I pried the middle hinge section up to free the rod. Because of the age, I annealed the metal with a torch as I did not want to crack it when I bent it. Not a problem since I am going to paint it. Other than the pitting, the stove is in great shape.
Hi Ken, Your hinge looks pretty good. Glad it is turning out for you. It'll nice to see the finished product. Sam
Two days curing. Lower than optimal temperature so I will let it cure even more. Besides, we have firewood to work on. 4 trees taken down by our son in law. 3 oak trees.
One of the brazed joints did not take the operation of the hinge well. I removed the flap, and re-did that flap. I mentioned that I used the Quiksteel High Temp cold weld product. It did not work well for hole filling. I believe the thickness (thinness) of the hole patch was the failing factor. I do not know for sure, but I did not try it any longer. I moved on to using JB Weld as the hole filler and some of the very rough spots were covered with a thin layer. That cured since yesterday, and I sanded, filed, wire brushed, rinsed with alcohol, and sprayed a first coat of white Rustoleum Clear Metal Primer. More later.
I put a few coats of Rustoleum Charleston Green on. I must say, with the rusty pits, and the repair, I really had no intention of restoring this to like-new condition. So, with that in mind, please bear with the obvious imperfections I did not attend to. I did intend to make the flap functional. With that, it required a paint job. I may/may not plate the heat shield, I know a plater (sp?) in town that will add it to the next job they do. Ken in NC
Looks Great! It's a pity Optimus dropped the embossing on their later stoves. You will have one fine stove to show for all this effort!!! What type of plating were you considering? I wasn't sure if it was tin or nickel? I polished and waxed mine but it needs regular attention. Cheers Steve
My plan is to let the paint cure a month. I may find reason to bake it before that, but definitely not use it before that. I fired up the stove on the bench. It gets hot. It is ready. Thanks, Ken in NC
I'm very happy to comment. Ken @snwcmpr generously gave me this beautifully restored stove after I mentioned only having an 8R, and not an 8. I featured the stove in this post in the Action Gallery. I've used it on a couple of trips now, the day hike described in my link, and an overnight trip in the central Mojave. I remain blown away by Ken's generosity as well as by his very skillful restoration, especially on the fuel tank hinge. Here is a photo that better shows Ken's restoration and the brass windscreen I made for the stove. I never did make a side shield for it -- just reverted to my old habit of stacking rocks. ....Arch
If you have met Arch, then you will know why it was so easy to be generous to him. The stove, I have several Optimus 8s, would have sat on a shelf. Now it sets on another shelf.
