Glue cracked soapstone.

[ion]

The glue joint has now cooled to 85 degrees and it seems to hold firm. It might work with shellac as well, but it hasn't dried yet, so I'm not sure about that. What I do know is that I used it for top seals and it both withstands heat and sticks well. But an engine rarely goes over 100 degrees, so I mostly believe in the first option.

 

[Hoffmeister]

Suddenly it happens!

During assembly, I was trying to move my soapstone-clad Contura 820T slightly. I accidentally hit the soapstone top with my chest, and it cracked. Many curse words! The break occurred right at the bottom of the U that the stone forms (the stone is like a U around the chimney).

[image]

Right there, where the stone is the narrowest, there was no support underneath. A bit of a dumb design perhaps, but if I hadn't bumped it, nothing would have happened!

Buy a new top, sure, but it's disappointing money. And I don't mind looking at a joint if that top can be repaired.

My idea is to glue a flat bar on the underside as support, maybe drill and insert some form of rivet into the stone. Any other suggestions? And does anyone have suggestions for glue that can be used in this hot environment? I read about soapstone glue made from sodium silicate, water, and soapstone flour. Does it work?

Any tips are gratefully received.

Old thread I know.. but I happen to have such a stove, and I need to remove my top stone so I can loosen the side pieces. One has cracked..
Do you have any idea if you need to detach the chimney, or how do you do it? My chimney is wider than the actual grill on top, which means I can't lift the top stone straight up...

Any idea?