Cast iron box stove

[Steve(Can)]

Picked this up this this little beauty today from a guy who wanted it gone. Surface rust and somebody replaced a few of the bolts with hex heads but is sound and in good shape. Never seen one with this beaver/maple leaf motif on it, looked online but can't find any others like it. The beaver and maple leaves are a pretty close reproduction of those on the Canadian 5¢ nickel which had two maple leafs from 1922-1936 and the beaver added from 1937 on, so guessing the stove was manufactured in Canada sometime thereabouts after that, late 30's-40's.

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Now for restoring it... it's got a fairly nice surface, no flakes or sever pitting... don't want to take a wire brush or do anything to scratch or ruin the patina, but want to stop the destructive corrosion....
Not sure I even want to paint it with a stove paint. Thinking maybe a commercial stove polish or maybe an old time homemade recipe... seem to recall someone saying about rubbing a raw potato on a stove to clean it.
Maybe naval jelly, or one of those new rust converters on the market, the phosphoric acids and such that turn the rust into a protective coating. Used that before on smaller objects and have had pretty good results.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Ronstar]

My kid found a similar stove (not design but condition) and simply had a couple hot fires in it where it sorta self cured. Yours looks much better and assume you will use it indoors? Not sure if one would use cast iron cleaning instructions or not.....? But if you burn/cure it outside I would assume it would work as the smells would dissipate.

 

[Steve(Can)]

My kid found a similar stove (not design but condition) and simply had a couple hot fires in it where it sorta self cured. Yours looks much better and assume you will use it indoors? Not sure if one would use cast iron cleaning instructions or not.....? But if you burn/cure it outside I would assume it would work as the smells would dissipate.

Thanks Ronstar, I read that too, that all it takes is to burn off the rust.

I've had great results with rusty things with electrolysis when it was really bad or with the rust converter and then buffing it with a concoction I make up of beeswax, pine tar, and linseed oil. I make up a good batch and use that on everything. It finishes, seals, waterproofs and protects wood, leather, anything at all, especially for restoring and protecting metal, old tools and such. Rod and reel and paddle polish, axe heads and handles, does a wonder on dried out cork rod handles and keeps the eyelets from freezing up as well.

This cast iron rabbit was a rusty mess, but the combination of the rust converter and then a buffing with the wax/linseed polish, brings out a natural patina and the surface takes on a glow and feels like something that's 100 years old and has been rubbed smooth by years of handling.



Back to the stove. I can burn it off outside for the fumes, but don't think the concoction of the wax and linseed oil would work so well for a hot surface.... Way back when, the renegade knights were said to have soaked their armour in oil and then smoked it over an open fire to give it a coating to protect it from rusting.... supposedly how they became known as Black Knights. Thinking maybe cleaning up the stove and letting it soak in a bit with an oil and then burning it off might season it, like you do with a cast iron fry pan...

 

[Ronstar]

Assume if applied when metal still warm it would soak in while metal expanded?? Im no metal worker by any means but I like your technique for waterproofing etc. I guess one can only read and try.......

 

[fwcrawford]

That is a nice old save!!!
I like the design of it and looks well built too.
Make sure to post after restoration photos!!
Can’t offer any suggestions on how to restore it, but does not look to be in very bad shape at all.

 

[tencents]

Picked this up this this little beauty today from a guy who wanted it gone. Surface rust and somebody replaced a few of the bolts with hex heads but is sound and in good shape. Never seen one with this beaver/maple leaf motif on it, looked online but can't find any others like it. The beaver and maple leaves are a pretty close reproduction of those on the Canadian 5¢ nickel which had two maple leafs from 1922-1936 and the beaver added from 1937 on, so guessing the stove was manufactured in Canada sometime thereabouts after that, late 30's-40's.

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Now for restoring it... it's got a fairly nice surface, no flakes or sever pitting... don't want to take a wire brush or do anything to scratch or ruin the patina, but want to stop the destructive corrosion....
Not sure I even want to paint it with a stove paint. Thinking maybe a commercial stove polish or maybe an old time homemade recipe... seem to recall someone saying about rubbing a raw potato on a stove to clean it.
Maybe naval jelly, or one of those new rust converters on the market, the phosphoric acids and such that turn the rust into a protective coating. Used that before on smaller objects and have had pretty good results.

Any suggestions gratefully appreciated! Thanks!

When I was a kid we put a product called stove black polish on ours after every winter, made it look like new.

 

[Steve(Can)]

Thanks tencents! I'm reading the old commercial stove polishes had graphite in them to blacken the finish. Gotta look to see what's available now.

There's an old technique I've done for making transfer paper, you know, like the old carbon paper that was used for typewriters.
You take a solid stick of graphite and shave it with the edge of a sharp knife. In no time, you have a good pile of powder that you mix into a solution with rubbing alcohol. You then use a swab of cotton and rub it on one side of velum paper and let dry. With this, you can make any size transfer paper you need for transferring patterns and such.

Maybe cleaning up with rust converter, then a finish with a mixture of graphite powder and mineral oil, then burning off might do the trick. Where's @Old Longhair when you need him?

 

[fwcrawford]

Just curious.... what are the two plates at the front under the door?
One looks like a draft adjustment... is the other for hiding gold coins??

 

[Steve(Can)]

Already looked.

Yeah, a draft plate, and a flat plate that covers a depression that drops down 45° from the bed of the firebox and extends about 1-1/2" deep out the door and into the hearth for the length and width of the plate. To maintain draft and facilitate ash removal? I suppose you could draw a bed of coals out into it if there was reason to do so.

 

[fyrffytr1]

The Danville stove company in Danville, Pa. made a beaver brand.

 

[fwcrawford]

Already looked.

Yeah, a draft plate, and a flat plate that covers a depression that drops down 45° from the bed of the firebox and extends about 1-1/2" deep out the door and into the hearth for the length and width of the plate. To maintain draft and facilitate ash removal? I suppose you could draw a bed of coals out into it if there was reason to do so.

Interesting.... maybe could serve as a warming tray also.

 

[Steve(Can)]

Interesting.... maybe could serve as a warming tray also.

Yeah, maybe eh? Or with the plate off and the door closed, the draft would draw over coals in the trough making them glow... a more controlled and immediate source of heat, almost like a little forge?

Suppose, even for cleaning out ash... drawing a bed of coals to the front, scooping out the firebox, then pushing the coals back and stoking the fire again without missing a beat.

 

[laplander]

The Amish still burn wood/coal and they like to take care of their stoves bet they have some good products. Check the internet LOL no seriously check the internet.
HH Jeff

 

[wildwilly]

No matter what, it's part of our history. A nice old stove that brought back a lot of childhood memories.

 

[FindingHistory]

That couldn't be any more spot-on of a representation of the reverse side of a Canadian nickel. Makes you wonder if there is some link to either the sculptor/designer or the mint itself. Very cool find, Steve!

 

[fwcrawford]

That couldn't be any more spot-on of a representation of the reverse side of a Canadian nickel. Makes you wonder if there is some link to either the sculptor/designer or the mint itself. Very cool find, Steve!

I agree!!!

 

[Steve(Can)]

Update on the stove... haven't done anything with the restoration yet, but was looking it over the other day and across "Made in Korea" stamped on the bottom. With that, found a number of Korean made replicas on some woodstove collecting sites. There is a pretty wide variety of these Korean made stoves, and some especially the parlour and kitchen cook stoves are pretty ornate with chrome trim and all. The closest model I can find to the beaver stove, is by a Canadian manufacture, the Findlay Favorite Box Stove 25, a different motif but exactly the same measurements and design.

I did find another beaver stove listed for sale that is exactly like mine and contacted the seller. He told me the one he was selling is from his childhood home and figured his parents purchased it in the 50's. It is also stamped "Made in Korea" on the bottom. That date makes sense as it coincides with the end of the Korean War.