All I wanted was tight andirons

[waltdog]

So one of the andirons on the Jotul was getting loose. Ash was spilling out the door anyways so I scooped her out/ emptied ash pan and decided to tighten up some loose hardware. Got the loose one tightened up and decided to give the other a snug. Bolt head snaps right off! :-S

I did manage to get the broken bolt out after about 45 minutes with vice grips and some PB blaster, hopefully there's an M8X20 tap at work lol

Rangeley owners, check the tightness of the bolts holding the pivoting baffle together. Mine where pretty loose

 

[keninmich]

Well that would suck!

I took the andirons out of my Woodstock Keystone.

I got so tired of trying to clean the glass around them. I replaced the bolts with new and shorter ones cause they hold the glass in.

It looks great and i wish i had done it years ago.

( By the way...before i did it i called Woodstock and told them what i was going to do and while they did try to talk me out of it...they admitted that it would not likely make any difference at all in how the stove performs. So far they are right... )

 

[Pallet Pete]

Be sure if you use stainless it can handle that heat ! This is very important not all stainless is equal .

Pete

 

[Stump_Branch]

when doing bolt replacement it is a good idea to substitute the bolts with stainless steel ones

Stainless is more prone to shear that carbon/mild steel. If you want it "permenant" sure stainless would do fine. Should in a few years you need to snug again, id say good luck. Hardware is a tricky beast. Best to use a high temp silicon to keep it there, antiseize if you need to replace, or graphite.

After so many heat cycles both mild and stainless have been altered metallurgically from their original state, and are inherently weaker or brittle. If i had to drill and re tap, id prefer it to be mild steel and save some time and cursing.

Then again id hope i wouldnt have to do any of it in the first place. Short of cost, theres a reason why most hardware is mild to begin with (if not all)