Hobo Jungle

[webenda]

To me there is only one thing more beautiful than older planes in flight and that is older trains.

That sounds exciting Roger. Can you give us a YouTube link to older trains in flight?

[rogruth]

Wish I could.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Wish I could.

Just requires Nurse Ratchet to adjust the meds a bit........

[rogruth]

Probably so.

[jw_clarke54]

At this point of the"Robust"economy,Is there any way to contact Nurse Ratchet??? Wait!!! Rufus has BALLONS YES James

[Rufus T. Firefly]

At this point of the"Robust"economy,Is there any way to contact Nurse Ratchet???

Step right this way so that Nurse can take extra good care of you (sounds of latex gloves being put on in the background....).....

[Rufus T. Firefly]

November 3 is . . . . . Sandwich Day and Housewife's Day
November 4 is . . . . . Waiting For The Barbarians Day

I think that the barbarians have been here for quite a while now......

[healey36]

I was cleaning out the hearth a couple of weekends ago and realized the 165 year-old fireback I had been using had cracked in two places...broke my heart. That thing had been through alot of U.S. history. Found a new one at the local hardware store:



There's not much one can do to improve the efficiency (if you can call it that) of an open hearth, but a fireback does seem to make a difference. We'll see...forecasted to go down into the twenties tonight.

Healey

[rogruth]

Healey,


Any way to save that 165 year old piece at all?
Could at least be displayed somehow.

[healey36]

Roger, I was thinking maybe I could epoxy it, and then give it a good coat of stove-black...the cracks might not be too noticable then...maybe. It's cast-iron, so the options are pretty limited. It weighs around sixty pounds, so one would have to be really careful moving it. I understand that some folks use them decoratively behind their range-top...I'm not sure how one would attach it to the wall. You sure wouldn't want it to fall on you.

Healey

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Roger, I was thinking maybe I could epoxy it, and then give it a good coat of stove-black...the cracks might not be too noticable then...maybe. It's cast-iron, so the options are pretty limited.

It's reparable, but for no use other than decorative.

It weighs around sixty pounds, so one would have to be really careful moving it. I understand that some folks use them decoratively behind their range-top...I'm not sure how one would attach it to the wall.

All it needs is support from the bottom not unlike kitchen cabinets (once loaded they are surprisingly heavy) using a discrete ledge to rest on that mounted to the stud wall and then a series of hooks at the top to hold it back against the wall not unlike hanging a large mirror.

[healey36]

After a bit of finagling, got the new one in...sort of:



This one is a few inches taller than the old one, reaching the point where the firebox starts sloping inward. To accomodate I needed to move everything forward three or four inches. It still seems to draw properly (i.e. no smoke wafting into the room), but the screen snags on the front of the grate...need to work on it.

Healey

[rogruth]

The fire is inviting and the fireback looks great.

I always liked the appearance and the heat from a fireplace but never wanted the work that goes with it.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

After a bit of finagling, got the new one.....

Where did you get it??

[healey36]

I bought it at the hardware store in Hampstead, Maryland. It's actually made for Plow & Hearth. I had an Ace coupon for 30% off, so it ended up costing me ~ $75.00. I checked in with a couple of wood-stove/fireplace outlets in Timonium...their firebacks all ran around $250, and there wasn't much on the web for under $200. That seemed like alot for a slab of cast iron made in China...this seemed a good alternative.

I need to get a new grate next...the one I have is about thirty-five years old and I've nearly burned through the middle of it. I'd like to find something a bit shallower. To be honest, I think an open hearth sucks more heat out of the room than it puts in it...it's mostly "atmospheric"...the dogs seem to enjoy it the most.

Speaking of which, we picked up a new Golden Retriever pup this weekend, a six month old from North Carolina. She had been returned to the breeder after proving too much for the seventy year old couple that had originally bought her. We spent about a month trying to arrange shipment, then finally said the heck with it and drove down and picked her up. Our six year old retriever doesn't seem too fond of her...yet:



Will see...I'd blissfully forgotten how much work these young brawlers are...

Healey