Cast iron stoves in particular can be extremely heavy so use care when attempting to move them.
Cast iron antique wood stove identification.
Tips local antique dealers are another potential source of information especially if they sell.
So it helps if you review common cast iron brands before you start scouring salvage piles.
Old wood stoves are a relic from a bygone era but can still be very useful for heating homes and cooking food.
Start with the brand.
Makers marks in cast iron history not bourbon history are the easiest way to identify antique cast iron.
Even after gas fired ranges and eventually electric stoves became ubiquitous cast iron cookware continued to be manufactured in the sizes and with the designations originally established for its use on wood burning stoves.
Since the heat ring denotes use on a wood stove it also means the piece is an antique.
Cast iron stove parts were formed with specific molds from each manufacturer and if that manufacturer is gone you can bet the molds are too it s also worth noting that the same parts tend to fail on every unit in a given line of stoves so finding those parts on another antique is also difficult.
Catalog gives these as the bottom diameters of their regular cast iron skillets.
When you spot a cast iron skillet at the junkyard or flea market it could be a hundred years old.
With the name and logo emblazoned on the bottom of the skillet its origin can be traced and even dated.