hotter than a two dollar pistol

The misses and I purchased a used stove a couple of years ago.  Impulse buy would probably describe the stove best.  We got the stove home, and soon realized that our new stove took up our entire house.  Really, a 24"x24" stove was just too damn big for our living room.  So, like any good hoarder would do, we simply left it on the side of the home where it could develop a lovely patina.

This year, the misses started a fire under me, figuratively o'course, and had me looking at smaller stoves.  We found a lovely, used Jotul stove that was long and lean that I nearly pulled the trigger on.  The only concern I had is that the Jotul would stick just as far out into the living room as the stove we already owned.  I needed something wide and shallow.

Enter Cowboy Todd.  Not because is wide and shallow, but because he is Pipe/Pressure vessel welder.  If something is heavy, steel and needs to be welded together so it can withstand 6000 psi, he's your man.  Last Saturday, we got to choppin', and came up with the following:

Wide and shallow, just like I was hoping for.  Check out the welds on the side.  I couldn't bring myself to grind them - they were just to purty.  Todd laid those down with an arc welder.  Absolutely beautiful.  Now I just need to decide if I am going to repaint it black with high temp paint, or have it sandblasted so it will rust and match everything else in my place.  I want people to feel like they need to be current on their tetanus shots when they come and visit.

Let's hear it.  Black, or rusty?

Black it is.