Stove shelf design for folding stove

[timdaman]

Following up on my stove baffle post, here is the shelf I made. It has worked very well for me. It does not require any ground support which makes it usable in deep snow. It is stored in the stove when folded (along with my homemade baffle) so it takes no additional pack space. It is quick to set up and take down and only has 1 loose part, a wing nut. It is fairly inexpensive, less than $25 when I made it. Finally, it requires no modifications to my stove (Pomoly T1 Flame).


The materials are:

• A 1/4” aluminum rod. My shelf is 5 1/2” shelf and I needed abut 13” which a trimmed down 12 1/2” for a good fit.
• 22g 304 Stainless steel, about 8” x 14 1/2”. This yields a shelf about 5 1/2” wide, I would avoid going and wider than this but you can make a narrower shelf by reducing 8” to something smaller.
• A 1/4” nut to act as a jam nut
• 2 X 1/4” wing nuts (should be same thread pitch as jam nut)
• 2 finishing nails, 1” or longer.

Tools:

• 1/4” thread tap thread that matches the thread pitch for the nuts.
• Work holding(metal vise).
• Sheet metal brake (14 1/2" or longer) or some other means for clamping long edge of stainless metal sheet. I have a very cheap sheet metal break from Princess Auto. It worked but given the toughness of the 304 stainless I had to clamp hard to keep the material from shifting. I also needed to give vary generous bend allowances.
• Drill bit that is just about the size of the shaft of the finishing nails or just a little bigger. It must be smaller than the heads of the nails.
• 3/8" drill bit
• File to de-burr the corners of the shelf.
• Aircraft shears.
• A sharpie for layout markings.
• Ruler, ideally 16”.
• Hammer
• Hack saw —or— bolt cutters.
• Vice grip pliers
• Nail set, center punch. You can improvise with a nail and hammer.

Steps:

1. When I use the word inside, it is the edge that is nearest the stove, outside is the edge furthest from the stove.
2. First put about a 1” - 2” diameter radius two corners of the stainless steel sheet on the outside edge. This does not need to be perfect, just do the best you can. This will prevent them from snagging you when the shelf is assembled. I used my aircraft shears. The 304 is supper tough and it took a lot of force to make the cut.
3. Fold over about 3/4” of the inside edge and pound it flat. This bend does not need to be precise but it should be very straight. This stiffens the inside edge. I pinched into the fold a 1/2”X1/2" piece of aluminum angle. Given how stiff the stainless is I don’t think the aluminum is needed and I would not include it again. If you do add this stiffening piece, make sure of fits between the two shelf brackets on your lid or else you will be sad later.
4. The side the fold ends up on is the bottom side from here on out.
5. Carefully measure the distance between the center of the two shelf brackets on your lid.
6. Carefully measure the distance between the center of a shelf brackets to the edge of your lid, this will be a small number.
7. On the on the top side of stainless steel sheet along the inside edge, put on layout marks for your measurements such that you have two marks that are directly above the center of the stove shelf brackets when the sheet metal is rested on them.
8. Use a center punch or similar on these marks.
9. Use the drill to drill holes on your two marks. Stainless is tough to drill, be careful and use some oil to reduce heat and friction.
10. Use the file to remove burrs from all of the edges of the sheet metal.
11. Fold about 1/2” of the outside edged to a 90 degree angle when measured against the bottom of the sheet. This does not need to a perfect 90, the depth/width/thickness of the edge being folded does not need to be precise, and the bend radius can(and likely will) be fairly big. Any small variances won’t cause issues. This stiffens the outside edge of the shelf.
12. Drill a 3/8" hole into the bend radius in the center of the outside edge. This will receive the support rod.
13. Next, place finish nails into the hole holes on the top of the shelf such that the points stick out the bottom.
14. Place the shelf on to of the shelf brackets such that the nails pass through the brackets. The shelf should be well supported along it’s inside edge if you hold up the outside edge with your hand.
15. Check that the tradition between the lid and shelf is reasonably smooth. The inside fold should give a nice soft transition for sliding pots across the gap. Tweak as needed to make this edge good when the shelf is horizontal. Hammer the fold flatter to knock down any lip.
16. Now, take your aluminum rod, and insert it abut 2” into the inside of the center ribs under the stove floor. Mark the rod where it meets the edge of the side of the stove, this is where you will need to bend. The end of the rod in the rib will be called the “short” end.
17. Clamp the aluminum rod firmly and place a bend close to the mark you just made, precision is not critical. The angle will have to be dialed in by testing the fit but start by bending it about 30 degrees.
18. Place the short end of the rod into the rib and pivot it so the long end points up. With the shelf in place you want to set the angle so it pokes through the 3/8" hole you drilled on the outside of the shelf. Adjust the angle of the bend as needed to line it up with the hole. If your rod is too long (it probably will be), cut it down while being careful to preserve at least 1/2” of “stick through” on the hole when the shelf is held horizontally. You should be able to tilt the shelf up a bit to get the rod under the hole and then lower the shelf on top. This step will be fiddly, take your time, and remember, you can’t add material.
19. Once you have the rod cut to size and set to a usable angle place in a vice so you can work on the “long” end. Use the thread die to cut about 2”-3” of threads into the long end. This will give you some room to adjust the angle of the shelf up and down.
20. Now add the jam nut then a wing nut to the long end and thread them all the way down your threads.
21. Place the shelf on the brackets using the finishing nails, install the aluminum shelf support on the center rib and place the long end through the hole on your shelf. The shelf should droop down too far on the outside edge. Using the wing nut adjust it so the shelf is flat with the lid.
22. Use the jam nut to lock the wing nut in place.
23. Now take the shelf off. Place it in a metal vice such that the inside of the shelf is supported by the vice, one of the nails in in between the jaws, and the jaws just barely to NOT clamp the protruding end of the finish nail which is placed between the jaws.
24. Using a hammer pound the head of the finish nail nearly flat with the surface of the shelf. This will allow pots to slide over this area.
25. Flatten the other nail head via the same process.
26. Now reinstall the shelf. With the support rod and nail you should have a stable flat surface. However it can easily be knocked out of place if you bump it from below. We are going to fix that.
27. Mark the nails where they emerge from the bottom of the shelf brackets.
28. Now take the shelf off. Cut the nails so they are only extend about 1/4” - 1/2” past your marks. I used a bolt cutter but you can use a hacksaw too. De-burr the ends of the nails when done.
29. Using vice grip clamp the area between the shelf and the mark then use a hammer bend the end of nails past the mark to about 30 - 45 degree towards the outside edge of the shelf.
30. Using your vice as anvil strike the tip of the nails with a couple of moderate blows. This should flatten them a little bit and prevent them from falling out if pushed back through the hole in the shelf.
31. Reassemble the shelf. It will be harder to get on. Install it at about 45 degree angle to get the tips of the nails into the holes but then you should be able to rotate it horizontal while pushing down on the inside edge to get the base of the nails into the hole. This angle on the end keeps the shelf from moving upward as bind against the bottom of the shelf brackets.
32. Install the aluminum support rod to hold the outside shelf edge horizontal.
33. Add the second wing nut to lock the support into place.

When done with all of this you should have a shelf that is firmly fixed into place but can be broken down and stored inside the stove when folded.

A note of caution, do not make your shelf wide. The shelf is outside of the footprint of the stove and too much weight or leverage on it will cause the stove to fall over. When using it, try to keep heavy pots of water on the inside edge. Only use light weight (backpacking style) pots. Never place cast iron cookware on this shelf.

Here are some annotated photos showing the details of this shelf. Enjoy.

Here is the final setup


The parts off the stove.


Detail of a shelf bracket on the lid of my stove


Flattened nail head


Fitting the nails into the bracket.


The view of the bracket and nail when the shelf is mounted.


Outside edge of shelf


View of shelf support from below


Everything packs up inside the stove just before it is folded. The stove baffle is under the shelf in this picture.

[Undersky]

Love your build report, Timdaman! Such detail!
Also, selfishly for me, your post has come as I just did a first-burn yesterday with a new Pomoly Flame that a tripping buddy and I just purchased. Now we have access to your excellent and proven plan for a shelf if we decide to add one.
I especially appreciate how your design does not utilize another foot, so leveling a much wider stove/shelf base is not an issue. Our stove set-ups are virtually always on top of snow, and as we all know, packed snow is not reliably stable over a few days on the floor of a hot tent. With your set-up, if the stove is flat, the shelf is too!
Thank you!

[4estTrekker]

Heck yeah! Great thinking and great post! Thanks for sharing. Happy camping.

[timdaman]

Love your build report, Timdaman! Such detail!
Also, selfishly for me, your post has come as I just did a first-burn yesterday with a new Pomoly Flame that a tripping buddy and I just purchased. Now we have access to your excellent and proven plan for a shelf if we decide to add one.
I especially appreciate how your design does not utilize another foot, so leveling a much wider stove/shelf base is not an issue. Our stove set-ups are virtually always on top of snow, and as we all know, packed snow is not reliably stable over a few days on the floor of a hot tent. With your set-up, if the stove is flat, the shelf is too!
Thank you!

Glad I could share.

I took almost never have the opportunity to set up on solid ground, usually the stove is on a couple skid "logs". I use the bottom 2-3' of the wrist-forearm thick trees I grab since that part is usually fairly wet from the ground and snow.

A quick note about your new stove. On mine the jam nut on the long bolt that makes the hinge to the door fell off. You might want to check yours. Also, most of the fasteners seems to be 4mm, it might be sensible to have a spare or two in the repair kit.

I hope you have a great winter with the new stove and enjoy the lovely window!