Jim Nolan's Blog

Finished Buffalo Forge Grill Parts

Photo: Mike Patton

Above, most of Mike Patton's carefully restored Broil-Air parts before final assembly. Below, a shot of the restored tuyere, which compresses the air before it's shot into the pan. That's why blacksmith's could use this set-up to melt metal.

Buffalo Forge Grill Wheel and Hubcap

Photo: Mike Patton

Mike's wheels were missing the hubcaps, so Mike tells us what he did: 

"Because I only had one hubcap, I had to come up with replacements. I used the "beehive" style found on many pedal cars of the 50's and 60's. They were highly modified to fit the original BFG wheels. They turned out nice and are somewhat "period correct."

They really look nice. Hubcaps are hard to find on Broil-Airs. Mine doesn't have them. 

Mike Patton's Buffalo Forge Grill Paint Choice

Photo: Mike Patton

Here is the paint Mike used on his Broil-Air. As Mike describes it:

"The blower, wheels, accessory tray, and lower support disc were painted with DelFleet (PPG) 196380 to match."

Thanks for sending, Mike. The color looks great. 

Buffalo Forge Grill Shelf Support Brackets

Photo: Mike Patton

Mike Patton fabricated these shelf support brackets himself. Nice, Mike. Here's how it looks put together:

Mike Patton's Buffalo Forge Grill, Reborn

Photo credit: Mike Patton

Mike Patton sent me these pictures of his beautifully restored Buffalo Forge grill. To give you some idea of the amount of work involved, here's Mike describing the project:

Lots of fun to restore this one! As some earlier pics show, I had a lot to start with. 

• Everything was disassembled, sandblasted, and sanded. 
• The legs, axle, adjusting arm, and accessory tray brackets were powder coated Semi gloss Black.
• The guide handle was powder coated mirror with clear. 
• The venturi tube and food grate shaft were ceramic coated. 
• The adjusting handle ball was lightly sanded, then polished back to it's original lustre. 
• The coal tray, heat shield, and even the food grate on this model are porcelain coated. 
• The blower, wheels, accessory tray, and lower support disc were painted with DelFleet (PPG) 196380 to match.  
• Because I only had one hubcap, I had to come up with replacements. I used the "beehive" style found on many pedal cars of the 50's and 60's. They were highly modified to fit the original BFG wheels. They turned out nice and are somewhat "period correct". 
• I had a local shop fabricate the accessory shelf. It needed much more fine tuning, then I fabricated the shelf support brackets. (Thanks for the pics, Adam!)
• I used some stainless fasteners and other items I'm sure were not original, but since I have to "street rod" a little of everything I do, it had to show up somewhere!

Mike continues:

 

"It is my belief this grill has never been used. Its original condition as well as the narrative from the person from whom I acquired the grill will attest. He remembered it being an anniversary or some such gift given to his parents and never remembers them using it. There are no marks, staining, or any evidence of heat that can be found on the coal tray, or heat shield. Additionally, one pic shows a tag still affixed to the heat shield. I would love to know how it deciphers! 

 

"This is merely conjecture on my part, but I think this model must have been one of the later ones produced, hence the "improvements and upgrades" of the adjustable food grate, the porcelain coating, even the color. So far as I have found (with Jim and Adams help) all advertising shows only black trays and heat shield. Perhaps the advertising for this model hadn't caught up with production, or BFG knowing they were ending production runs, elected not to advertise this model?

 

"I'm typically not a "trailer queen" kind of guy, (If you can't drive it, what good is it) but I can't bring myself to fire this thing up, as much as I would love to! In my mind, it's just too nice of an original example. Hope you agree."

 

What a job, Mike. But you have to fire it up! Okay, maybe when the snow melts. I've never seen a Broil-Air with ceramic coating before. Anybody out there know anything about it? Here's a picture of the heat shield with the tag on it. I'll post more shots of Mike's handiwork this week. 

Mike Patton's Buffalo Forge Grill

Mike Patton came across this Broil-Air in a farm shed/shop he had visited to help a friend restore an MG. He ended up making a trade for it. It has this unusual ceramic coating to the heat shield and charcoal basin. I think it may have been added later but who knows, maybe some of them came that way out of the box. It would have helped the rust problem. Anyway, it's a really nice looking unit and Mike is going to fix it up and keep us updated on his progress. He may have the missing tray fabricated by the same folks who made Adam Gibson's, Tucker Ornamental in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Looking forward to hearing how it goes!