Refurbishing 1949 O'Keefe and Merritt Range

[gredmondson]

Hello All,
I have another son/range question. Son #3 recently bought this 1949 six burner, two oven range, and he has come upon two issues (not to mention a ton of work to clean it).
The right cable of the right oven that should attach to a spring is not there. How do you get to it to replace it? Where can you buy one, or is it something you can create after a trip to the hardware store?
He would like to touch up/repair a few nicks in the porcelain. He found this guide online http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/howto.htm#DO-IT-YOURSELF
and wondered if it was worth the expense.
Is there a repair manual for such a range?
George

 

[58limited]

You can access the spring area through the broiler drawer underneath the oven. There should be a pop-out metal door on each side to gain access. Parts can be purchased through TOAC at the link you posted.

 

[ironrite]

Not much help here with the cable. However seeing you're in the Bay Area, jogged my memory of going to Buckeye Appliance in the link below. My aunt used to live in Stockton and we stumbled across this place. It was a few years ago, but the people seemed nice and they may have parts you may need.

Buckeye Appliance, Stockton, CA (209) 464-9643

Buckeye Appliance has a large collection of antique, vintage gas and woodburning stoves, as well as other vintage appliances, furniture and accessories.

www.buckeyeappliance.com

 

[aedmondson]

In re 58Limited's post

I am said stove owner, and there is no pop out metal door on either side of the broiler assemblies that would enable me to gain access to the door-spring connections. As I've discussed with my Dad, I think I have to remove the entire side panel of the stove to re-connect the wire at the stove door, make sure that wire is threaded properly all the way down to the base of the stove, wrap it around the pully, connect the spring, engage the spring then re-attach the stove side. A removable panel would be a dream, but I think it is only that...At least it's only a dream on a 1948 O&M. But one of you guys has to know something about fixing chipped porcelain! I refuse to believe that visitors to this site do not have a chipped-porcelain attack plan committed to memory. Let's hear it!

 

[swestoyz]

I refuse to believe that visitors to this site do not have a

That's a fairly large assumption if you ask me.

It depends on how much you want to spend. Perfection will cost ya, otherwise blasting the porcelain off and painting/powder coating is the next step (bad for range top/interiors and other heat/chemical sensitive surfaces), and lastly there is always the option of using touch-up paint.

This is a major reason why restorations can sometimes require 2 to 3 donor machines unless you start with a minty machine.

When you break glass, glass is the only true replacement.

Ben

http://www.ipe-porcelain.com/page2.html

 

[norgeway]

1952 O Keefe and Merritt Hi-Vue

I have one that is pretty nice if anyone is interested before I E Bay it, this is the one with the periscope in the oven.

 

[volvoguy87]

Periscope?

Could you explain what this is for and how it works?
Dave

 

[58limited]

My O&M is a 1950 model, it is the narrower 36" model. They might have changed the design but I'm not sure. Below are some pics of my service area. Your set up sounds different than mine: I do not have a pulley and cable. I've never removed the side panel on the O&M, but I have on a Chambers: To remove the side panel, there should be some screws along the back edge and along the bottom. The panel should slide down and out - hopefully O&M did not put screws inside along the front edge and top - that would would be difficult to deal with. If there are screws along the top edge, you should be able to access them with the top pieces removed like in your picture posted above.

Here is my service set up:

After pulling the broiler drawer out, here is what you should see. The other side looks the same:

Here is the access door removed:

And here is the spring exposed:

As far as porcelain goes, my stove has a few chips, I left them because they give it character. You can touch them up - some hardware stores carry porcelain touch up. The color might not be an exact match. If the chips are bad or you just hate them, you can get the panel re-porcelained at Independence Porcelain Enamel: http://www.ipe-porcelain.com/

I had my O&M burner grates redone by IPE for $16.50 each. A stove restoration shop will charge you $35.00-$40.00 each. They are merely the middleman and send the grates to IPE or a similar shop. I do not know how much they charge for O&M panels and doors, but I am a member of a Chambers stove forum and the price list posted their for Chambers panels are as follows (a few examples):

Door: $57.50
Side panel $79.50
Oven door liner $32.50
Burner grates $16.50
Burners $16.50

New porcelain will probably not match the old porcelain on the other panels of your stove, partly because the old porcelain has been through years of cleanings and messes, the smooth surface now has small abrasions and discoloration. If you have one door redone, you will probably want to do the entire front of the stove so they will match.

 

[gredmondson]

58 Limited . . .

Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to do those photos (I admire the close-ups). The set up on my son's range is different. On each side of the oven, there is a wire cable that goes around a pulley to the spring on the bottom of the range. He is going to have Mac from Reliable Stove Exchange take care of the cable/spring problem.

 

[laundromat]

(antiquegasstoves.com)

This is the place I recomend for any restorational needs on any brand of gas range. They are extreamly knowledgeable of all gas ranges and can reporcelainise any parts,rebuild any clocks,rechrome any pieces and sell rebuilt gas ranges.when you go to their wesite,you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.I have sent customers with old gas ranges to this site and they were overjoyed in being able to fully restore their Chambers,Tappan,O'Keefe and Merrit,Oriol, Hardwick,Maytag,Norge,and Monarch gas ranges that would have been taken to the local dump had they not found out about this wonderful group of gas range specialists who truly know them from the inside out.Check out the before and after photos they show on different models as well as their line of available restored gas ranges.They are located in California.

 

[jetcone]

David! Cool Link

to that porcelain site! I am flabbergasted they say they will do appliances!!!
thank you!