"Toolbox" Wood Stove

Toolbox Wood Stove ENERGY Wood Burners 65 Jim Forester Thunder Bay Ont cut up a perfectly good toolbox to make a “toolbox” wood stove that he uses for everything from boiling coffee to grilling hot dogs and cooking bacon and eggs The toolbox mounts about 2 ft off the ground on 4 legs It has a chimney and metal rack “pot warmer” at one end Both the legs and part of the chimney come off and store inside the toolbox for easy transport A clothes dryer vent serves as a short chimney for small fires and is held in place by bent shelf brackets pop riveted to the top of the toolbox An extension can be slid over the short chimney for larger fires “I got the idea because I had a new red toolbox that I wasn’t using ” explains Forester “We do a lot of ice fishing and part of the fun is to make a pot of tea We have to search for dry wood and a spot to make a safe fire which takes away from fishing time So as a surprise to my family I converted the toolbox into a wood stove “It weighs only a few pounds I store the wood fire starter dry paper and the cooking grill inside The handle is still on so I can carry it like a toolbox ” He used a grinder to cut 8 slits at an angle into both ends of the toolbox making the slits just big enough for a radiator hose clamp to slide through and hold 8-in lengths of pipe in 2 spots that remain permanently on the toolbox Small-diameter sections of pipe slide into them “It took a few hours to build but works better than I had ever imagined ” says Forester “I designed it for outside use and cut a big slot into one end of the toolbox to let air in “I made it about 5 years ago and after making at least 100 fires there are no weak spots or burn-through anywhere on the toolbox I keep ashes in the bottom of the toolbox to protect it I’ve used the stove to cook bacon and eggs toast hamburgers sausage and steak My grandkids also use it to roast marshmallows ” Forester says if anyone is interested he’s willing to sell plans Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jim Forester 720 Ernestine Ave Thunder Bay Ont Canada P7E 1W8 mtbread@hotmail com

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