Hello! Newbie here. Old Stove info needed

Hi there. Im Dave. I just purchased an old J Rose & Co New York “Rose Oak” 113 pot belly stove. I attached some pictures.
Question 1: What is the proper age of this stove? (People said it was in family for 50 years).
Question 2: Upper portion of stove seems to be steel and lower portion seems to be cast iron. Is it safe to fire with wood?
Something tells me there is firebrick or something missing from inside the steel upper area.
I have plans to use this stove to heat my small 400 square foot home. All comments and suggestions welcome. Please remember i am totally new to all of this. Thanks in advance! Dave.

The generic term for your stove is Oak stove.

First close a dollar bill all around the ash door to see if it holds tightly. That door must be fairly airtight to control the stove properly.

The fire stays in the bottom cast iron part so there is no lining in the steel upper part.

It is primarily designed for coal, but wood can be burned. Open the air control on the upper loading door when burning wood.

It looks to be in good condition. Paint the steel part with barbecue high temp. paint and stove polish on the cast iron parts. Williams applied with a round shoe polish application brush works well. Polish the nickle trim and it will look beautiful.

Welcome, Dave.

In your third picture, on the left side of the barrel beaded area, I see what looks like a rust hole in the sheet metal.

One small holes isn't a problem. You can wire brush the area around it clean and then put a dab of refractory cement over the hole making a sandwich of it by dabbing it on from both inside and outside to hold better.

Wire brush and check for other areas that the barrel has been rust thinned, or rusted through. If it's more than a few pin holes it could become a safety issue, then you should think about having a sheet metal shop cut and roll a new barrel.

Paul

Thank you for the input! It is greatly appreciated!!!