Richmond Advance Range, Restoration Thread

ok this will be my official restoration thread for the Richmond Advance Cook Stove made by the Richmond stove Co. In Richmond VA .

First off I would like to mention Lisa lowfog01.
I met up with Lisa this morning (actually yesterday morning . It's 00:44 at the moment ) after contacting me about taking the stove from her to have and restore . She is the first member I have met in person from the forum . It was very nice to meet her and to see her bees and garden . Very impressive urban bee set up and I think she talked me into doing bees next year myself .

This was very nice of her for her to offer this stove to me because I really did want this stove to restore and put in my house . So THANK YOU Lisa ! And I hope you can make it my way to see the progress since I live sort of on the way to one of your kids .

So first off . I don't have a lot of photos at the moment but I do have a few that I am posting below. After driving up early to get the stove I was stuck in very very long traffic and of course every road was like this . Northern VA --- yay . I immediately came home , unloaded the stove and parts and went to the junk yard to pull car parts . So my day has been very busy. Just about got heat stroke and yea fun stuff .

So first off there is three broke. Spots on the stove . One large chunk missing in the firebox area and two cracks below the water tank holding side . But I have all the parts so if I can't source usable parts to recast I can braze these back together and have them recast . But everything else is pretty solid from what I can tell . I have to restore this stove right because it was made right here in Richmond VA .
And here was the original photo that the man who gave the stove to Lisa posted . More photos to follow but I've been very busy so bear with me on the timeline .

Josh

Nice Josh. She'll be an outstanding project.

Very special to have a stove returned to its home town. I look forward to the restoration!

freetown fred wrote:Nice Josh. She'll be an outstanding project.

Thanks Fred! This one means a lot to me being a part of Richmond VA . But there is going to be a lot of research involved. As you will see in the quote below the Richmond Stove Co. resided in Shockoe Bottom of Richmond VA. which is 8 minutes from my house.

http://theshockoeexaminer.blogspot.com/2010/06/ra ... nd-ca.html

"
Established just before the Civil War, the Richmond Stove Company was one of those firms whose factory buildings were located in what is now Shockoe Bottom.

The Richmond Stove Co. was the South's largest manufacturers of stoves in the late 19th century. By the 1890s it manufactured 15,000 to 20,000 heating and cooking stoves yearly selling them throughout the South. William J. Anderson became president in 1883, serving in that post until his death in 1911. For much of that time Robert G. Rennolds served as Secretary and Treasurer [many sources have used an alternate spelling for Rennolds -- spelling it as "Reynolds" which is incorrect.]

The company originally manufactured ornamental iron. It dominated the iron industry until the late 1800s, when the supply of iron from the mines slowly began to diminish. When decorative ironwork became too expensive, and the demand for iron decreased, the company changed its product line to stoves, ranges, and heaters. The stove works in Richmond covered nearly a block of ground at East Main and Twenty-Fifth Streets. A three-story warehouse on the opposite side of Main Street functioned as the company's offices.

After the death of Anderson in 1911, the firm was managed by E. A. Rennolds as President, Superintendent Benjamin Booz, and Secretary and Treasurer was R. G. Rennolds. In the 1920s the company was absorbed by another local business, the Southern Stove Works. In the 1950, the Southern Stove Works was reorganized as Southern Steel and Stove Company. In 1962 the company became Southern Industries Inc. "

There is a bit of confusion really on the internet about the name "Richmond Stove co." I keep finding a few things on a company using that name in Norwich Conn. but there was a Richmond Stove co. in Richmond VA and obviously this stove has that cast into the side of it. I am going to be contacting the local university historians who seem to have had an interest in Shockoe Bottom and and these industrial companies. I will also be visiting the Library of Virginia to research the old company records and tax records. That will give me hard evidence to trade the companies time line down.

There is also many pieces of paper floating the net with Richmond Stove co. logos and Richmond VA . The address was : 1000 Cary St. Richmond VA ... and I also have a 25th and Main St. Richmond VA . apparently it took up a lot of space.

I have a lot more to post

I'm glad you got the stove, Josh.

This is going to be a very interesting thread.

Welcome to the wonderful world of wood/coal cooking.

That's a very nice, rather high-end, early 1900's roll top range. Certainly a worthwhile project that will return far more than you ever have to put into it. They truly can become a family heirloom to be handed down through the generations. And as one who has been using one for 11 winters now, your gonna wonder how you ever got along without it !

I'm gonna guess that the 68 in the model number refers to the 6 "round covers" in cook top, which are about 8 inches in diameter ??? The 18 should then be the oven size. Many range manufactures not only copied the design of the ranges from each other, but they often used similar model numbering methods, too.

Other than the roll top warming oven, it's basically the same as my 1903 Sunny Glenwood. I see that it even has the water reservoir dampers handle in the same place and the same shape.

Buy the way, I know people mix the terms up, but technically it's called a "range". "Cook stoves" are earlier type stoves that tended to be smaller and simpler. Ranges, like yours, were the more modern progression of what cook stoves became. They could do much more than a cook stove could,...... as has been covered in the Cookin' With Coal" thread.

Cookin' With Coal

Looking forward to seeing it returned to life again !!!

Paul

an interesting article about keeping Richmond money in Richmond goods that mentions the purchase of Richmond stoves Another article of how good of a business the Richmond Stove Co. is and how they sell all over The library of Virginia has an awesome newpaper search online and I found this amoung a lot of others. I am trying to find the specific model listed but no luck yet. The Richmond stove company made all sorts of stoves including their own HOT BLAST.

Sunny Boy wrote:Welcome to the wonderful world of wood/coal cooking.

That's a very nice, rather high-end, early 1900's roll top range. Certainly a worthwhile project that will return far more than you ever have to put into it. They truly can become a family heirloom to be handed down through the generations. And as one who has been using one for 11 winters now, your gonna wonder how you ever got along without it !

I'm gonna guess that the 68 in the model number refers to the 6 "round covers" in cook top, which are about 8 inches in diameter ??? The 18 should then be the oven size. Many range manufactures not only copied the design of the ranges from each other, but they often used similar model numbering methods, too.

Other than the roll top warming oven, it's basically the same as my 1903 Sunny Glenwood. I see that it even has the water reservoir dampers handle in the same place and the same shape.

Buy the way, I know people mix the terms up, but technically it's called a "range". "Cook stoves" are earlier type stoves that tended to be smaller and simpler. Ranges, like yours, were the more modern progression of what cook stoves became. They could do much more than a cook stove could,...... as has been covered in the Cookin' With Coal" thread.

Cookin' With Coal

Looking forward to seeing it returned to life again !!!

Paul

Thanks Paul, You are right, everything I read says "Ranges" on all the articles. I have changed the title to properly reflect the stove. This is good news about the parts being very similar. If for any reason I can't find something then I could possibly have a recasting or use parts from another stove brand. I would like to make this stove as original as possible but if it comes down to recasting another manufactures part then I could always try to get the foundry to change the casting info to recreate a part that looks like it was made from the Richmond Stove Co. These are just all ideas of course. I haven't had time to seriously dive into this but everything looks to be there so I have hope that I can repair the broken spots and have some recastings done. If I can get the O.K. foundry to return my messages I would be ok. It would be a lot easier and economical for me to use the foundry down the street from me.

The one thing I did notice is it looks like it has a cast iron water basin instead of the sheet metal ones I normally have seen in some of these stoves. It looks like even in 1901 the Richmond Stove co. was also already advertising "Gas Ranges" which would have made this style already on the back burner lol wouldn't you think ? Any more tips you can give me for dating this properly? also thank you so much for the info on the 68-18-A code .

I hope to get more detailed photos of the parts tonight and post them.

Oh and Paul it also has two holes on the left that go into the fire box behind one of the cast plates for water pipes ... I mean I honestly can't believe it's a stove from Richmond VA , made in Richmond VA and has the places for the water fittings plus a water reservoir. It was what I was looking for in a range to a T !

Josh,
While the many stove manufactures copied from each other, I'm not aware that any different make of ranges have parts so exactly copied that they can be interchange,...like some of the parts of your #6 and the Wings Best.

However, if you have all the broken parts, thoroughly degreased and cleaned of corrosion, then and glued back together with slow cure- high strength, Marine grade epoxy, they will usually suffice for having recasts made.

Depending on how the parts fits the rest of the range, you'll have to over size them anyway, using things like Bondo which gets filed and sanded to size. Epoxy works very well with the polyester based plastic fillers known collectively by the manufacture's trade name of "Bondo".

Yes, a cast iron tank is rare. All the ones I've seen have had copper water tanks that sit down into the water reservoir housing.

Looking at the minimal surface decorations of your range, my guess is it was made about 1905 to 1910 - the beginning of the era of models often labeled as "Modern". They were getting away from the very decorative ones to "cleaner looking" styles. The earlier ones like my 1903 tended to have more surface decoration. Go back before 1900 and they had even more elaborately detailed decoration.

The year of manufacture might be on the castings. Many manufactures used the year as part of the part numbers. Look inside the doors, and under parts, to see if there are numbers cast in them . If the year was used, it likely will appear on every part. Sometimes there are parts with other years numbers on them because that part's pattern was used for more than one year's model, so look at as many parts to check for number commonality as you can.

The numbers that do not repeat on every part should be that part's individual number.

Example; Glenwood uses a letter ,or letters, for the model. Such as, "SG" for my "Sunny Glenwood". That's followed by the year, "1903". And then the last numbers are that part's number.

No idea what the "A" at the end of the model number stands for.

What style grates does it have ? Can you post pix of them ? And I see it has the rearward extended fire box that some manufactures used to be able to get longer pieces of wood in. Some offered it as an accessory.

Those water pipes would thread into what were called "water fronts", or "water backs". They were cast iron water jackets that replaced some of the firebox cast iron liners, or firebricks. The water front would be along the left hand side of the firebox.

BTW, that left end of the range - aka the hearth - was actually called the front of the range even though that's not the side you stood at the most to use the range. It's a hold-over term from those earlier simple cook stoves designs, where the oven door was considered to be on the side, or sides, of cook stoves.

They moved the cook rather than change some of the nomenclature when they developed the range.

Paul

What the Richmond Stove Co. Looked like. 25th and main. It took up a block or more in shockoe bottom. The building looks like it's still there and is apartments now . I'm not positive but I will be confirming this in the next few weeks because I have been picking up grocery a right In front of that same building for almost 2 years now! What a small world .

Paul I will post some grate photos tonight.

Going to that address in Google Earth, it looks like it might be the same building ?

And going to street view, the portico entrances, window size and spacing, and the side street slope are somewhat similar to the picture.

Plus, the brick dental work around the top of the third floor might be remnants of the original roof line, meaning that a fourth floor was added later ????

It'd be cool if you can determine if it's the building.

Paul

Sunny Boy wrote:Going to that address in Google Earth, it looks like it might be the same building ?

And going to street view, the portico entrances, window size and spacing, and the side street slope are somewhat similar to the picture.

Plus, the brick dental work around the top of the third floor might be remnants of the original roof line, meaning that a fourth floor was added later ????

It'd be cool if you can determine if it's the building.

Paul

I am pretty sure it is the same buildings or at least part of them. I will get some more current photos to post . Also the 1400 E main St. Address was the showroom for the Richmond Stove co. I will get a photo of that too but you can probably get a street view . I haven't been able to get the street view on my phone and I'm away from a computer at the moment . I want to say that corner building possibly was incorporated into a larger existing building but I could be wrong. I have a 1908 article I will post about a fire at the Richmond stove works .

It is good to see you got the stove home safely and I will be watching this thread. I look forward to seeing the progress you make on it.

Randy

Photog200 wrote:It is good to see you got the stove home safely and I will be watching this thread. I look forward to seeing the progress you make on it.

Randy

dhansen wrote:Very special to have a stove returned to its home town. I look forward to the restoration!

SWPaDon wrote:I'm glad you got the stove, Josh.

This is going to be a very interesting thread.

Thanks Guys ! I hope it does turn out to be interesting. I just hope I can put the pieces back together and get parts recast I need.

I just took a few more photos of parts:

The door on the roll top The grate assembly . It's just a dump grate so not as nice as the Glenwood triangular grates but its in great condition. I would like to have a spare or two recast This looks to be the grate to the intake above the oven on the side of the firebox?
Its damaged pretty good and warped. I may need to recreate this one to get a good mold. Richmond Advance badge Handle knob Closable tea or mug shelf? closet badge damper I have a lot more parts but this is all I took photos of tonight. I will try and take photos of the other broken spots soon.
any leads or parts you think you guys might be able to send me too let me know.

Paul you were right about the tops they are 8" I am going to go measure the oven now and go look at some castings. I really want to know the year and I don't think I am going to sleep well tonight if I don't check !

Ok I went out for more. I could not make out any info being a date on the castings but I did find something interesting. On the base it is Cast Richmond JUNO for the sides and Richmond Advance for the front and back. The Richmond JUNO was in one of the ads I posted. for some reason I am always having trouble getting the photos to post correctly even though they are the right way around on my camera and on the internet but when I link them on this site they go another way.
anyways I will link you to the entire album if you wish to not turn your head...
http://s1199.photobucket.com/user/SuperJA5000/sli ... stove%20co




and then another name


Everything seems to match though. I even found an old toaster with a US and Canadian patent date on it


looks Like Sep. 11th 1908 and Nov. 3 1908 ... I doubt it would be 1808 ?

Some of the longer casting numbers and then just random pieces:

This next one is under one of the square top covers

The rest are general pieces





What is the technical term for this piece and all of its functions?


one of the thinner cast broken pieces . I have the piece out of it so I can put it back together.


Here is the cast water tank and there is something really cool that is hand etched into the bottom side but I need to do a rubbing to make it out. It also seems to have a thin enameling on the inside as well. Is this something that can be re-enameled fairly easy again? Maybe enamel the outside to to make it last.