More stove restoration and other updates

After spending last Sunday sanding and wire wheeling the rust off of old stove parts, I think I'm just about ready to start reassembly.  I should be happy about this, but I'm actually dreading it.  When I took it apart last spring, I put all the hardware into little labeled baggies and took photos of how things were put together.  Yet somehow, about a year later, none of it looks familiar.  I feel like I'm reading a map in a foreign language.  I'm sure it will come together fine, especially since I have a very detailed service manual and great directions from someone who has done this before, but I'm still feeling very intimidated.

My only two remaining tasks for the stove are to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the broiler box and Thermowell.  The Thermowell will be easy.  The broiler box has lots of moving parts.  Sigh.

If I can escape from work a little early tomorrow, I'm going to take the stovetop and handles to a plating shop to be rechromed.  I'm really excited about this part, since it will provide the most visual impact to the finished stove.  I'm a little nervouns about entrusting my precious stoveparts to a stranger, but it seems they're the only local plating shop that does a show-quality chrome finish.  I'll definitely need to see some examples of their work before I turn over my stovetop.

I also plan on shipping out my stove burner heads, drip pans, and burner grates to IPE in Missouri tomorrow.  Turnaround time is currently around 2 weeks, which gives me enough time to get the rest of the stove in order.  Hopefully.

And, last but not least, John the handyman is coming over tomorrow to frame our "new" wall.  We're closing off where the PPOs opened the hall closet into the office.  So, no more dysfunctional closet after tomorrow!  Yipee!  By the time I get home from work tomorrow afternoon, he should be finished.  How cool is that?  I still feel like I'm cheating when other people work on my house, but I'm evem more excited that the stuff is getting done.  Sometimes DIY is less important that just being finished with the stupid project already.  I'm sure that those of you who have had projects drag on (and on...  and on...) can relate.

Pictures to come!

Chambers Stove Restoration (finally continued)

It seems I just took a break from everything over the winter...  But now that spring is funally coming, I want to get everything done, lol.  I don't think that's quite gonna happen, but I've resumed working on some projects I've left half-finished for way too long.  My Chambers stove restoration is one of these projects.

Last spring and summer I just about completely disassembled my stove.  It went from this:

To this:
Within a matter of weeks after I bought it.  Scary, isn't it?

Then I attacked it with a wire wheel and sandpaper, bring it to this:
I know, it really didn't look that much better...  But then I primed it, which really helped it along.
It's actually a little further along than what the picture shows.  The bottom edge is all cleaned off and primed, and the rust around the oven is gone too.  I can't paint there since it's cast iron, but I will coat it with stove black so that it will match and be protected from rust.

Here's the progression from the back, which was worse-looking than the front:

 

So that's pretty much where I stand.  I got hung up when I stripped screws on the underside of the cast iron chromed cooktop.  All the PB Blaster in the world wouldn't loosen them, and the drillout kit we bought from Sears wouldn't penetrate the heat-hardened screws.  We were at a loss.  One of  Shayne's friends who owns a machine shop had to heat the screws with a torch, then work some magic to get them out.  I have no idea what he did, but I'm eternally grateful.

This week, I'm sending out the burner heads, drip pans, and burner grates for new porcelain (shiny! pretty!).  I'm also going to start calling around to plating shops so that I can have the cooktop rechromed.  And in the meantime, starting today, I'm going to finish cleaning and priming the few bits and pieces I didn't get to last summer.

Unfortunately, the way that the stove is assembled, most of the "guts" are attached to the cooktop.  I won't be able to do much with them until the top is rechromed.  But I plan on being ready once it's shiny and new and ready for action.

The Vintage Stove Chronicles: Before and After-ish

I've been working diligently on my stove for about 2 weeks now. So far I've disassembled most of the stove and thoroughly cleaned the inner body. I've also nearly finished with rust removal. Here are a few before and almost after shots. I still have a lot of work to do, but this is a sneak peek!















You may notice that the area areound the oven dorr is still rusty, as is the very bottom of the frame. I do plan on cleaning those parts as well, but the cleaned parts of the frame needed to be painted ASAP. Since the stove is out in the garage, and it's been somewhat damp the past few days, the frame was rusting again within an hour of being cleaned. I didn't want to spray it with a protectant, since then I would just have to wash it with soap and water before painting, and that would possibly invite more rust. If I ding up the paint a little during the rest of the cleaning, it's no big deal, since I can always touch it up. This way I'll save it from rusting over again.

I have quite a few pieces ready to be sent out to the reporcelain company, and as soon as I remove 5 broken screws from the chrome top, it'll be ready to be rechromed. I still need to clean the oven and broiler, but that's no big deal. This is nowhere near as difficult as I thought it would be. I'll be nervous when it comes time to turn on the gas, but that's when I'm going to have a pro come out and check everything for me.

I must be nuts (Part II)

In case you missed it, you can read the first part here.

I have just agreed to buy this:

It's a 1941 Chambers Model B stove. I went to see it this weekend and fell in love. It's fully functional and can be used as-is. I'm going to do some cleaning, repaint the interior metal frame, have the top rechromed, and reporcelain the burners. Total cost, including the stove, should be less than $900.

So, there's more cleaning and painting in my future. And disassembling an appliance I know virtually nothing about.

I must be nuts.

More vintage stove dreaming

Ok. So I'm obsessed. Since yesterday I've been looking over websites and photos of stove restorations, fueled in part by the positive and encouraging comments I got on yesterady's post. And I decided that I was still really intimidated. But aside from that, I still really loved the idea of a vintage stove in my vintage kitchen. It would just add so much character that my plain-jane cabinets just might not provide.

I decided that a working stove, in good cosmetic shape, is what I needed to find. I talked the idea over with Shayne, and he was agreeable. To him, a stove is a stove. If it makes fire to heat up food, he's happy. Guys have life so easy.

After much browsing of craigslist and ebay, I found a stove. A cleaned up, unrestored, fully-working-with-some-parts-replaced stove. A 1941 B with high backsplash, timer, and lights. And it's affordable. Ain't she pretty?

I'm in contact with the seller, and I'll know soon what still needs to be done to bring this stove back to its original glory. I'm sure reporcelain of the burners and rechroming the top are in its future. It also needs an oven safety valve. But all of those are things that can be hired out for a reasonable cost. And I can do it bit-by-bit as we have the time and money (aside from the safety valve. That happens before we install the stove in the house.)

It kind of feels like everything for the kitchen is just falling together...