Today I am going to make some stoppers for the ends of the steam tube. I can use the scrap plywood that I cut out of the holes I made for the bending form. Here is one of the pieces.
The Hole
I cut out some 4" pieces to go inside of the tube, and some larger pieces to keep the plug from disappearing inside of it. I started cutting by drilling a pilot hole.
Pilot Hole
Put the blade into the pilot hole and cut around the circle.
Sawing
After I sawed out the round pieces, I cleaned them up using my shoe rasp. My skills with the saw aren't all that great, so the pieces aren't exactly round.
Clean Up With the Rasp
Do that four times and we have the parts for the plugs.
Parts
I screwed the pieces together with a #8 screw, and there it is.... two plugs.. one in each end.
The Two Plugs In the Pipe Ends
Here is one of the plugs. I think that it will seal the pipe too well. I want the steam to move through the pipe past the board in order to heat the board evenly.
Plug
I used my rattail file to cut some notches in the sides of the inside part of the plug to make some vents to let the steam out.
Filing a Notch for a Vent
After the steam gets through the notches it has to get past the larger plate, so I need to make some holes in the plate to let the steam get out. To do that, I got out my brace and bit.
Brace and Bit
The brace and bit is a really nice tool. The bit has a small screw on the end of it that digs into the wood and literally pulls the bit through the wood, cutting a 3/4" hole in it. It cuts wood like cheese, and takes very little effort to use.
Cutting the Cheese
Right where I made the notches on the smaller circle I drilled a shallow hole in the larger circle. That will let the steam out that comes through the notch. Here are the holes.
Holes in the Larger Piece
When I screw it back together, you can see that the holes line up with the notches. So the steam can come out of the pipe through the notches, and then it can escape via the holes in the larger plate.
Reassembled Stopper Plug
Here's a closeup.
Closeup
I stuffed the plugs back into the ends of the tube to see how they look.
The Vent Holes
So there they are, two plugs for the ends of the steam tube.
Finished Plugs
