Jump to content

drilling holes in cast iron stove legs???? any help?


Featured Posts

Hey boat folks,

 

I'm installing my stove and according to the guidelines the stove must be FIXED FIRMLY IN PLACE. In CAPS so it must be important. My stove is on legs that just end in a stump and i don't know how to fix that to the fire board and plywood beneath????? Any ideas?

 

The only solution i can think of is L brackets on legs then screwed into the base. But this will require drilling holes into the legs of the cast iron stove. Any advice on how to do this???? What type of drill bit? How difficult it is? People are saying to use cutting oil? but i don't really know what that is?

I only have a fairly weak battery drill will i need something more powerful to get through cast iron?

 

Or is it better to take the stove somewhere and get it drilled for me. If so would you know where i could go in london?

 

Thanks for all your help. You people save the day for me on a near daily basis these days. thank you x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine was originally fixed by means of 4 simple brackets screwed to the floor, so as to prevent the feet from sliding, and relying on the fact that the stove cannot lift over them because it is held down by the flue. Several BSS inspectors have been happy with that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine is held down with L shaped brackets. 2 or 3 would suffice.

 

I didn't do it - the previous owner did it after it was picked up on the survey.

 

Ordinary HSS drills should go through cast iron without too much stress. It's softer than steel.

 

Cutting oil is probably unnecessary in cast iron, but if you really want to use it WD40 is a good substitute.

 

I doubt your battery drill will manage it though unless you charge between holes.

 

You then have to drill the other holes in the tiled base.

 

Keeping up's idea sounds a simpler one - boxing the stove feet in somehow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey keeping up! That sounds like a much better solution. Was worried it wouldn't pass a safety inspection. But if yours has passed then i think thats what i'll do! Thanks for your help!! Totally solved my problem and made the job simpler more than more difficult!!!! Thank you you are amazing x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drill slowly with a sharp drill bit and a light oil or paraffin/diesel as a lubricant - watch temperatures though!.

Some low grade cast irons can have hard inclusions which will take the edge right of a high speed drill bit, in which case you may need to us a tungsten or a suitably reground masonry drill bit. You can buy drills that are suitable just for cast iron from engineering suppliers.

 

Don't let the drill 'rub' and not cut metal, as this can cause rapid local heating and cracking of thin cast iron.

If you want a large hole use a small pilot drill then a slow speed hole saw with lubricant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine was originally fixed by means of 4 simple brackets screwed to the floor, so as to prevent the feet from sliding, and relying on the fact that the stove cannot lift over them because it is held down by the flue. Several BSS inspectors have been happy with that.

I also used angle brackets which hold the stove firmly in place and are much easier to fit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I carefully marked the hearth and then drilled the hearth to accept four long screws. On each screw I slid a short length of scrap gas pipe plus a penny washer with one side almost cut away. The stove legs fit against the cut away side of the washer and a jubilee clip goes around the leg above the foot, under the washer and around the gas pipe spacer. BSS perfectly happy with it and no way the stove can move apart from snapping the legs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.