I have been in the metal fabrication business for over 25 yrs, & have the tools to make my own woodburning stove. i have some basic ideas involving firebrick, & keeping it airtight. can anyone who has a real tried & true plan save me some trial & error time & money. efficiency,& safety are requirements. love countryside magazine,& wish it was monthly. thanks O.G.H.

-- Owen G. Hecker (owen@customeng.com), November 11, 1999

Answers

In the Lehman's catalog under cookstoves, there is mention of an Amish man named Mark Stoll. He puts the Pioneer Maid stove together in his back yard. It apparently works very well, so it seems he has already invented all the wheels. Perhaps he would help if you could get in touch with him. Since he is Amish, I doubt he has e-mail, but perhaps Lehman's could hook you up with his snail mail address, or you could get in touch with someone in the Amish community. Maybe someone in e-mail land has an address for an Amish person who could help. That's all I can suggest at this point. Hope it helps.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), November 13, 1999.