Monday, December 21, 2009

The Kitchen Stove...

Alrighty, since our kitchen range generated more interest than anything else in my last post I might as well just make it the star of the freakin' show.

Couple of years ago we'd bought an early 1930'ish kitchen range and it had a couple of parts missing that I just couldn't locate.  I kinda stuck it on the back burner (heh heh... back burner.   BACK BURNER!!)  (I kill myself) and my buddy Gary came by and said there was a pretty cool old Magic Chef in the basement of a house that his brother had bought down by Bowling Green, MO.

Wait, let me make a break from the post for just a second.  A friend of mine worked for me several years ago and made up a redneck song about Bowling Green but all I remember is "Bowling Green, Bowling Green... I dated my sister, at the Dairy Queen."

Nice eh?

Okay back to the stove.  Me and Gary went down and carried this outta the basement and I was kinda beginning to have second thoughts 'cause it was pretty nasty.  Lots of critters living in it, past and present.  Lot's of rust... but the porcelain was in nice shape it looked like, just needed a hard buffing to bring it back to life.   Keep in mind, I don't do appliance restoration for a living... lol  I do FURNITURE restoration, but Sal and I wanted a vintage range in our kitchen.

I ordered some stuff that I needed for it, all new insulation from a company out in CA that specializes in appliance restoration parts, some other misc. stuff and then tore it down to smithereenies.  I took it apart further than this pic, but I was a bonehead about taking pics... so this is what you get. 



Lotta ugliness.  Lotta mouse carcasses.  Lotta yuck.

The white fluffy stuff is the new insulation that wraps the oven of the stove.   I replaced the springs on the front door as well, one was broken anyhow.





All of the non heat contact metal that wasn't porcelain, I shot with black lacquer.  Everything that had contact with heat I sprayed rattle can heat resistant black on after everything got sanded down.  All new screws and bolts so that they were nice and shiny, were also put in the thing.   The right side of this stove is just storage for pots and pans and stuff.  It doesn't really work as a warmer too much as it's insulated from the oven.


 


The chrome on all of the pulls was a mess so instead of sending them off to a chrome shop we decided to take them to a local powder coating shop and have them powder coated bright red.  They look a little orange in the pics, but they are definately... RED.

I buffed out all the porcelain and even what was inside the oven and broiler was in good shape.  I had one spot I repaired that I wish I had left alone.




They look like gooey candy on there... :-)




The original knobs were all there and I scrubbed them down, repainted the writing and numbers back in with acrylic paint and then clear coated 'em a couple of times with lacquer.  They turned out pretty nice...






The broiler is all space age high tech, it swings out when you open the door.   It'll make you laugh like a little kid when you see it open.




And inside the oven.  No pilot light or ignitor or anything high tech like that... you touch a match to that little hole down there just like grandma did.  I cleaned all the passage ways and orifices out and it lights really nice... no "WOOOOOF" to scare the begeebers out of you.






And all hooked up where it lives in our home.   Looks just like your dad parked his Buick in our kitchen... :-)






So there!  Ta Da!







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10 comments:

Jerry said...

I remember the evolution of that masterpiece. I know you're proud of it, and I also know Sal is just as pleased as the puppy at the head of the litter. VERY nice job! Thanks for the recap!

mrscravitz said...

I just love your stove too, and glad you did a blog about it. It is so cute, and looks wonderful! You did an awesome job!

AZ said...

Hi! I'm a lurker, you know, I read your blog, but I rarely comment, but D-A-N-G that's a beautiful stove! I love the red accents, and it's all shiny and purty, you done good!

Scope said...

My mom's oven had that little hole you touched the match to. Eventually, that stopped working so well, and you had to reach up through the broiler to light it with the mighty "WOOOOOOOOF" and shudder of the small gas explosion you just made.

That stove went bye-bye before it blew the whole damn house down.

The Retired One said...

Is it possible to have stove envy? Because I've got a BAD case of it.

That would look mighty sweet in my log home!!

Carolyn aka Silkquilter said...

Gorgeous!!! (My Dad didn't have a Buick. LOL. But Mom had a 1966 Plymouth Sport Fury Convertible. It is RED. {I own it now!}

Gwen said...

You never cease to amaze me, old man. Rock. On.

Nej said...

Beeeeautiful!! :-)

Candy's daily Dandy said...

OH. MY. GOD.
that is TRULY a thing of beauty.

I am humbled by your talents.

really.

Greenmare said...

OMG!!! Jace you are the appliance king too!! oh that is the most fabulous stove I have ever seen in my life! gorgeous!!!!