So. If you’ve been following along, you know that I have made the seemingly nuts decision to install a wood stove in my kitchen. I know, it’s 2021, not 1921, but I look at the space where an antique wood burning stove would once have sat, and I know I just have to put one back.
Let the antique stove hunt begin
So we have been searching the far reaches of the internet (we all know I mean Facebook Marketplace, eBay and Gumtree) and came up with…..nothing. So I started whining to a work friend. And I started whining to another friend. And to the old fella who owns our local hardware store. Turns out, every Joe Blow has an old wood stove of some sort in a garage or a patio or a paddock! Wood stoves are everywhere, unfortunately most are way too far gone for my cast iron repair skills (they’re none. I have none). But, finding that the stoves are far easier to find than the internet had me believe has given me hope! I’m now super excited that I may actually find the perfect one for my kitchen.
Finding stoves apparently, is fairly straight forward. That’s good right? It is, if I can figure out what stove I need. There are a few different small wood stoves that would’ve been around back in the day. My goal now, is to find out which of them was most likely to have been installed in my kitchen.
Back to Facebook. I joined every wood stove Facebook group I could find. Any my goodness, they are a wealth of information! Honestly, the knowledge that is held in the heads of ordinary people constantly impresses me. On almost any topic, if you just ask, you can almost always find. Unless you are trying to find out what sort of sink would’ve been installed in a 1920’s Australian workers cottage in the country – apparently the internet does not know that!
To the masses! Asking the antique wood stove people
So I asked. I took a photo and asked the internet if it could point me in the right direction. And the internet asked a very sensible question that I should’ve been much more prepared for than I was. What size is the opening? I didn’t know. I didn’t know, because it was still a cupboard – I had no idea what was behind it. So that was that. The internet said come back when you have better information, and I think that was pretty fair!
Well guess what I have now? I have better information!! I pulled out the cupboard. After a glass of wine and a couple of hours of staring at it, I got the drill, the chisel, the hammer and some Carolina Chocolate Drops, and got to it. It was pretty gross. Many years of gunk fallen down the chimney, including what looked like a few unlucky critters, was waiting for me behind and on top of that cupboard. But, it’s out now. I put on a mask (thanks Rona!) and got to work sweeping up as much of the soot and dirt as I could. And then, I measured.
A giant leap for cottagekind
So after taking my useful information back to the internet, I have a fairly good idea what sort of stove came out of this chimney. A Metters Canberra. This excites me ALOT. They are fairly common around these parts – so I am pretty confident I can find one in good condition for a good price. Plus, they are a nice looking stove, just the right size for me. I can get really hunting now, for the perfect antique wood burning stove to begin the restoration of my small cottage kitchen.
I am so excited!!!!!! I can smell the sourdough bread already!
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