Hi fettlers I was able to pick up this poor mistreated Optimus 1.S from a nice lady eBay seller not very far from my house and really close to where we lived in our previous home. The stove came without inner or outer caps. The burner was also broken. Both of the "feed" tubes on the burner had come loose from the rest of the burner and the burner would rock back and forth on top of those tubes. Additionally, you may be able to tell from the photos that those tubes were bent into a curve. I straightened the tubes and brazed the burner together and it worked well for bit until one of the brazes popped. So I rebrazed it and as of now it's still working great. Sometime soon I hope to get around to fettling a proper set of stainless potlegs and locate a reserve cap. Then it'll be good to go. Here are the pics. I think it feels better now. Cheers, Gary
Hi Gary, Great work! This is Scholarship-level fettling that you are showing us. You now have a really handsome, fully functioning stove or more probably a stove/bowl heater with that length of riser tube. Best Regards, Kerophile.
As everyone else says, that is impressive work. What do you think was the purpose of the bent nail? You say the tubes had brazing work on them, any more info or pictures of that part of the restoration, I'm sure we'd all be interested.
Hey, Brother Dawg, Great work on that old Opti 1S!! Our new member, and my good friend, Borntoride, has one very much like yours, with the high riser tube, as well. As Professor Kerophile has so wisely noted, BTR's Opti does have the heater reflector bowl, and also the over-hanging "heater" element, too. I happen to have his stove at our place, adding some spare parts to it, and with his permission (is it OK, Jon?), I'd like to post some photos here, after Thanksgiving. You will see that yours has a long lost Brother, in Borntoride's stove!! Cool!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. Gary, some of us have asked Brother Doug if he will make some stove legs for us, and Jon's stove is on the list of those to receive those special legs. Want a set for yours? If so, send me the measurements from the open stove leg socket to the top of the outer silent cap, and I'll ask Doug if he will very kindly make another set, for you. His work is absolutely top notch, and I guarantee you will love what he makes for you, and his prices are more than reasonable. Let me know, and we can work out the details.
Hi ya'll Thanks for the nice words. Working on this one, I found that when a stove is pretty far gone it's not as intimidating to do what needs to be done. Danta, I straightened the tubes using an adjustable spanner. I set it tight, then applied pressure until I saw some flex. Then, move a tiny bit and repeat until the tube was straight. Then, did the other side. I actually had to go back and forth between sides to get it right on the money at the very end. Like this - Gordon, I have no idea what the purpose of the nail was! Pretty funny though. Here's a couple shots of the brazes. I'm really not very good, but they work. The hole in the burner ring/cup was drilled by a previous owner so they could mount the pilot lighter. Doc, I've PT'd you on the fettled legs from Doug. I'm hearing through the "grapevine" that he may be very busy with some home projects right now, so plan to be very patient. Cheers, Gary
