Fettling an Optimus 00 flame spreader using a beer bottle

I mentioned this technique to member earlier this year, but today had reason to do it again, so I took photos.

I'm fettling this Optimus No. 00 that has seen better days (but is in pretty good nick all round):




The flame spreader was so distorted it would not pass the top of the burner:




To round it properly I placed it over the neck of a 475ml beer bottle, first the right way up, then upside-down to get the cylinder of the flame-spreader rounded properly.
The shape of the bottle neck is perfect for this job:



I flattened the wrinkles in the top of the flame spreader by placing it over a thick copper funnel and gently tapping it with a peening hammer:



Here it is in action. The rest of the stove has not been fettled.
Note that the yellow part of the flame that can be seen at 3 o'clock moves with the flame-spreader, so I still have a little job to do on one bit of the spreader:



I'll finish the fettling on this beautiful little stove and post pics in the Gallery.

Cheers

Tony

 

Hi Tony, that is a really neat way of straightening flame rings!
I have used beer bottles for this is the past but generally I just emptied the bottle and then followed this method:


Beat Regards
George

 

@kerophile

!... The big decision with my method is whether to drink the beer before or after....

Cheers

Tony

 

No decision necessary...one before an one after.

Ben

 

Bottoms up Tony! I have to really search for something to do that with, usually a trailer ball or my replaced bench vise that has an anvil end to it. Never gave it a thought on how to make it round with a bottle so it will fit over the burner.
Duane

 

Hi,

Definitely before! Any time a hammer and glass are involved, one runs the risk of breakage. I think wasting beer because of a missed hammer blow might be some kind of a crime or maybe it's a sin or something. Any way you look at it, it's a bad thing!

Rick C

 

@sa3spd

I didn't use a hammer when the flame-spreader was on the bottle -just my hands. I only used the preening hammer on the flared part when it was on the funnel.

Cheers

Tony

 

Tony , I use a rubber hammer on the pointey end of my anvel it is perfect for the job , anneal the ring then gently as she goes and all good .

Cheers
Rob

 

I got rid of the yellow portion of the flame that is evident in the photo above by gently levelling the bottom of the flame-spreader on a fine sharpening stone:





You might notice that the kettle is sitting a bit low on one of the legs... that will be fixed in the fettle and explianed when I post in the Reference Gallery.

Cheers

Tony

 

I agree with George, after repeated annealing, brass flame rings get soft as "you know what". I straightened my last one simply by using my fingers pressing a little here and a little there and going round and round until it seemed right. When I put it back on the stove and lit it up, it appeared correct from all angles and operated exactly to spec. I have no doubt that somewhere down the line it will get banged up a bit, maybe when putting it into it's box or whatever, so "perfection" wasn't the goal even though it appeared it exceeded expectations. It's always nice when that happens, but it illustrates that sometimes, the simplest solution works.
Stan

 

I think it was Tony's excuse to bring the beer to the fettle.

Ken in NC

 

I've used plumbing and electrical couplings and trailer hitch ball as forming aids on the odd flame ring. I like what I see here and would prefer the taper as shown with the oil can and bottle. Most of my heard has flame plates and burner bell which can suffer similar distortion and tricky to find appropriate forms to iron out wrinkles.