neighbors kettle


 
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George Curtis

TVWBB Olympian
so i finally convinced my neighbor across the alley to let me overhaul his kettle. its a EE 22.5 wood handled three wheeler. says its a 1999 model but i think its older. he says he's had it for a long time. far as i remember, he's had it for longer than that. kinda odd. its in bad shape. the bowl is out of round but with a spreader/puller bar i should get it back to shape. wood is bad but it should be presentable after i sand them and treat them with mineral oil. the lower vent wheels will have to come off to get put back into shape. he saw the 18in one i just did and didn't belive me that it was the same one i had earlier. good fun.
 
George - where did you find your spreader/puller bar? I have a Cajun Bandit mid section that is out of round at the base and I've figured out where the flat spot is but I need to figure out how to get the darn thing back in round.

Pat
 
i have access to a body shop type hyd unit. but i'm more interested in getting a small manual unit. i saw something and am looking for it again. i'm not in a super hurry but i'll post my find here.
 
wow, just wow. the lid is crudded up with some stuff that easy off won't even touch. i have never seen this. amazing stuff. i may have to take a grinder to it !!
 
withstands even easy off YELLOW that is some hard stuff. might come off with 2 or three tries.
OR find an old timey machine shop or radiator shop and put it in their vat.

Don't know what is in that but it takes years of carbon off of engine parts leaves them just like new (at least clean). I think with that treatment and then easy off to be sure the vat chemical is off you might be good.

later
 
yea, that machine shop stuff is harsh. not sure what it would do to the porcelain. i've soaked the lid in one spot for 4 days and hardly any softening. a little and i did get some off with hard scrubbing using some steel wool. when i'm finished i think my right arm is gonna be twice the size it is now.
 
Hey George,

If you know anyone that works at a equipment (heavy machinery) shop, they use these daily!

May could offer some free q for a nights worth of borrowing!
icon_cool.gif
 
George

how about this clamp I have had some and they are pretty strong I don't know if this is large enough.

clamp

remember pipe clamps although cheap do not come with pipe. So they can be any length you want.

cheers
 
thanks, i've been looking at them all. i don't think i need something to strong as i'm just working on the kettle. we shall see.
 
sooo, i'm working on the kettle. i'm taking off the three lower vents wheels. soak with pb blaster for a day or so. two come off rather easily but the last one is a no go. so i soak it for days. no go and the nut finally collapses. i take a plier to it and get all off except for the threaded part. i mess with it for more than a day off and on. so i'm looking at it and then a brilliant idea pops up. better late than never, right?? now i like to think of myself as reasonably smart and a good problem solver thinking things through. but i'm starting to worry about it now. my brilliant idea was to use the darned dremel that i got for christmas. so i got it out and fitted it with a cutting wheel. the bolt was out within 20 seconds.!! i need some propping up guys cuz i'm down on myself for taking days and days to come up with this simple answer. for sure i don't think i'll ever forget the dremel again.
 
George

NEVER FORGET YOUR DREMEL!

I have had one for aat least 20 years and seems like every time I start something I find a new use for that thing. Harbor Freight has from time to time a very large set of cheap tools for the dremel. They are kind of use a couple of times then throw them away.

On another note the weber vents were originally riveted but weber offers replacements with bolts. I don't know if they are sholdered or just threaded. Think I would get some SS screws with acorn nuts from HD or Lowes and not have to order them from weber.

Did you get the gunk off of the kettle yet?
 
for sure i'll never forget the dremel. i go to a supply place in fresno that has a ginormous assortment of bolts, etc. i get ss flat headed bolts and ss nuts and washers. i solved the problem of the nuts gripping the bolts by taking a pair of pliers and damaging the threads of the bolt. now the nut will stay on tightly but i'll still be able to adjust the tightness any time i want. i have not delt with the crud on the lid. took a vacation from that and did other things. maybe a job for the dremel !?
 
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