top of a cook stoves

[adiel]

hey
i'm looking for info about how to make and how to place a metal top for a cook stove.
best with a ceramic glass.
i'm experiencing bending of the metal plate that is creating leaks of cold air inside.
also i've seen that people are making a frame that they place and then they put the plate and i dont understand how they connect the two.
thanks

[satamax]

Well, i would say, if it's not cast iron, and made of several pieces, you will always have the problem. On the range retrofit, and the other ranges i've dismantled the tops are attached to the sides, via either bolts in slots which let expand the cast iron top, or bolts and l shaped washers, which hold a lip. I think for massonry heater cooking tops are just heavy cast iron, rested onto a brick lip, with some kind of superwool or braided joint.

[Vortex]

Aidel, this is how mine is made. I found the middle of the cooktop bulged up from expansion, so on the second stove I built I used 10mm steel plate. After about 6 months that top started to twist, so I cut out a big square above the firebox and made it into an expansion plate like on commercial ranges. Worked OK after that.