Full-Service Custom Boiler Shop
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Jeff Lund is the man to contact if you need a boiler for a steam-powered engine. The certified boilermaker has worked on boilers several stories tall, a 44-ft. steam-powered Navy cutter, and boilers for steam-powered gristmills. It all started with a small steam engine he wanted to restore.
“I had repairs done, and I wasn’t happy with them,” says Lund, a music teacher at the time. “I thought I could do better myself.”
Once he built his own boiler, he started getting requests from others. As orders piled up, he gave his resignation to his school principal.
“You’ll be back, he said,” recalls Lund. That was 20 years ago. Not only has he not returned to teaching, but he operates Lund Machine Works. It’s a complete service for design, construction, repair and alteration of boilers, but also remounting of traction engines and refractory repair. The shop also has lathe and vertical and horizontal milling capabilities.
“I’ll do restoration and machine work,” says Lund. “But technically, I’m a boiler shop. We do new commercial equipment installations, as well as new steam boiler generator sets.”
Not only does Lund build and repair boilers to national standards, but he has also designed his own machining tools, including one for forming boiler parts. This tool allows him to create replacements that match the original and meet today’s code.
“I start with a tape measure and the old boiler,” says Lund. “However, to make it compliant with the current code, some of the bend radii are required to be different. There’s a lot of math, a lot of thinking and a lot of planning. The forming machine lets me take a flat sheet and form the radius needed before welding the sheets together.”
One thing that sets Lund apart in the steam engine repair world is his American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) certification. ASME writes the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC), which regulates the design and construction of boilers and pressure vessels. The code is revised every two years, making staying on top of changes vital.
“I started out wanting to repair boilers, but with the first big project, I realized it was beyond repair,” says Lund. “I got certified so I could build new boilers.”
Lund notes that when restoring most old steam engines, a person is better off just starting over with a new boiler. This is especially true if the old one is starting to leak.
“You can fix a leak, but then you’ll get another and another,” he says.
Boiler replacement can also be necessary if it fails state testing. Lund notes that in his home state of Minnesota, ultrasonic testing of boiler thickness is mandatory, and the boiler is rated accordingly.
Lund is no longer doing multi-story boilers, which must be done on-site. Everything he does today can be done in the shop. “We’re doing one for a gristmill in eastern Ohio,” says Lund. “We cut the center out, and now we have to figure out how to put it back together.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lund Machine Works, 20755 State Hwy 15 S., New Ulm, Minn. 56073 (ph 507-276-6553; lundmachineworks@yahoo.com; www.lundmachine.com).
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Full-Service Custom Boiler Shop SPECIALTY/SERVICES Jeff Lund is the man to contact if you need a boiler for a steam-powered engine The certified boilermaker has worked on boilers several stories tall a 44-ft steam-powered Navy cutter and boilers for steam-powered gristmills It all started with a small steam engine he wanted to restore “I had repairs done and I wasn’t happy with them ” says Lund a music teacher at the time “I thought I could do better myself ” Once he built his own boiler he started getting requests from others As orders piled up he gave his resignation to his school principal “You’ll be back he said ” recalls Lund That was 20 years ago Not only has he not returned to teaching but he operates Lund Machine Works It’s a complete service for design construction repair and alteration of boilers but also remounting of traction engines and refractory repair The shop also has lathe and vertical and horizontal milling capabilities “I’ll do restoration and machine work ” says Lund “But technically I’m a boiler shop We do new commercial equipment installations as well as new steam boiler generator sets ” Not only does Lund build and repair boilers to national standards but he has also designed his own machining tools including one for forming boiler parts This tool allows him to create replacements that match the original and meet today’s code “I start with a tape measure and the old boiler ” says Lund “However to make it compliant with the current code some of the bend radii are required to be different There’s a lot of math a lot of thinking and a lot of planning The forming machine lets me take a flat sheet and form the radius needed before welding the sheets together ” One thing that sets Lund apart in the steam engine repair world is his American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME certification ASME writes the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code BPVC which regulates the design and construction of boilers and pressure vessels The code is revised every two years making staying on top of changes vital “I started out wanting to repair boilers but with the first big project I realized it was beyond repair ” says Lund “I got certified so I could build new boilers ” Lund notes that when restoring most old steam engines a person is better off just starting over with a new boiler This is especially true if the old one is starting to leak “You can fix a leak but then you’ll get another and another ” he says Boiler replacement can also be necessary if it fails state testing Lund notes that in his home state of Minnesota ultrasonic testing of boiler thickness is mandatory and the boiler is rated accordingly Lund is no longer doing multi-story boilers which must be done on-site Everything he does today can be done in the shop “We’re doing one for a gristmill in eastern Ohio ” says Lund “We cut the center out and now we have to figure out how to put it back together ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lund Machine Works 20755 State Hwy 15 S New Ulm Minn 56073 ph 507-276-6553; lundmachineworks@yahoo com; www lundmachine com
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