Well after much talking and consideration (and one burned cat) I did it . . . I found a stone place which agreed to make me a soapstone topper for my Oslo. Thought you guys might enjoy the pics.
The soapstone is cut to the shape of the top, but I also had 1/2 inch round spacers built to elevate it a bit -- a) because the center oval plate rides a little higher and would not allow the stone to sit perfectly flush and b) I was unsure if placing the stone right on the cast iron would somehow interfere with the design specifications (i.e. less cooling, more cooling, etc.)
The good: I realize soapstone isn't loved by everyone . . . and others might say I'm just having soapstone stove envy, but to be honest I kind of like the look of the soapstone top. It kind of dresses up the Oslo . . . and looks much better than the time I was playing dress up with the Oslo and attempted to put the wool sweater on the stove.
The bad: As many soapstone folks may have surmised, the relatively small amount of soapstone and the air space has shown me that while the soapstone does not of course perform the same as a soapstone stove . . . something I didn't expect . . . I mean, it would be kind of unrealistic to think that adding a single piece of stone would magically transform a cast iron stove into a stove with soapstone-like qualities.
I have noted that the cast iron continues to get as hot as normal and the soapstone is about 100 degrees cooler . . . again, not quite what my wife thought would happen since she thought it would just be warm as she originally thought this would prevent any cats-a-leaping (that would be on the 13th day of Christmas) from getting burned. I went into this fully expecting that the stone would get hot. The good news by the way, is that the cat who made his infamous cat on the hot stove leap to fame has since steered clear of the stove.
When the fire has died out from an overnight burn I have noted that both the cast iron stove top and the stone are around the same temp. I have not let the stove totally cool down so I can only make an educated guess at this time, but I believe what would happen is that as the fire dies and the cast iron cools the metal and stone would soon reach the same temp with the metal cooling more quickly . . . over time I believe the stone would continue to stay warmer longer than the metal, but I also believe the temps being radiated from the stone at that point would be neglible in terms of heating value.
So, that said . . . here's some pics . . . pay no attention to the unframed and foamed window . . . trim will hopefully be going up soon . . . ditto for the rust spots on the steamer pot.
The soapstone is cut to the shape of the top, but I also had 1/2 inch round spacers built to elevate it a bit -- a) because the center oval plate rides a little higher and would not allow the stone to sit perfectly flush and b) I was unsure if placing the stone right on the cast iron would somehow interfere with the design specifications (i.e. less cooling, more cooling, etc.)
The good: I realize soapstone isn't loved by everyone . . . and others might say I'm just having soapstone stove envy, but to be honest I kind of like the look of the soapstone top. It kind of dresses up the Oslo . . . and looks much better than the time I was playing dress up with the Oslo and attempted to put the wool sweater on the stove.
The bad: As many soapstone folks may have surmised, the relatively small amount of soapstone and the air space has shown me that while the soapstone does not of course perform the same as a soapstone stove . . . something I didn't expect . . . I mean, it would be kind of unrealistic to think that adding a single piece of stone would magically transform a cast iron stove into a stove with soapstone-like qualities.
I have noted that the cast iron continues to get as hot as normal and the soapstone is about 100 degrees cooler . . . again, not quite what my wife thought would happen since she thought it would just be warm as she originally thought this would prevent any cats-a-leaping (that would be on the 13th day of Christmas) from getting burned. I went into this fully expecting that the stone would get hot. The good news by the way, is that the cat who made his infamous cat on the hot stove leap to fame has since steered clear of the stove.
When the fire has died out from an overnight burn I have noted that both the cast iron stove top and the stone are around the same temp. I have not let the stove totally cool down so I can only make an educated guess at this time, but I believe what would happen is that as the fire dies and the cast iron cools the metal and stone would soon reach the same temp with the metal cooling more quickly . . . over time I believe the stone would continue to stay warmer longer than the metal, but I also believe the temps being radiated from the stone at that point would be neglible in terms of heating value.
So, that said . . . here's some pics . . . pay no attention to the unframed and foamed window . . . trim will hopefully be going up soon . . . ditto for the rust spots on the steamer pot.
