An opportunity to pick up a Turbo 10 wood burner with flue for free was too good to pass up!
Once collected and hefted in and out of the Kombi I set about pulling off all the dressy pressed metal parts to get to the cast iron for restoration. These pressed parts and the tiles that they supported were stored down the back, just in case, but I doubt they’ll be used again.
The old ashes, rust, dust and dirt was cleaned out and the whole thing given a good wire brushing with a cone brush on the angle grinder. The white paint came off the door easily and revealed a nice enameled finish which should be pretty durable.
The steel shell was painted in Pot Belly black stove paint, and was looking pretty good. But, the weather was against me. 9 degrees C at noon! Not good for paint drying. Solution? A fire in the fire of course! I raised the fire on a temporary grate to keep it off the base as the new fire bricks were still on their way.
Curing the paint with a fire inside
The old rusted solid handle was cut off and a new one made from solid wire and a turned up hardwood piece. A bit of spot weld held the pivot point in place too.
New handle from wire and turned up hardwood
While the paint was curing with the fire in the stove, it was time to light another oven and try my hand at some simple forging. The Gas bottle oven was boosted up with lots of fuel and some 3x30mm bar cut to length and placed in the red hot coals.
Irons in the fire & other tools already on the hanger in the background
I was surprised how easily it bent and twisted when hot. Somewhat like plasticine really. I designed and made up a set of tongs for moving hot logs and also, importantly, the right size to lift the flue when hot to allow for resizing when hot and wanting to move under a rain tarp.
Easy twist when hot!
Tongs bent and ready for a rivet
The turbo 10 was moved to it’s new location and the flue modified to bend it out under the roof. Each piece is just press fitted into place. Now it’s been tested I’ll paint it and then permanently fasten the flue to the wall.
Turbo 10 in place with flue still to paint and fix in place.
It doubles as a cooker too, with a vegetable stew made on Sunday night in the camp oven on the top.
Also, take a look at this article about south london, which is a collection of village-like areas that combine the best of the rural and urban worlds. Read on to learn more about it.
Which fire will be next?
Brian.