Forget the thumbs down icon , must have hit the wrong icon button It's definitely thumbs up from me Tom
Good Morning, John, What can I say, that hasn't already been said here? Brilliant, outstanding, fantastic, and with such a touch of whimsy that it really came together in a perfect combination!! You really did a fine job, John, and your presentation of this here at CCS, was equally wonderful!! Well done, and thanks, very much, for the letting us all share your enthusiasm and successes!!! I will eagerly await your next installments in the future! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hi Manny, Don't want to hijack the thread from John's excellent fettle, but I seem to recall we had at least another ten to fifteen in reserve that weren't called into service this year......
Hi Mike. Yes, after that initial flare-up - and as you say it took a fair while for the fuel to burn off - I've not had any bother with it. A wonderful stove to use that's rapidly become a favourite. I've stripped the generator down and my fix of the pricker rod seems to be holding up very well. I suspect the Aspen 4T (white gas) is the best brew the stoves had in years and it seems to positively purr with content. Love it. Best wishes, John
John, Just had another borderline brilliant thought on the pricker rod "fix". What would be wrong with just cutting the very end of the pricker rod and replacing with a much shorter length of brass tubing? That way, one would still have the steel rod which may or may not hold up better/longer than the brass tubing replacement. I have no idea if one would be superior to the other....just another thought. I've found some suitable material for a windscreen for mine. I'd never seen a windscreen like that before and think its a good idea. It appears from your photos to just have a notch cut into the windscreen at the filler cap location rather than being bent to fit the indention on the burner plate. Am I seeing that correctly? Still admiring your fix of that stove. Best, Bob
Hi Bob. Regarding the windshield, when I initially consulted Mike ('flivver') about the stove, he suggested it was very likely a Coleman original and not an accessory item. He also pointed out (rightly, as I've since discovered) that the Speedmaster's flame is easily blown about in gusty conditions - so a windshield is an obvious benefit, in principle, though it's not much better in practice and using the stove in a sheltered location is a better bet! The windshield, in fact the whole stove, is a dead match for an example on Terry Marsh's website, here (last stove in the column featured) ... http://terrence.marsh.faculty.noctrl.edu/lantern/colestovespre1945.html (That's a link I included further up the topic post) Incidentally, it's actually two halves of a windshield that make the whole and they're not joined. You're right, it's a cut-out in the sheet of one of the windshield halves to correspond with the semi-circular inset in the burner plate alongside the filler cap to enable better access for a funnel on filling. Thickness of the steel sheet of the windshield is about one-thirty-second of an inch I should guess. Certainly it's thicker than 'tinplate' but not a lot thicker. I'll get around to measuring the windshield(s) up and taking more photos to post here for the record and in a PT to make sure the data reaches you. My view about the pricker rod variation you suggest is that it would work, though the brass tube needs to be a close match, diameter-wise, for the steel rod so that the combination don't 'bind' or foul as the rod moves in and out of the guide spring as the control wheel is turned one way or t' other. Also, when I constructed the thing, I pondered on whether the thermal expansion difference between brass and steel (the latter expands less for a given temperature rise) might result in the joint between them parting company. I compensated for this possibility as best I could by making the fixing 'spigot' as tight a fit as I could manage without creating an obvious bulge in the join (that guide spring clearance again). Crimping the joint helps of course and the spigot is best left roughly machined for better grip between the parts too. The joint hasn't failed (so far!) but it is at least located at the coolest end of the generator, opposite end to the jet nipple, whereas your proposition would reverse that and perhaps put greater thermal stresses on the joint. Dunno, just a maybe. Good to hear from ya, Tex. John
Hiya Matt. Nothing special about the paint, primer or preparation. The primer was a primer/surfacer, the final finish was from a can of metallic green auto paint, both products from an outlet of a national chain of auto accessory retailers. First point I'd make, though - and it's significant I suspect - is that the stove's run for just half-an-hour yet! So there's time for the paint to spoil. That said, I'll agree that it didn't shown the slightest sign of going soft and saggy with the heat. You said you left your painted example to dry for a month. That'd be the final coat then, yeah? I think what might be relevant here is how many, how thin and how long left to dry were the paint coats prior to that top coat. The temptation is (I should know, I've done it too) to rush the process and slap on fewer, thicker coats, when the best approach is to apply more, thinner paint layers, allowing each plenty of time to dry and flatting off each before the next to 'key' the painted surface. What happens with thicker layers is that they don't dry as thoroughly as thinner layers do over a given period of time spent on the paint process. Superficially they seem to do to the touch, but the core doesn't get a chance to harden so well. The effect of external heat, or friction, exposes the weakness and bubbling, or shifting of the surface finish results more readily than is the case with the 'little at a time' approach. Seems logical? As I say, the theory's bearing up in Rustbucket's case so far. I'll tell you how it copes over time. Thanks so much, incidentally, for the truly stupendous feedback you've all posted. It's been a hoot to share my Rustbucket tale with you. Ok, maybe I've acquired some core skills over the years, but for this project all I've done is draw on the accumulated, and extensive, knowledge of CCS members. I've pored over, pondered, read and re-read topics throughout Spiritburner's excellent site and everything I've done has been done before. Thanks though, much appreciated. John (Looking for another beat-up stove)
Hullo John, I'd figured out that that windscreen was a two part affair and roughly measured each side at prox 7.5" (memory serving....it was yesterday I think). I'll have to do some Southern engineering on the little attachment clippy thingys, but no matter. The material that I have is somewhat heavier than tin can material.....I'll just have to do some sawing on it to get it close to fitting but think it definately needs screens. Or some sort of windbreak. Someone mentioned adding an additional crinkle & flat washer for a bit of extra heat. I'll need a donor junker for that. No idea if that works or not but a suggestion anyway. Thanks, Bob
Wow is all I can say. Makes me want to dig into my mom's garage and see that old Coleman in there. I dont even remember which one it is. I wouldnt paint the tank. Brass is too cool.
The 'Rustbucket' logo is a nice touch. I can just see some stovie getting their hands on it years from now and trying to determine if it was a factory thing or aftermarket personalization touch.
John, the "lot's of thin coats" is probably it. As you suspected, mine were as heavy as I could get without the paint running. I'll try the thin coats next time. Thanks!
Hi Bob I said I'd post some pics of the windshield halves. Here they are with a tape measure (inches) alongside in some shots to help you with the dimensions. Here are the two windshield halves from the back The position of a lug from the left-hand end of a windshield half - same location for the corresponding lug on the other half 2nd lug location. This photo gives the length of each windshield half too ... ... and here's the width You'll see that one end of each windshield half has a rounded corner The other end of each half is square Hope that helps with the construction. The cut-out you mentioned corresponds with the inset in the burner mounting plate alongside the filler cap. All the best, John
Hello John, I can do that. I can see my old 500 under a Coleman oven pretty soon and the windscreens will help out a bunch I think. Thanks for taking the time. Best, Bob
Additional data on windscreens for Speedmaster The screens aren't the best of fit. Here's how they look at the manifold end ... ... and here they are at the valve side In this series of photos I've flattened the screens out and laid them flat (with the help of a model anvil) on quarter-inch-squares grid paper with a steel inch ruler alongside for good 'measure' All the best, John
Great shots John! love the anvil! This will prove very valuable when I make my windscreen. Cheers, Jeff
this is a fabulous thread. just now reading it, redirected here from CCF concerning the military 500 windscreen buzz
Bringing up a long dead thread, but what a great journey, I have a rusty 22 coming and cannot wait to see if I can do it justice
