Solder clean up

You guys may remember this Radius 15 on ebay about 10 days ago.Nobody bid on it.In fact the seller listed it twice.Once at 200.00 USD and again at 150.00 USD. You can see why he didn't get any bids at those prices.


Not to mention that glob of solder around the fuel port.




Well I have always liked the Radius 15,in fact I have another but w/o the shooting star cap so this one caught my eye.It had most of the extras, wrench, reserve cap the jet cleaners and the instructions.It also had the correct silent cap and inner cap

We worked out a price and the stove was waiting for me when I got home from work last night.

It was in fantastic shape but needed this mess cleaned up



I had met a fella up near Boston a few years ago ( Doug Weise) who passed on his secret formula for solder removal. Its a mix of elbow grease and propane and it hasnt failed me yet.







WARNING: Taking a propane torch to your brass stove can be a major problem if not done carefully.The parts can come apart at the seems.
The sloppy solder job some guy had done many years ago may or may not have been necessary.I sometime wonder if these guys new about changing washers first or the soap bubble test. After I cleaned up the solder I had a pinhole leak at the seam.This showed after doing a soap/bubble test.
So I had to resolder around the fuel port.

Here are some photos after a just a few hours of work









This radius trivet is in the 1925 Radius Cat. but seems to have been used into the 30's.



The decided to keep the old box as I liked the faded green paint.The guys that made these boxes are the reason we have complete stoves 60 or more years later.This guy stamped his name on the lid with what looks like the same sort of stamp that was stamped on the end of wood planes
next to the makers mark.





I want to thank all the guys here that have taught me all about stoves.This website and the guys here are fantastic.
Thanks

 

Beautiful work there Doug. You did great on the solder removal. Very nice stove too, especially with all the parts and pieces.

Love the Radius stoves. They are keepers in my book.

sam

 

Very neat job, Doug !
That poor Radius ends up in good hands

 

Doug, nicely done cant even tell that there were globs of solder after you cleaned it up

Ron

 

Hi Doug, Lovely restoration of a classic stove. It is great that you have all the extras and the home-made storage box.

Let's see if we can home in on a likely manufacturing period. You have already mentioned the distinctive pan-holder.

One of the other indicators is the style of the maker's name:

According to Stefan's research, If a Radius stove is marked up as made by Radius rather than Radius Ltd. that would make it pre-1938/40

Best Regards,
Kerophile.

 

Definately worth the haggle Doug 8) , & a great restoration job too 8) .

Just imagine what the Radius would cost in todays money , even a simple "handmade" box would cost a small fortune

Well done

Stu

 

Hi Doug brilliant score and first class restoration,the stove looks so much better, with the access solder removed.I have done a lot of repairing former owner's bad soldering job.
i use one of those micro torches for removing access solder it may take a bit longer, but makes the job easier, with out over heating the tank too quickly, desoldering other joints.You could allso pour some water in the tank so the bottom seam can not be desoldered

 

I wonder if this is the year it was made,
April 1939

 

Great work Doug, not least on the detective work of associating that printer's date with the date of the stove.

I think you're right, though whether a print run pre-dates a stove or stove pre-dates (in terms of date of manufacture) a set of instructions and how much discrepancy between the dates results is anybody's guess.

Regards,

John

 

Carefull removel of solder is one of the most depressing as well as rewarding projects one can perform.

When doing such work i begin by heating the excess solder using a very fine flame and try to keep the flame on the solder not on the parts. After heating to melt tempature i wipe the area of the solder with a wet cloth, wiping very fast in a sweeping motion to remove the solder onto the floor or work bench or if outside the bare ground, but usually end up spreading it all over my foot.

After getting the major bit of excess solder off i then begin working from the outside in to the center of the area heating the base metal and wiping solder until i have gotten as much as will come off with this method. If i'm working on something like a stove i avoid using any mechanical means (sandpaper, etc.) until i'm certain i can not remove any more with the wiping method.

Cooling the area between heats will prevent most joints from leaking. Additionally, if you put water in the fount to absorb some of the heat you can work the joint for longer periods of time with your flame.

lance