Jr Chubby

the snowman wrote:dcrane,

I went with the straight black because I wanted the sharp contrast between the metallic look of the top, feet and doors to the body of the stove. This stove is not slated to be pressed into service, it will be added to my collection of coal stoves. I do plan on taking it outside to fire it on some wood to see how the stove burns. The stove will have an easy idle life from this point on.

The snowman.

atta' boy! great look to it and and i fine addition to the collection.

Looks really good Snowman, and it didn't take long for the restore job !

echos67,

Thanks. It didn't take long due to the fact the stove didn't really need anything done to it. It had never seen a coal fire so the pot, grate and grate support are in great condition. The only modification I made to the stove was installing a one inch long bushing in the stove so the shaker rod has more support than the stock opening provided. I will make a new shaker rod/handle for it sometime this weekend and install that. All of the bolts came out without any fuss and I had enough gasket for the top so I could reinstall that. I work long hours in my shop so this project was a nice distraction from the wood working side of my life. It is now back to work with wood or at least until I find another diamond in the ruff like this stove. I wouldn't mind finding a crane stove close to home to purchase and restore.

The snowman.

Great job snowman! I too was trying to come up with a fix for the sloppy shaker rod. You mentioned you used a bushing, did you press it into the hole the shaker rod goes through? A pic of this would be great, thanks.

tcalo,

Thanks. I used a case hardened bushing that fit snug in the hole. I had to drill the hole to the size of the bushing. The bushing is approximately one inch in length, just long enough to be flush with the inside of the stove body. The bushing is also thick. I would have to measure the thickness and post it since I don't recall the exact thickness. I first welded the bushing to an 1/8 inch thick washer. I welded the entire thing into the stove. If I were going to do this again, I would drill/tap the stove and bushing in order to hold it in the stove. I did this on my Chubby Sr.

With this design, I have planned to use a two piece shaker rod system. The tolerances between the bushing and the shaker rod are very very close and the length of the bushing will not allow one to feed the bent end of the shaker handle through the bushing. I felt it was better to go with a two piece rod and have tight tolerance between shaker rod and the entry point of the stove compared to a single length rod with much less tolerances which also would have prevented me from using the bushing. Since the bushing is case hardened and the rod is not, several shaker rods will wear out before the bushing.

I will try to take a pic of the bushing from inside the stove since it can not be seen on the outside due to the thick washer covering the end of the bushing and the entire unit is welded into the stove. As with my Sr Chubby design the handle will also have a chrome spring on the handle which allows the shaking without a glove and without fatigue in the hand. I will post some pics of this as well as soon as I finish it. I did pick up new gaskets for the door and will install them this weekend and try to make the shaker handle assembly so I can test fire the stove. I hope this helps. If you have any questions just drop me a pm or post it.

The snowman.

Congrats on the stove.
I was noticing the grate on the Jr - is it just me or do the grates look inconsistent in width ?
Or are they removable ? The upper top left of the grate width looks a bit off.

The two outer pieces of grate are removable. One of the pieces are installed backwards, that's why there is a large gap in the grate.

tcalo is correct, one of the pieces is installed backwards. When I was taking the pics I quickly set the pieces in place not paying attention to the orientation. I didn't notice until it was brought to my attention. This is what happens when I'm in a hurry to take some before pics so could get going on dismantling the stove. If anyone would like I can take another pic of the two pieces properly installed. Just let me know.

The snowman.

Yes The Snowman, if possible for you I would like to see the grates like you said but also placed outside of the stove , both parts apart. Just take your time
Thanks

Pics as promised,

Ok, so this is my second attempt to post some requested pics. My browser was giving me grief. Nortcan requested some pics of the grate outside the stove. Nortcan, enjoy the pics. I also am posting a pick that was requested before I disassembled the stove. The pic shows the thick bushing from inside the stove which supports the shaker rod as it exits the stove. If I remember correctly the bushing is approximately one inch in length. The bushing is welded to an 1/8" thick washer and the entire assembly is welded into the stove on the outside. The bushing and washer are case hardened so many shaker rods will wear out before the bushing. I will post some pics of the shaker handle/rod when I finish it.

The snowman.

Thank you very much for the photos, The Snowman! Very good ones, do you know why the 2 outer bars are removable?
Photos are easier to "understand" for me since my English needs some more improvements and I'm more a visual guy (for the good things ).

Pierre

If I remember what Larry told me about the "removable" portions of the Jr grates, was this was done on early Jr's. The reason was many people used these stoves as weekend heaters in a cabin or in a single room in a home. The grate was made that way so people could do a fast "dump" of the ash and unburnt coal for a quick cleanout and re lite.

My Jr's grates are not removeable like Snowmans. Though I do like the idea.

Snowman, I'd like to see what the bushing looks like from outside the stove. I wanted to do something like that with the Chubby SR I had but my welding skills aren't that great. Looks real good.

I agree with iof, I would like to see the bushing from the outside of the stove. I've been contemplating a fix for my Chubby Sr. but am drawing a blank. I'm surprised Larry hasn't invented some kind of replacable fitting for the shaker hole!

If you are welding the great make sure you pre heat where you are welding.