Cast iron stove for a shop

Dan Mosley

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Palm Springs, Ca
A friend found this for sale - Victorian cast iron stove $350.00 and wants to buy it for his shop and as a collectable - date stamped in it 1862 - He wants to know if I would help him to refinish it for his workshop but I do not know anything about restoring old iron stoves. I have to go see it but he says its a real antique from civil war time he thinks

Anybody in the old iron ring here have any thoughts on this stove??

not really wood machine related but he wants old iron items in his shop and not sure how to proceed on the restoration part of it
 

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If it is a true antique it has collectors value. Kinda neat looking.
But, if it is a true antique, check closely for leaks, you do not want it venting into the room. Deadly.
In the 70's, during the fuel shortage, I bought a junker station wagon and drove up and down country roads looking for old wood burning stoves. Bought many for only $1.00 each and resold at obscenely inflated prices. Had a couple complaints about some stoves with leaks. After that I either repaired or discarded those with leaks.
 
If it is anything like the Ben Franklin my folks had in the '70's, it was the most inefficient wood eating beast going. Wood stove technology really has made them more efficient and less heat leaving through the chimney. The best thing to do with stoves like that in my opinion, put a set of gas logs in them. They are beauties for sure, but you have to sit close to them and keep filling them.
 
My dad and I redid an old cast iron pot belly coal stove when I was in junior high. Lots of time spent with a grinder, steel wool and stove black. We sealed the seams with what I think was called stove rope. My parents burned wood in it for over 20 yrs until the moved here to IA without any leaks. There was quite a bit of crome on the stove as well. I used steal wool and elbow grease to get it shiny again. Well worth the effort if you ask me...wish I had some pics of it. :(
 
It'll be get to toss your scraps in! Put a flashlight in and close it all up. Turn out the lights. Those old cast iron stoves are famous for pinholes...that will help find 'em. You can wire brush it or sandblast with a glass bead medium. Some of the hi-temp paints for BBQ's will work, but you may get better results with engine block paint...better temp rating.
 
ill find out more this evening and going tomm if she still has it to look at it closer. Ill use the idea of the flashlight and inspect it closely for cracks in the box and around it. Im thinking if he does not go thru with it I may just get it my self and restore it for the looks and not use it...............ill let you all know and thanks............not sure how to tell if its really that old other than it has the date stamped it the lady says but i guess either way it still worth the 300............................thanks
 
If the cast iron stove has the date 1862 cast into it, leave it alone, other than to vacuum off the dust and dirt. It is a priceless antique as it is with the patina left intact.

Once you start to "restore" it the piece is no longer original!! It can be original only once.

Also I don't think it should be used with a fire in it. There are reasons that thing is no longer in use. Many are mentioned earlier.

Just as with old cars - either leave it "as is" with the aged patina and it will be an antique - or "restore" it with the techniques mentioned earlier and it will be a big cast iron "thing" with 1862 cast into it.

Just my opinion.
 
I can hear it now. "How do I move a 3 ton hunk of cast iron without making a pile of rubble out of it??" :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: That thing has to have some heft to it. I'm sure it comes apart in pieces, but getting the bolts apart adds a whole 'nuther set of questions to the mix. What about using it in a backyard setting once cleaned up and painted? Don't know what that would do to the CI.:huh: May have to have a lean-to type roof overhead to keep the water off but allow the smoke and CO2 to escape. What ever one did with it, it would sure be a conversation piece!!
The date in the castings could be when the mold was made, or when the patent was applied for. Doesn't mean this particular stove was made that long ago. Jim.
 
Walter..............I agree...........if he does not get it I probably will and if I do im going to just clean it up best I can and leave it totally alone.............ill let you know later...........going to see it today and check the box for cracks etc
 
Looked at it today and its all there and the doors open and close well.......marking is Cottage Homes - 1862 and Cox & Church N.Y. embossed on the cast iron.............top raises up like in the picture and then there is a large oval cast pc that comes off with a small round cast pc in the center - im guessing for pots to say hot or something.......when these are off there is a large sheet metal molded pc that fits down in it with a handle - im assuming they filled it with water to have hot water.......using the flashlight method and looking it over very carefully there are no cracks or damaged areas to it at all and all the pc's are there.......however, i was puzzled a bit by the middle section because it is made of a double housed thck sheet metal and riveted to the back ....which appears to be very old but I would have thought it was all cast...........emblem on the front has two 4 small rivets holding it in place - 2 missing but no big deal.....original type finish on it i think and if you rub it hard in areas it will flake off......total height waist high and the stack or flute on the back is in great shape......
Anybody know more about this I would like to hear back.....wondering if it is really that old and has not been tampered with ...it would appear not but who knows............thanks
 
You might consider contacting this guy. He is right down the road from me and has some beautiful pieces in his shop that he has restored. He also has a lot of old pieces of cast iron on his front lawn that used to be stoves...
But he could most likely give you all the advice and info you would need to make the right decision

http://barnstablestove.com/

It is a beautiful piece thats for sure!
 
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