I know its still summer time, but here in Arkansas Ozarks you can feel the change in the air. I started building me a new shop stove about a month ago. I figured as slow as Im getting I better start early . I also have four ricks of wood ready to go. The stove is a built from my junk pile stove. The main body was a section of pipe 48 inches in diameter. I cut it in half and wrapped two comalongs around the half piece and sgueezed it together till there was a 22 inch opening for the front plate. The door is a scrap yard find from years ago. I blacksmithed the twisted handles, The floor of the firebox is made of some "high chrome" boiler tubes I had from my Boilermaker days. They pass thru the stove to create an "air cooled" grate system. The membrane between the tubes is just 1 inch rebar pieces. The two side "down pipes" give me "rear under-fire air" the two knobs in the main door give me "main, over-fire air" and the lower ash pan door has the "clinker door" to open for "front under fire air" The air placement is from 33 years as a Boilermaker and seeing what is needed to work properly. The "feet" are from an old commercial stainless steel stove unit. Other than the 42 pounds of welding rods and one small roll of mig wire, everything is junk..... Oh yea, I also added two "clothes racks" to swing out for drying wet gloves, or freshly painted parts .... I worked my butt off on this thing for over a month, so I wanted to show it to someone. I did a test burn in it to see how it worked and got it hot enough to "blue" the steel top. All that's left to do is sandblast it and stove polish ...

Wow, great craftsmanship, thanks for sharing it!

Hi Donnie,

Most Impressive! Well done. Bill

The only change in the air here is that it's 101 instead of the usual 105-108. In the winter, if you want heat in the barn, you OPEN a door.

Not much call for heaters down here but that is a nice one. Great job on the repairs!

Nice unit Donnie well done, very sturdy. I might consider a fire in my garage. Just finishing my first winter owning T's and I found working at night in -9 degC I could only last about 20 mins lol.
I've never heard the term "a rick of wood"? is that a measurement? We used to use "chord" but now mostly cubic meter.

http://worldforestindustries.com/forest-biofuel/firewood/firewood-measurements/

Man, you have to hand it to a guy who has the know-how, the materials, and the tools to make something like this! Bravo!

Not to in any way knock your expertise, but from very painful experience -- do us all a favor and get yourself a Carbon Monoxide Detector and mount it in the place where you plan to put the stove. Much, much better safe than sorry!

Kevin, A "rick of wood" is not a "legal" measurement. It is an old "hillbilly" term that I grew up with. It was also used in lots of other areas, but it is widely used in the Ozarks. A cord of wood in the old fireplace days was 2 stacks of wood 4 foot tall by 8 foot long and the sticks of wood were 2 foot long. That would give you a pile of wood 4 foot by 4 foot by 8 foot or a "Cord" but when stoves came along they did not use 2 foot long wood. Instead they usually used wood 16 to 18 inches long. Now if you were cutting wood by hand you really did not care about the "mass" of the wood stack but how many "cuts" you had to make. So the term "rick" was for a stack of wood 4 foot tall by 8 foot long by the agreed length of wood. Two ricks of wood is also referred to as a "face chord" You were paying for the amount of work it took to make the cuts not the volume of wood. My grandma used to use a wood cook stove. So she bought "cook wood" by the rick. "Cook wood" is usually 12 inches long. But it takes as much work to make a 4 foot by 8 foot rick of 12 inch wood as it does a rick of 24 inch wood. Today everyone is concerned about the volume of wood, not like the old days when they were concerned with the "work" Peter, my shop is so loose that carbon monoxide is not even considered as a problem with a wood stove, and I never even start an engine unless the big door is open .. But I do appreciate the concern. This stove is a, "use whatever I had stove". I have had the door for years, so I just built a stove around it ... My old stove was an old oil drum from the 1920s made into a "barrel stove" It lasted almost 30 years, so this one should out live me .... I just needed someone to see it after all the work, so all you from the forum are the victims ..

Speaking of the 42 pounds of welding rod,what did you use Jet weld LH?? you must have a good size machine to push large rod? My grandson is using alot of 7014 with my almost 40 year old buzz box. We had a 36" gas pipeline go by close long ago and i built a hyd 6 way dozer blade doubbled and welded to 1 1/4" Old fat and lazy so we burn corn now.My spelling is off and i keep thinking there should be a R in fat?? It look's nice!!!!!!! Bud.

I've lived in Nordern Wintersoda for 65 years. I've seen enough stoves to get physically ill every time I hear the word "stove". I spent more of my life cutting and burning firewood then pretty much anything else. I love natural gas and forced air. It's so much easier to set the thermostat and change a furnace filter than saw, split, stack, carry, burn and cleanup after several cords of firewood. And yet, with all that being said, I gotta admit, that's a darn nice stove. You really did an outstanding job of putting that one together. I hope you're able to enjoy it for a great many years.

Beautiful work! My Dad used to say "Wood warms you twice!" Enjoy the fruits of your labor for many years to come.
I've been fortunate to have traded the necessary time (and work) of a wood stove for a natural gas Modine. 35,000 BTU heats up nicely after the thermostat has kept everything above freezing. Then more time to spend on my T projects!

Thanks for that Donnie. I fitted a potbelly stove to my back porch last year, takes wood & coal and has two cooking rings on top. If I can find a coal range (oven) it will go in there next, nothing like a roast in a coal range!

Donnie, your explanation of a rick of wood vs a cord made me remember all the wood we cut to keep our old farmhouse warm during the winter. I asked Dad once how many cord of wood we used each winter. His answer was "10 cord will get us to the middle of February". Well, cold weather around here usually starts around the middle to end of October and ends somewhere around the beginning to the middle of May. Our old farmhouse was built in 1926 and though it was substantially built it had very little insulation. To top it off we never had enough time to properly dry the wood each year and I remember hearing the water "hiss" in the wood when it got hot. As a result the draft and the damper on the stove were run pretty much open all day and the stove would be "banked" and the draft and damper shut down all night. Because of this method of burning we would have tremendous amounts of creosote build up in our chimney. The chimney ran through one side of our stone fireplace chimney and had a clay flue. Every once in awhile all that creosote would catch fire and you'd hear the roar of the fire inside the chimney. Dad always said it was a good thing because it would clean the chimney out. I remember looking out the windows of the house and seeing the hot sparks raining down into the snow in the front yard. It always made me nervous to listen to that roar but my folks would always comfort us and say it wasn't a problem. Well the house is still standing, the fireplace and chimney are long gone and the memory still makes me shudder. I still can't tell anyone what kept those old dry cedar shakes on the roof from catching fire. Maybe the snow?

Kenneth, I just used 5/32 6011 AC rods to "weldherup" with. I only have dads old Lincoln "crackerbox" "buzzbox" and my mig to weld with now. I got rid of the big gas DC rig years ago. Dad bought the AC "buzzbox" welder in 1969, They had an 80% duty cycle back then. The new Lincoln "buzzboxes" have a 20% duty cycle. One of the new welders would have "died" trying to make this stove. I would have preferred to have used 7018 low hydrogen rods, but the 6011s will burn thru rust dirt cow poop or whatever. 7018 rods like everthing nice and clean... The welds are not as pretty, with 6011 rods, but they are plenty good for a "junk yard stove" Thanks for the good comments guys ....

Around here its not legal to sell a stove that does not meet EPA requirements for smoke particles put out. Years past I picked up a Kent with all the proper pipe for a hundred. Great stove very efficient but still not legal for Oregon EPA requirements in 2015. When the winter winds put the power off killing my gas furnace I still have hot water, a range, and a warm home. If the power is off for to much time the generator is started then every thing works!

Very nice looking welds!! I'm sorry to say this morning i saw the first snow blower add on the tv.Bud.

Paul: I believe CA, WA, CO, & OR, have the EPA approved stove mandate, for stoves sold there. I have often wondered if it also applies to "home shop built" stoves or was there any consideration for existing stoves in use to be "grandfathered " in use. We still have no real rules in Arkansas as to wood stove use. Some cities have rules about the amount of smoke the stove makes, for safety, and nuisance reasons. We also have wood heat for the house. As Paul stated, when the power is out (has been out as much as 11 days) because of ice storms. We still have heat, hot water, and can cook. We have a gas range for cooking, but if we run out of gas we still have wood cooking ability. It is amazing how many people only have one heat source.

There is plenty of shop built stoves around here. We don't have EPA tests on cars YET! I am sure its coming though Portland folks register there cars here if they have property here to bypass tests on there cars. Like you said Donnie many homes in Portland are barely over an arms length between them. I say if you cant relieve yourself privately on any side of your home you are to close to someone! Nice job on the stove now you can make a side arm hot water heater. I did that once but the problem was using up enough hot water to keep the blow off from blowing on an eighty gallon tank. Works just like T cooling in reverse!

-Donnie-
Here's hoping you've also got something more substantial for a fire-board underneath than a piece of plywood. I know that even 'pot-belly' stoves can get plenty hot down there.

Marv. Since this stove has a ash pan area beneath the fire box. I think it will not be very hot under the stove. But it sits on a solid concrete floor in the shop. I used the plywood outside to keep the feet from sinking into the ground. This thing weighs a lot ... Paul, a water reservoir on the side would be nice. I was leaning toward "Steampunk" as my design inspiration. So a water reservoir with some gauges, some brass valves, maybe a gear or two with chains .... a steam whistle, Now that would be a stove !!! .. I may not be as "done with the stove" as I thought For those unfamiliar with "Steampunk" it is a newer term for a style of design or decoration. If you remember the old show Wild Wild West, or Jules Vern 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or League of Extrodinary Gentlemen, ect. It is the use of modern science fiction type of creations set in a 1800s time frame. There is a whole new generation of "Steampunkers" who live the lifestyle of "Steampunk" including the way they dress. I have been selling a lot of my old antique items for people to re-purpose into "Steampunk" creations to decorate their homes with ... Just google or go on e-bay the term "Steampunk" to see....

Nice work!

I've got all my wood here now for the winter - this is about half of it....

Really nice job on the stove. I like the little lawnmower in the back ground of 2 of the pics as well. Is it a Lazy boy?

made one 40 years ago not that pretty but it worked well added oil drip to the top after the wood got the box hot turned oil drip on and lots of free heat off used oil used a breeze box fan sitting about 2 feet away to move the heat around without a big draft///nice job

Mack, how do you guys see the stuff you see in these pics. The lawnmower is a Montgomery Ward Lakeside. Not sure who made it for Wards so it could be a Lawn Boy. ??





I did the sandblasting today, probably the job at the very top of the "hate to do list" but it had to be done. Now its all nice and clean and pretty. , tomorrow will be stove polish and install. Then I can get back to some T projects.

I purposely avoided this thread because I didn't want to think, or read, about winter. However, now that I finally did, it's not really about winter, it's about Donnie's wonderful ability to build things.

Thank you for sharing.

Hey Donnie. Back about 25 years ago I used to fly into a little town in Arkansaw 3 or 4 times a month. The town was named Searcy. I went deer hunting in the hills North of Searcy near a little place called Sunnydale. It's the only time I ever hunted deer with dogs. I vowed someday I'd go back but life took me in a different direction then expected and I don't know if I'll ever make it back. I envy you for all the beautiful country you have in that area for touring in your Model t.

I'm sorry Arkansas.

It's the fault of those folks from Wisconsin.

Mike, "Arkansaw" is OK. A lot of us still speak "hillbilly" and are proud of it ... I live about 1 hour west of Searcy. Greg, that is a very nice pile of wood. Its a very, very, good feeling to have the winters wood already cut and ready to go before winter gets here. I used to cut and sell some wood when work was lean and needed some money coming in. It amazed me how many people would call in the middle of winter, just before the snow/ice/storm was starting. They would want me to deliver a rick of wood, as the roads were starting to cover with snow or ice. They always said they only had a few sticks of wood left and "please" can you help us ... people just amaze me ..

Wow, there's a group of travel trailer restorers out here that would go crazy over your trailer in the background!

David, the trailer is a 1948 "M-System" I saved it from a local neighbor who was going to tear it apart for the frame to build a flat bed trailer from. I gave him 200.00 for it and now it is a model T parts storage building. It is real cheap storage, looks neat, and maybe someone someday will want to restore it. You can not see it in the pic, but there is a 1961 Ford Pk, hooked to it with a camper shell and a canoe on top (ready for camping trip ) There are also a couple "pink flamingos in the front yard. Anyone who says Im not crazy, does not know me very well

Donnie, aside from the woodstove, that has to be the NEATEST, COOLEST lawn mower on earth! Mike G, that's a cool dog in a cool car too! Greg, I'm with you in the wood department, I think...finally got the barn stocked..been an uphill battle getting it done this crazy summer between stupid crazy weather and crazy busy schedule!

I use wood in the house. I don't care for wood cutting in the summer heat, so before the leaves fall I go around and mark the dead trees so I'll know which ones to cut during the winter. This far south they're usually not buried in snow.

When we burned wood i cut it,bought logs,and slab wood.I mounted a buzz saw on the fast hitch of our 200 int and also made 13 pipe frame racks 8' wide X 6' high that once filled i moved with the tractor to inside storage to the garage as needed.Old,fat,and lazy it's easier/cheaper/cleaner to burn corn.Bud in Wheeler,Mi.ps,Now with all the dead ash,i wished we had stayed with wood longer.Bud.

Bud...that's 100% ash piled in my barn in the above pic! Boy does it burn nice, smells so nice outside I'm tempted to send the neighbors a bill for the enjoyment when they're in their spa getting all wrinkled up! Glad I didn't invest in a pellet stove a few years back, that stuff is higher than firewood.

Some thing folks should realize is insulation. As a retired builder I have forgotten half of the formulas but say old style 2x4 walls used R-11 that means R-1 is equal to 5" of soft wood and 6" of hard wood if my memory is correct. Its expensive but you only buy it once. Oregon ground
Temperature is fifty degrees so like a shop with a concrete floor you heat fifty on up.
My 2000 square foot shop heats about 1 degree a minuet with a 10000 Btu furnace that runs often until the shop contents are warmed up then little after that and can be shut off for almost two freezing days before the shop is back to freezing. I do G sales often and pick up full or half rolls of R-11 through R-38 for under ten dollars. It all seems to get used up.

Tim,There is more heat in corn than pellets and we grow corn which smells like toast.Where will you be parked sat/sunday,are you having your car judged?? We are easy to spot with the 14's as the tall wife usually dresses in the times and i'm short,fat,old and did not shave this morning! Looking forward to seeing so many!!!!!! Bud.

An inch of wood has a thermal resistance (R-value)of approximately 1 (hr ft^2 DegF/Btu). Interior and exterior surface film coefficients add additional thermal resistance. Species and moisture content influence the R value of the solid wood, and you can easily look these up if you really want a precise value.

respectfully, jb

I have a cousin in California whose personalized license plate some years ago was "4X4X8".... His car? A Honda Accord, of course....

Have the TV show American Pickers been by your spread yet? You have a lot of great antiques there.

Mark, No American Pickers yet. When they came thru Arkansas they picked two place 30 miles south of me and one place 20 miles east of me. They bought very little at one place, nothing at the other place and the old hospital they did pretty good. I would have a lot for them to dig thru. I consider myself a picker like Mike. I have been doing it as long as he has. I have been as deep in the "big" hoards as he has, and I usually brought the one ton car hauler home full, after every Boilermaker job I went on. I worked in 38 different states, and always worked night shifts so I could pick a little each day and on the weekend if we were not working. I have bought trailers to bring stuff home, if I overbought, and filled the truck too soon. They would be welcome here... I even have a couple old Harleys saved back just for them ... The guys on the jobs made fun of me, but I have made more from the "stuff" than I did working 12 hour shifts at 38.00 per hour with overtime. I always told them, go ahead and laugh, sit in the motel drinking beer, cause it just leaves more for me ...

Bud...being my first time, I don't know where I'll be parked, other than that I guess it is different for cars to be judged, and FWIW I decided to throw "Christine's hat" into the judging ring, even though I hear they don't tell you "whats wrong" and what isn't. Oh well. I suspect we'll be nearby, I'll look for you! Gonna come in Friday evening.

Tim,I think it's great to take a drive through the village after regestation friday and get a feel of the layout.I think some of the car's to be judged are often in the big spot by the church?? Leaving the car in the Village overnight is kind of a pain as it's a long walk but usually T drivers pick up hikers if there is room?? Judge/ing is cool,but don't miss out on a lot of fun like meeting Rob,Jon,Jerry O Ed and so many good people!! Bud.

I guess its finished I stove polished the stove and hooked it up today. Still have not decided to paint or not paint the crown and finale. Now I can move on to other T related stuff. The speedster project is sitting there waiting for colder weather. That is when I do the major part of my T work. Thanks for putting up with my ramblings and OT stuff. But without that stove, there would be very little work done this fall and winter ...

Wow! Beautiful work, Donnie!! Enjoy the warmth inside this winter.

Donnie, that stove looks GREAT!

Bud, I do hope to meet all, or as many of, the "vets" that I can...maybe even learn something.

Knowing me and how fussy I am over my babies, I'll no doubt put Christine to bed in her mobile garage every night! I kind of figured it'd be a heck of walk, and after long days in the fresh air, sun, etc. I'll probably be dead tired and not wanting a long walk. So I can drive her to bed, then grab my pickup and drive ME to bed!

The kind people at the village let you take in folding chairs and usually a cooler but everyone trys to keep it in back of the cars.Chairs are also good for holding your parking spot.Bud.

Be very careful. If you have a gasoline leak at the carburetor, the fumes are very explosive!
Norm