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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: mercyless1972 on January 19, 2011, 11:25:35 AM
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I recently bought an antique wood cookstove and there was this piece in the oven. Can anyone tell me what this is? Thank you.
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Appears to be a tool rest of sorts. Not sure.
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Just a guess here, but it might be for setting the lift-out cookstove burner plates on. I think it would make quite a handy tool rest. I'd suggest giving it a good scrubbing with soap and water, followed by white vinegar to remove the rust. Then oil it with olive oil to keep the rust away and you'll have a terrific, handy place to set your spatula and such as Wayward suggested. I think it's a neat piece!
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Without knowing how big it is it appears that it would hold a hot pot of some sort and perhaps the serving spoon, would remain in the pot and the handle would be supported by the cross piece?
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It looks like it could be used to sit on top of the cooking surface but for what purpose I have no idea. Maybe for cooking something on a rod - like 3 at a time.
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I think it is a multiuse item...in the 3rd pic, you would take your metal spoon and ding it around the triangle to call everyone to dinner. Anyone remember Wagon Train? ;D
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Picture this-
If you put an flat, circular iron cookstove burner into the lower circle, the curvy wire would keep the plate lifted at a slight angle so that it could be easily lifted up again, and the lower circle would form a wall which would prevent the hot, circular iron burner from slipping off. The larger circle over the top would work like a basket handle if you wanted to pick it up and move it, and the footed triangle at the bottom keeps the hot burner off the counter.
Try putting an iron burner into the lower circle and see if it fits as described above!
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Sounds reasonable. I do not have any experience with a wood cookstove. Why would you do all of the above? Just wondering why take a burner off and why would you move it to a counter?
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The burners lift out. I think that is so that you can stoke the fire directly under it, but I am not sure. It may be just for cleaning. It would make sense to have a place to cool the burner down before you cleaned it.
The burner plates have square holes in them and are lifted out with these little handles called "stove lid lifters".
(http://www.musclecars.net/parts/parts-images-large/4-antique-iron-wood-coal-stove-lifter-red-cross-andes_160514343631.jpg)
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Here's a pic of how a stove lid lifter was used. This is just a guess, but it makes sense that when you lifted out a hot lid, you could set it into a device like the one posted. I tried searching for stove lid trivets, but no luck finding anything like this so far.
(http://api.ning.com/files/kVS7cLRDF*bebOL7QIKAZT6rQedbrVi1eUACggU-3cJMzXkj*s*2H0OGKictqQg2cgDnrSLEkraT3I*ELiHX2pZ5j*Wn0379/100_0695.JPG)
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I would clean the item well and look for a name or patent date. Could also look for the stove name and see if it came with it when purchased.
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The burners lift out. I think that is so that you can stoke the fire directly under it, but I am not sure. It may be just for cleaning. It would make sense to have a place to cool the burner down before you cleaned it.
The burner plates have square holes in them and are lifted out with these little handles called "stove lid lifters".
(http://www.musclecars.net/parts/parts-images-large/4-antique-iron-wood-coal-stove-lifter-red-cross-andes_160514343631.jpg)
This is exactly what we need for our old one ... I hadn't realised you could get specially designed ones, we've been making do with an old tent peg ;D+
Just done a quick ebay search, plenty on offer but all on your side of the pond, with the postage being as much or more than the item ... :( Will devote more time after work.
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Here is a pair on the Ebay UK site:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Vintage-Iron-Coal-Stove-LID-HANDLES-LIFTERS-Thingys-/300515671169?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f8213c81 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Vintage-Iron-Coal-Stove-LID-HANDLES-LIFTERS-Thingys-/300515671169?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f8213c81)
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Well, as it turns out, those little lifters have become collectors items. Here's a guide to collecting them:
http://reviews.ebay.com/Collecting-and-Purchasing-Antique-Stove-Lid-Lifters_W0QQugidZ10000000002238041 (http://reviews.ebay.com/Collecting-and-Purchasing-Antique-Stove-Lid-Lifters_W0QQugidZ10000000002238041)
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The round thingys in a wood/coal burning stove are called “stove lids” and the handled thingys are called “stove lid lifters”. The reason the stove lids are round is so they can’t fall through the hole in the stove. Stoves were made with 1, 2, 4 or 6 stove lids depending on the size of the top surface.
The reasons a stove was made with “lids” are: 1). to add fuel or dispose of trash/garbage. 2). the casting process, for cleaning and/or to reduce the weight of the stove when moving it, and 3). for removal when cooking or heating …… which I’ll explain by the following 2 pictures and a url link:
The 1st pic is of a cast iron griddle and if you ever wondered why it was made in that shape then look at the 2nd pic of the stove top. If you remove the 2 stove lids on the left side and the spacer between them ….. that griddle will sit right down in the opening (that is iffen it’s the right size).
And if you click on that url you will see a cast iron tea kettle with a “raised ring” around the bottom of it which is probably 3/8” high and ¼” wide. And like the griddle, if you remove 1 of those stove lids that tea kettle will sit right down in the opening (that is iffen it’s the right size).
griddle
(http://www.antiquesnavigator.com/ebay/images/2010/220567794697.jpg)
cookstove
(http://www.coleauctionsinc.com/2010%20Auctions/2010.09.25/Old%20Cook%20Stove.JPG)
Tea kettle
http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-CAST-IRON-TEA-POT-KETTLE-LID-6-/300515960761?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f825a7b9 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-CAST-IRON-TEA-POT-KETTLE-LID-6-/300515960761?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f825a7b9)
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mercy, there's a Yahoo group dedicated to cast iron stove collectors/enthusiasts......pretty sure if you post your pics there you'd get some definitive answers. ;)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/castironstoveenthusiast/
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We used to have a open fire cooker apparatus similar with the loop at the top. The nobs were there to keep the hook from slipping...because you would use it to hang a pot from. This doesn't appear that tall....so to hang a tea pot? or room steamer?
When you look at the inside of the circle sitting on the triangle - opposite the side of the notches....is there something that is missing? Like where a rod/handle attached?
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I'm gonna guess that yours was a rustic serving item , used for setting a hot iron pan full of 'food' upon ; a trivet of a sort .... the potato-masher-looking thing is/was used for resting serving tool(s) within the said hot pan ... an especially nice touch for homes only heated by wood (food stays hot longer , @ the table) .
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Here is a pair on the Ebay UK site:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Vintage-Iron-Coal-Stove-LID-HANDLES-LIFTERS-Thingys-/300515671169?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f8213c81 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-Vintage-Iron-Coal-Stove-LID-HANDLES-LIFTERS-Thingys-/300515671169?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f8213c81)
Hi Tales,
Thanks for looking ..I did see those two, but they are located over there where you are, and the postage to the UK is $32.55, a bit steep >:( and still with 2 days to go the total cost is currently $45 >:(
I'm wondering whether we have a different name for them? I've an old 'Household Management' book that I might scour, and may just find something in there.
I might even post a few pics of our old burner as it is a very pretty piece, very Decoish, well, we like it ;D
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Mariko, a good place to look for such an item as a "stove lid lifter" is in a hardware store, ........ especially an old, old, old hardware store that's been there since Hector was a pup.
Merchants won't throw their old inventory into the junk unless they need the space so one never know what might be stashed away in a back room or basement. But ya gotta ask cause they won't be on display, and always ask the oldest person working there. The young ones don't know nuttin.
Or, check cost of postage from this dealer.
http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/4871/16542/Stove-Lids-and-Lifters/Stove-Lid-Lifter-Cast-Iron.html (http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/4871/16542/Stove-Lids-and-Lifters/Stove-Lid-Lifter-Cast-Iron.html)
Found this for you:
If you have any questions on our products please feel free to call (603) 522-8216 for assistance or e-mail us at ...... sales@woodmanspartsplus.com
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Cogar,, we have a hardware store like that. Jusut ask the owner,, he knows where every screw, nut and bolt is located. If you can`t find it anywhere else in town,,you can find it there !!
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Mario, I would try a junkyard or scrap dealer. Those handles are common although fancy ones are not. I have seen the handles in garage sales in boxes of tools/parts, long separated from the stoves/lids they were used on. Also, we have Amish in our area and they use the wood stoves as part of everyday living. They have their own supply houses that stock these. Anything like that in the UK?
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Thanks for that Cogar...
Wayward, unfortunately we're a small island, with a lot of social history and most of it buried in tips :(
There is an Antiques warehouse a few miles from here that stocks millions of hinges, knobs, and all sorts of wonderful things. It's been a while since I paid it a visit, so maybe now is a good time to reacquaint myself.
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Went to one the Antique Centre yesterday, but didn't find anything remotely resembling a stove lid lifter ... :( :( My wife did spot a pair of carved Chinese bamboo pots, priced at c $60 which she liked. As one of her Christmas presents didn't materialise I'm going to nip back there this morning and hopefully they'll still be there.
They look very similar to this one. But having researched them there seems to be quite some disparity as to whether they are mid 19th c or from the 1920s .... If they're still there I'll post a pic later. Fingers crossed!!!!!
http://www.musclecars.net/parts/Large-Antique-Chinese-Carved-Bamboo-Brushpot-Vase-c1920-For-Sale_300500607086.html
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Apologies for hijacking this thread so much :-[
Went back to buy the bamboo pots, and on a second viewing they weren't so attractive. One had a very bad crack (at the back, so not on the carving) on its entire length, the other had a similar crack, but not so bad. I think the price probably reflected the current condition, but not necessarily the condition in 5 years time when I could see the one splitting apart :(
Off to the other Antiques warehouse to try to find a lid lifter, and anything else that might grab our interest!