with solder filled and filed flat in the center hole at 3 O’clock, the perf plate template attached with double sided tape at 6 O’clock, and the downcomer hole drilled into the plat at 9 O’clock. The next image shows the hole cuter for the downcomer at work. I believe I used a 22 mm carbide cutter, which was just a tad too small for the OD of the ¾” downcomer, but this is easy to enlarge and creep up on a tight fit (pre-solder) with the copper de-burring tool. The third image shows the plate ready for drilling the small holes. The 1/16th bit is extended only about twice the thickness of the plate to avoid excess length that may bend and break more easily. While drilling out 2 plates (628 holes) I broke the tip only 2 times; the first hole I tried making (going too fast) and when I tried to drill two plates simultaneously (with extra length of the bit extended). In the next image I’ve just completed drilling the first plate. In the last image you can see how the drilling process has cupped the plate and there is pushed out rough metal on the back (bottom) side of the plate.
Attachments
Progressive Prep on the Perforated Plates
Progressive Prep on the Perforated Plates
Cutting the Downcomer Hole
Cutting the Downcomer Hole
Short Length on 1/16th Bit
Short Length on 1/16th Bit
All Holes Drilled
All Holes Drilled
Plate Cupped From Drilling
Plate Cupped From Drilling
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

Here you can see the plate hole pattern better. After this I took the rough file to the plate to knock off all the burrs, and then used a mallet and hammer to work the plate back to flat. The next two images are just a dry fit of the first cleaned up plate onto the downcomer tube and cup. In the second image, I’ve shown a copper coupler which I’ll cut down to length for adjustable downcomer heights above the perf plate.
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Pretty Fibonacci Perf Pattern
Pretty Fibonacci Perf Pattern
Pre-Solder Assembly of Perforated Plate
Pre-Solder Assembly of Perforated Plate
Pre-Solder Assembly w/ Downcomer Extenders
Pre-Solder Assembly w/ Downcomer Extenders
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

Post by DetroitDIY »

I’m also making progress on the final product condenser. The first image shows portions of the dephleg and final condensers after having cleaned and worn in a nice finish texture on the lather. The second image shows all the reducers and their connecting inserts before soldering. I considered rolling for forming my own cone at the end of the condenser, but liked how the series of reducers look (at least in my mind). The third image is after just having soldered all the parts together. They are upside down in this image relative to their orientation on the still. You can also see the compression union at the very end where I’ll be attaching the parrot. The next two images show how I compensated for all the messy, excessive soldering with a bit of rough cleaning of the solder beads with a chisel, and then turning the remaining solder away on the lathe with sand paper. I love that technique, quick and clean. :D
Attachments
Components for Product Condenser
Components for Product Condenser
Product Condenser Out-take Reducer Line Up
Product Condenser Out-take Reducer Line Up
Ugly Solder Work
Ugly Solder Work
Cleaning to be Done
Cleaning to be Done
Cleaned Product Condenser
Cleaned Product Condenser
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Re: 4th Triangle Flute Design & Build

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Here I’m adding in some holes after the final condenser (the bottom plate of the final condenser will end just above these holes, but the condenser pipes will extend through the plate and a little below these holes so no errant drips escape. :D The first image is just me spacing the centers of the holes and center punching them so I can cleanly drill them onto the outside of the pipe. This condenser is 2”, which means 2.125” OD, which means 6.676” circumference, which worked out well for 10 holes, each spaced 2/3” on center. This is of course excessive for the make-up air required, but I thought it would look nice. The next picture is my rigged up solution for fixturing the pipe as I drill the 10 holes. This is just repurposing the fixture I slapped together for cutting the sight glass holes in the column sections. In this third slide, you can see the holes I’m cutting, starting small and creeping up on a larger diameter (again, just for aesthetic reasons). And the last image shows the condenser back on the work bench with the larger holes complete. I was going to cut all the holes large enough to insert my triangular file and make them into some interesting teardrop shapes, but the last bit large enough to do this was quite rough and made for an ugly cut. So I did this on just one of the 10 holes, and will locate this on the back side of my still. You can see it on the top surface of the condenser in this image (with the triangle “V” pointing down). I also taped sand paper onto the 2” and 4” pipes and ground the matching concave groove into 4 copper bushings which I’ll surface mount to the dephleg and condenser pipes, and then I’ll solder the coolant I/O pipes into these (maybe not in that order). I figure this will give a bit more bearing surface area and a stronger connection… less prone to damage in any incidental rough handling of the still. You can also see the stainless steel ferrules soldered into the still cross tubes between the dephleg and the product condenser. Much of these pipes are just dry fit, as none of the cooling system is built/installed yet.
Attachments
Marked &amp; Center Punched for Anti-Vacuum Holes
Marked & Center Punched for Anti-Vacuum Holes
Wonky Drilling Fixture
Wonky Drilling Fixture
Vacuum Relief Holes on Product Condenser
Vacuum Relief Holes on Product Condenser
Dry Fit of the Dephleg and Product Condenser Assembly
Dry Fit of the Dephleg and Product Condenser Assembly
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