Baby Bear ?

[Todd_C]

I'm thinking no. Any way to identify this stove? Bent top not three piece with plate door.
Wouldn't it have a three piece top with a plate door if it were that old?

 

[coaly]

Interesting. Old ? no. Fisher ? maybe............

Built like a Fisher body with "Furniture" leg style. It would have had this door.



This was the redesigned bent corner body style for 1980. However, they incorporated a double bottom shield that was 1 1/2 inch overall lower than the bottom that became the rear shield with 1 1/2 inch air space. So the intake was below the ash fender, and exhausted up the back. The heat normally radiated to floor was then directed back into room by natural convection. I have drawing of this feature from a manual not yet uploaded in the Hearth Wiki section. Part of my ongoing process......

The Fisher shield does not go to the top of the Baby Bear as shown below. It could be under the shield that was added on the back. This type construction on the rear could prove if it's a Fisher or not. (It would have had a UL tag on the shield as well)

The rear shield stops at top of tag.

If the stove in your pictures is a Fisher, the steel door seal channel was removed for the homemade door using a gasket. Since it has a bent handle like the later Cathedral doors after 1980 and 5 fin draft cap, it's possible something happened to the cast door and the handle and draft cap was used from it. I'd bet it's a Baby Bear with homemade rear shield added and homemade door.

Was this a test?

 

[Todd_C]

No test.I found this one in the back of a store. He wants 200 for it. Im going to try to work him down a bit. If it's a baby bear the missing door and the seal channel will make it a challenge to restore. But challenges are the spice of life.
So there are no baby fishers with three piece tops? Were they only on the Mama and Papa? And which one has the combination of Steel plate door with three piece top? I'm waiting till the wife gets the Fisher bug. She can scour the planet and find stuff one can only dream of. It must be a female thing like shopping . He only wants 75 for the other one. I have the same tag on the Mama Bear. And the tiny holes on the ash pan. I was trying to figure out what those were all about. Then read what they were for on everything Fisher

 

[coaly]

The first steel plate stove invented was the Papa size. The stove and steel door is pictured in the patent in one of the first posts on the Everything Fisher thread. It was too big for some, so they made the smaller Mama and then the even smaller Baby. Those three were started in '74 with 3 piece tops. A business man by the name of Woody Taylor bought the licenses for Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Arkansas recommended good color brochures and bending the top made from one piece to speed fabrication instead of the three pieces. These tidbits are in the Fisher Stove Story you should read if you haven't. Your wife too. That will help get her on board. It's a quick read ! The story of casting doors that was taking him so long to make them with steel plate, how they were built, and many builders are listed with the story of how they started their own business. Even why the stoves were given the "Bear" name. (no it wasn't from the nursery rhyme)

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/bob-fisher/
Click on attachments tab for PDF of the scanned book

 

[CamFan]

Back when the hay day was on and Fisher was running 3 shifts 24 hours a day and building many stoves every day. The welders would sneak parts like Johnny Cash did one part at a time. They would often have welders at home or have access to one. They would build their own stoves since they knew the process and the doors were more guarded so they would make their own doors and have a stove. This may not be what happened here but could have. It is like Coaly said UL sides, proper ash fender, correct handle and spring handle and the door air intake is cut just like a cast door would have been made and if you look it looks like the draft cap has a cap covering the bolt head. I found when these were introduced but I do not have the date right now. This could explain your stove.

 

[coaly]

Yep, now that you mention that, the hinge plates welded to the door don't look like they were made for a home built door with scrap material. That angle and length looks like they are hinge plates for a double door stove front.
Looking close, if you find no sign of door seal iron welded to the face, that proves there was never a cast door on it.

 

[CamFan]

And they also put the channel front that would normally be put on the stove on the door. That would give some of the extra support needed for the plate door not to warp.

 

[WeldrDave]

Could that have been a Baby that someone took the door off, Dropped it or broke it some how? That would be my guess, then manufactured a plate door from the parts. As all you know, hit cast right and boom it's all over

 

[coaly]

Here's a pic at the bottom of page 12 in the VI manual that shows the factory double bottom heat shield that extends up the back;



If it's built like that, I'd give him 200 with or without the door.