Wood burning cook stove restoration

[patriotchick]

Me being me and trying to think of every emergency preparedness situation passed over a small amount of money yesterday for a wood cook stove circa 1890's. Its beautiful!!!!! Under all the grime anyway. But it does need a few repairs. It is cast iron, and not warped, all the doors, air intakes and dampers etc work, the fire box and the grates are all in good working order but the oven chamber itself has a crack. Any ideas on how to fix the crack?? I have been told I could sheet metal it over and then told I could weld it, but then told a weld might not hold. (you know brother in laws...who added the needed muscle to get it in here.. all had a different opinion) Any ideas?? anyone had any experience with this? It does have some surface rust, but preliminary scuffing it with a wire brush it appears this will come off, then I read that stove black and a good hot fire will help seal it sort of like a cast iron frying pan being seasoned. Any suggestions would be helpful....I cant wait to use it...I am picturing biscuits in the oven, eggs and bacon cooking on top and a good pot of camp coffee...mmmmmmmmm!!!

[Shamrock1121]

My parents had a (purchased used) wood burning cook stove when they moved from Saskatchewan to Kansas in 1951. In an up-grade to modern ways, they gave it to my dad's uncle. When he passed away, my parents got it back and used it for many years. My sister got the stove and took it back to Indiana (no small feat). She also had a "wood stove dolly" for the task of getting it to and fro. She had the stove repaired and replated by a professional. It's such a beautiful stove - almost a work of art.

Successful baking in them can be difficult.... Have a few good recipes that are forgiving when it comes to temperature. We had a certain amount of wood, and certain kinds of wood, set aside especially for baking.

-Karen

[sharp_shepherd]

I'd start calling up real welders to ask their opinion over the phone. The "experts" is where i'd start. Let us know how it comes out.

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

I cant wait to use it...I am picturing biscuits in the oven, eggs and bacon cooking on top and a good pot of camp coffee...mmmmmmmmm!!!

Hey! Don't forget the cornbread! ;)
My college degree was in Industrial Tech but I had to take enough Metallurgy that I kinda know what I'm talking about. I also welded professionally for several years. Unless there is something new out there that I'm not aware of, cast iron can't be repaired.
Where in the oven chamber is the crack (top? Bottom near the firebox?) and how large? Can you only feel it with a fingernail? Is it a readily visible crack at diff heights as if heat has warped one side higher than the other? Can you see light through it?

[patriotchick]

The crack is on the top of the oven box. If I lift all the cast iron off the top I can easily get to it to work with it, it is not warped, just like split almost. Some one told me to get a tube of furnace cement and fill it with that, someone else told me to go to a machine shop and have them fit me a smaller steal insert to put in the oven. I am open to suggestions, the rest of the stove is in very good shape, no warps or anything. The crack is big enough to put the tip of a pen or pencil in, but not wide enough for it to go through. I am not opting for the welding option as I have been told by a welder it would not hold, even if it the iron was heated up red hot, it still would probably re-crack.

[musicman]

The crack could/will? make a draft that would slow your fire down a little bit, or could/will? drop ashes onto what your cooking.

The metal the cracked part is made out of is "probably" tin and wont weld right.

I'm thinking your fire goes over the top of the oven, down the other side, and thru the bottom and to the stove pipe.

Myself, Id either just put a piece of metal over it to keep ashes from falling on my food, or rivet a piece of steel on the top of the oven part with all steel rivets. Ashes will fill the seams with time.

Furnace cement works good too but might break off with time.

[patriotchick]

thanks musicman I appreciate your input. I used the cement, we will see what happens when we fire it up. I was told by several old timers around here that it would work, but may need to be reapplied periodically, they said if that was going to be a hassle, to rivet steel to it, so that is probably what I will end up doing if the cement doesnt hold all winter. Wish me luck, I want that up and running...just got to wait for it to be stove piped and then I am good to go.

[Red_Diamond_Ranch]

Yes it can be welded. You just need to find an old timer someone who is experienced in welding cast iron. It must be pre-heated for it to work properly. Then it will last. It won't be cheap because it is time consuming to do it right.

5 Generations of Blacksmiths, Welders, Boiler Makers, Machine Builders and Machinists in our family.

[MadTripper]

Probably too late but I thought this information might give you some insight.

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/25439/


Tripper

[patriotchick]

thanks tripper.....not to late, hubby has had alot of work so the stove as of yet hasnt seen a fire or a stove pipe yet either....so I am still researching to see if the cement is going to do the trick, and if it doesnt what the next step will be to repairing it. I did get it all shined up with stove black and its real nice looking....of course if it smokes like a mother and doesnt heat properly all the elbow grease and shine will only be like lip stick on a pig. :-/

[WileyCoyote]

I don't understand the stove black; ??? I used vegetable oil on our rusty old woodstove after I steel-wooled it . The first fire it seasoned the cast iron just like a cast iron pot! Smelled a little like the pots do but after a few hot fires the smell went away, and now it just shines! Keeps it from rusting, too...

DH welds and he says that yes, you can weld cast iron, but you have to use a type of welding rod made for it. He says you can braise the metal with an oxyacetalyne torch, get both sides cherry red, then use the rod to braise the two sides together, but it may leave a brass weld line as well. He says they used to use an old coat hanger as a rod for a quick fix, but that probably isn't what you want.

[patriotchick]

The stove black worked good, but I am glad I put on rubber gloves before I used it....it is BLACK and not all that easy to get off your skin if it dries. I had a line of it on my forearm for about four days. The container said that it will smell the first time the stove is heated up, so I will have to open windows probably while it cures. I really appreciate all the feedback, I have written all the welding info down to have at hand if my cement doesnt work, and once I get it all hooked up I will try to post a picture of it.

[flatwater]

I have repaired a couple of wood stoves and have not seen a oven box made out of cast iron. Most are made out of light steel. How I repaire them is with a light steel patch with steel pop rivets.It will last forever. Because of the expansion rate when heating and cooling I would not recommend any type of cement/caulking.
Flatwater

[patriotchick]

thanks flatwater, you and musicman are probably correct on it not being cast iron. I still have time to correct the issue of the cement before it gets ready for its first fire. Again, thanks for all the input, I am glad I asked the guestion here.

[alaskaboy]

I would say to ask your local welder. In my county theres a welding factory (weird...) and they give away their scrap metal and stuff for free. They sometime offer classes also...not sure if you got that, but you might wanna check your fone book.

[CarolAnn]

When you do get your stove hooked up, take actual cooking on it slow. In other words, it takes a while to get used to your stove and judge how to make a steady fire, where the cold spots are in the oven, etc.

Although I learned to cook on my grandpa's wood stove a little (very little, but I remember a couple of things) - you won't have to use hour hands to judge the temperature - they sell thermometers for that now! that's the biggest thing that will help you actually learn to cook on it without ruining the food. Bread is tricky because you will probably have to stop part way into the bake and turn the pans, or even shuffle the pans so they bake evenly. Soup or stew on top is the easiest to do and hardest to mess up - and it smells SO great!

You'll also learn to be very picky about the type and size of wood that you stock for it - a divided wood box is really a big help for a wood cook stove.

Granddad used corncobs for his morning coffee heat - just enough to boil water in the summer without heating the kitchen!

You'll find it's also an excellent fruit dehydrator with a very low fire and the door left part way open - apple schnitz! Yummy!

[patriotchick]

Well the stove has seen its first fire and then some, the cement is holding well so for now, that will be the fix. I have cooked on top, and did need to move pans around and man you work up a sweat standing over it cooking anything- but it is fun and makes me feel like a pioneer!!!!!
An old timer told me that the oven is ready for biscuits when it burns the hair off your arm :o....I chose to go with a thermometer however and found out that after about five minutes in the hot oven cracking the door a little helped to keep them from burning. Its great to put on a pot of chili or a pot of soup on the far side away from the fire box and just let it simmer all afternoon.
We lost power on cold rainy windy day for about six hours, this in the past resulted in it getting cold in here because my other wood heat source is in the basement and when it gets to temp it blows hot air into the up stairs through vents, no power=no blowing heat, but in no time the little cook stove had it toasty warm in here. I am still experimenting but so far so good!

[annie]

Hi there,
I see this is an older posting but the info in the link attached could be helpful to someone still interested in wood burning cook stoves:

http://fireplacescoop.com/think-you-know-about-wood-burning-stoves/

Thanks!

[NCLee]

Welcome Annie!

Thanks for bumping the thread and adding a link for new/more information. There's a wealth of timeless info in those old threads. FWIW, I enjoy reading and re-reading them. And for new folks, bumping those threads bring a wealth of info back into immediate view.

The link looks like it will be an interesting one to follow. Site appears to be fairly new and with that may come new ideas along with presenting time honored info.

Lee

[Proud_Poppa]

I had a discussion with a professional fabricator/welder on the topic of welding cast iron several months ago....via amateur radio. This fellow...who I chat with every morning on my way to work...has been a welder his whole life and currently is nuclear certified...says that you CAN weld cast iron....but you have to pre-heat it first....just as Red-Diamond-Ranch said.

So....if the cement thing doesn't hold...consult a WELDER.....not someone who "welds"....there is quite a difference!

[patience]

Yeah, cast iron can be welded, at least a lot of it can be. The stuff from 100 years ago, not so much. The iron had a lot of silica in it, which made it flow nicely for casting, but the end product is quite brittle. That makes it a big problem to weld successfully, given the differential heat shrinkage between the weld zone and the surrounding metal, no matter how carefully you preheat it. This is the problem welding any cast iron, but is largely overcome by using a suitable filler material that has the same rate of shrinkage and is also very malleable. The newer iron also is much more malleable itself, which makes this possible. That old brittle iron simply has no malleability to allow for that shinkage, and commonly cracks right next to the weld, even with 95% Nickel filler.

Sometimes brazing is an option, if the part can be taken out of the stove and properly cleaned in the repair area on BOTH sides, ground on the edges, and preheated properly. But it is a big pain to do all that and that costs money.

That casting cracked for a reason, usually a combination of residual stresses from the casting process, later damage, poor design that doesn't allow for heat expansion, and who knows how many other factors. But, the point is, the casting is comfortable now, after cracking, so we shouldn't try to force it out of that comfort position. That alone makes the stove cement and/or sheet metal patch ideas offered above to be the most sensible choice IMHO.

Been there, and done a bunch of this in my commercial repair shop for many years. Each item is a judgement call, based upon the above factors and the relative costs involved compared to the worth of the item. If I HAD to fix it, by a welding process, my choice would be TIG and Silicon Bronze filler with a rather high preheat. Bond a layer to each side of the crack, let that stabilize with more preheating, then fuse the two sides of the crack with as low a heat as possible, post-heat with a bushy propane flame (a weed burner torch is good--and a helper to keep this going while you tend to the brazing), bury the whole works in kittylitter or lime and come back tomorrow to uncover it and see it if cracks or not. An oxy-acetylene torch (in the hands of an artist with those) and a softer bronze filler is also a good choice--IF it will stick.

Some old iron can be torch welded using cast iron filler rod (made of cast iron). This requires a flux (Antiborax is one brand name, but must be the right one for cast iron welding, not brazing.) That flux is great stuff, but it causes really bright yellow sodium flare, that makes it hard to see the weld puddle. Special blue lenses for the goggles are available that makes this work much better. The process is more suited to thicker material, however, because you are operating at the melting temp of the iron, and on thin stuff will probably blow through an even bigger hole than you started with. A carbon backing plate can help this, but I don't think that old brittle iron will stand the heat sink effect of that, so this would not be my choice of process.

You may not be able to get ANYTHING to stick to that old casting, because it has lived in a heated environment all its' life, and is probably oxidized nearly all the way through. If so, welding is not an option. Iron oxide (rust) does not weld, period. I've seen a lot of that on old exhaust manifolds.

Bottom line--it ain't worth the effort in my book. Drill it, rivet on a patch as posted by others, or tap it for small soft machine screws. Don't tighten the screws too tight, or you'll break out a bigger piece of the iron! Seal with furnace cement. Make sure you cook that furnace cement in well before using the stove in the house, since some cements have a lot of flourine compounds in them and give off some stinky stuff while being cured.

[oldtimer]

Would love to hear how you're getting along with your range after all this time???:)

[Dame]

thank you patience.

we have a couple of stoves that could use some tlc and a couple that need work before being put back into service. maintenance is outstanding because i have been uncertain who to believe about exactly how to approach the repairs.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Yeah, cast iron can be welded, at least a lot of it can be. The stuff from 100 years ago, not so much. The iron had a lot of silica in it, which made it flow nicely for casting, but the end product is quite brittle.

I had a cast iron skillet break in two last week. We were astounded. But this explains why. It's brittle from being so old? We had never seen one just break like that before.

[S2man]

I used to work at a machine shop which built/repaired coal mining equipment. I got my hands on a nice dutch oven, but it didn't have a lip on the lid to hold the coals. I asked our welder if he could weld a lip on it for me. He gave me a long lecture on the difficulties / impossibilities of welding cast iron to a dissimilar metal. Then he did it. :D It's still holding, 15 years later.

He is the same guy who brazed my broken step ladder. With a coat hanger! Its still holding, too. As I recall, I got a long lecture on brazing before that job, too. He sure liked to hear his voice. He ended up quitting working on nasty, dusty, greasy coal equipment and got a job welding stainless steel pipe at a distillery.

Ooo, you should see the huge dutch oven my my son got for me from the laboratory of a former brewery. I guess that's fodder for another thread. I'll stop now.

[BWHLover]

I had a cast iron skillet break in two last week. We were astounded. But this explains why. It's brittle from being so old? We had never seen one just break like that before.

momma,

My husband dropped my round cast iron griddle on the kitchen floor (ceramic tiles) the handle snapped off.

I have had that griddle longer than my husband, so in exchange I got a new cast iron skillet & dutch oven.:girl_wacko: