I just completed a wooden 2 piece handle that will be expoxied to a steel rod that screws onto a threaded post on the door of a woodstove. The handle is used to open and close/secure the door.
The top is a Maltese cross made from 2″ thick cherry, the other piece is simply a turned maple “rod” that will be epoxied on the steel rod, just below where the cross will be epoxied.
Obviously this is an area of extreme heat from the stove. What type finish would survive this hostile environment. I have no way of spraying the finish, except from areosol cans. I’m thinking of padding on tung oil.
Any recommendations?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Replies
No consumer available clear finish will withstand heat about 180 - 200 degrees. Tung oil will break down at a much lower temperature. In addition, epoxy adhesive will fail below that temperature.
Normally, wood used in high heat applitions (ie: pizza peels) are unfinished.
Howard,
I'm in no way questioning you. When the client gave me the steel rod, it had the turned piece already attached to it, and it had a finish applied. When you said no commercially available finish will witstand the heat, should I assume that it was some sort of non-commercial finish?
I sanded this finish off, maybe a mistake..... Whatever it was, it was hard as hell and very difficult to remove. Now I'm at a loss as to how to attache the wood pieces to the steel rod without using epoxy. Have I got myself into a jam?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I would not use wood of any kind attached to a wood stove. It's not so much a safety issue as the fact it won't last.
I'd weld/attach a steel handle to the metal door.
Expert since 10 am.
Is this doorhandle for the fire box, or the oven? If it is or the oven, it won't get that hot, I used urathane on mine, but I wouldn't use wood on the firebox door, it gets to hot.
Hey Bob, I'm not sure what brand stove you have or how it is designed, but I have a vermont american. The handles originally had porcelin but they were brittle, broke and I decided to replace them. Being in the hardwood floor business, I had some ipe left over from a job, so I turned a couple of handles out of that and then used tung oil. They look great. However, on my stove the handles are not permanent, that is to say that they are inserted when needed, I suppose to keep them from getting very hot as to not be handled with bare hands. They also don't have threads. So my point is do you need and or want to have them in permanent, or could you just put them in decorative when the stove is not running, and screw and remove them to load, stoke etc.. Of course, mine are somewhat decorative with nothing inserted, so without knowing what your stove is designed like, I wouldn't know, but otherwise I would have to agree with the rest of the posts, that the heat would be too much. Rex
JP, scuba & ptu,
As far as the stove is concerned I don't know what it is. The handle is screwed onto a threaded post on the firebox door. Just talked with the customer and he says that the handle doesn't get that hot. Also, the handle swings out away from the stove in the closed/locked position.
The original handle had a wooden end on it when he gave it to me. I sanded all the finish off and it appears to be maple. I made a Maltese cross from a piece of cherry that I had in the scrap bin.
After cutting out the shape with the bandsaw, I found that the points were extremely sharp. I then put the cross in the vise and using a 1" chisel, releived the edges. Attached pic, let me know what you think.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I guess that if it doesn't get hot, I would use some kind of oil that would move with the wood, tung oil or BLO.
Thanks for your response. I think I'll go ahead with tung oil as I had planned.
Thank you again,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
Kidderville, NH
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hi Bob,
I have a Jotul wood stove with a wood knob for the door handle.
I think it is beech with an ebony/black stain.
I don't think there is any other finish on it.
I think you could wipe the handle you are making with oil,poly,shellac,lacquer or nothing at all.
The handle does not get hot, since it is used to open the door to load the stove.
Maybe the stove you are working on is different, but I would think that any finish would be ok.
Maybe I am oversimplifying. But it seems to me that if the handle is meant to be used that you should be able to touch it with your bare hands.
I only know about my stove so good luck.
J.P.
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