What will it take to save my FREE Hearthstone!

[pen]

I've got it soaking in some pb blaster right now. Wish I had a whole tub of the stuff to dunk it in. Just like you guys figure, I've got to take it apart to save the soap stone anyway. It may surprise me. Fingers are crossed.

pen

 

[elmoleaf]

You could always use electrolysis (no not hair removal) to derust the pieces. If you got a battery charger, big enough bucket for the parts, a chunk of stainless steel, water and baking soda, then you can easily derust the parts without much work. Google it and you'll see what I mean.

 

[pen]

You could always use electrolysis (no not hair removal) to derust the pieces. If you got a battery charger, big enough bucket for the parts, a chunk of stainless steel, water and baking soda, then you can easily derust the parts without much work. Google it and you'll see what I mean.

I've learned about electrolysis in the past but never the "DIY" version! Anything involving water and electricity is right up my ally! I'll have to see if there is a video on that.

Thanks for the idea.

pen

 

[boostnut]

I'd get the stone removed and send the rest out for a sand or media blast job. Won't cost you much and you'll then really be able to see what you're up against.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

Unless you have a lot of time to invest I'd say it's worth what you paid for it. If you value your time at more than 10 bucks an hour it will be cheaper to buy a good used one for 6-800 bucks. That said, it's definitely rebuildable if you're willing to spend the time and money.

 

[mellow]

I have restored some pretty rusted stoves, but that one takes the cake! I would not take a wire wheel to that for fear of it all breaking apart. I am not sure if a soda blaster would have enough force to cut away the metal but google "home made soda blaster" and you will find how to make one, for some reason the website is blacklisted on here and I can't paste it directly. I used it to clean up a pair of rusty carbs, but it was nothing as bad as your stove. Might want to check into ultrasonic cleaning as well.

Have fun with it whatever you choose to do.

 

[pen]

Well, I finally found some time today to start tearing into my hearthstone.

At this point I can say two things for certain:

1. This stove is non-salvagable.

2. I will never consider owning a stove that's not plate steel.

pen

 

[Thistle]

If it was me....I'd keep all the stone that I could,carefully removing it.Scrap everything else.

Soapstone is easily worked, prized for carving & sculpture,can be cut & shaped with ordinary woodworking tools.You dont need diamond grit blades,drill points,files or rasps.Takes a decent polish,as you already know.Just be sure when doing any work indoors with power tools to have a good dust collection system & wear a NIOSH approved mask or respirator.Outside the mask will suffice.Some of those smaller slabs could be resawn thinner,then joined together with epoxy to make jewelry boxes,other items for the office & home. When cut with a fine tooth saw,any joints can be almost invisible.

 

[begreen]

Yep. With a little ingenuity you could make a nice, convective soapstone jacket for the 30 NC.

 

[defiant3]

So here's the thing: If you simply make it so the doors open and close and get it so you can stand looking at it, you'll get all the advantage of a soapstone stove even without all the internal stuff. Inother words, just run it like a "soapstone Fisher " if you will. As a shop stove it'lol do just fine, and I'd only add a cast damper in the stovepipe. Trust me, the old harvests were just Hearthstone II's retrofitted to accept a catalytic element, and never really worked well enough to bother doing the overwhelming amount of tedious work you'll need to restore it fully. You'll get the burn time and of course the wonderfully even heat and extended heat retention f4rom the stove itself w/o all the other stuff. Less than ideal is the fact that she'll be slower to heat up than most others, not ideal in a shop, but maybe that won't matter. Good luck in any case, happy heating!

 

[BrotherBart]

Cut up that stone and make the darned soapstone firebricks for your 30 that I have always wanted to try in mine.

 

[pen]

Cut up that stone and make the darned soapstone firebricks for your 30 that I have always wanted to try in mine.

You read my mind

pen

 

[begreen]

Eager to hear how it works out. Since Summit did this in his PE I have been curious too.