# New Project: Derco Grizzly



## Heavy Metal (Apr 17, 2012)

I wanted to share my new project. I finally got that old Grizzly stove from a neighbors grandmother. It's in pretty rough shape rust wise. But it's such a neat, cool old stove, I just can't help myself.

So I'm wire brushing the the entire thing with an attachment I bought for my cordless drill. When I finish knocking the surface rust down, I will coat it with Naval Jelly to kill the rust and then paint with high-temp flat black. Every square inch of the exterior is pitted, nothing I can do about that, and I'm not going to grind it down smooth for various reasons. But I think I'll be happy with it once I'm done...for what it is.

There is precious little information on the web about these old stoves. The few that are out there are at this forum, and a couple other small posts here and there. So I thought I would post a thread here about it and track my progress and include some pictures from time to time. Maybe it will help somebody else someday.

This stoves manufactured date is 9/79
It's the "Blazer" model Grizzly

Pretty rough, lots of rust. Been sitting in a basement for probably 20 some years.






The inside of the doors have little brackets, like for holding glass. And then on the outside there is a fine, wire mesh....I guess for looks. But somebody removed the glass and put in these really thin, handcut pieces of tin/sheet metal...like really thin. Some edges of the tin have a fold on it. I almost wonder if they didn't cut the metal from an old appliance or something. A friend of mine works at a steel mill and I'm going to ask him to get me a couple pieces of good, thick steel that will fit. Maybe eventually, I'll get glass.















Appreciate any advice. But you can keep the "you're wasting your time/don't bother/smoke dragon" comments to yourself, thank you. I've read enough around here to know what I'm getting myself into.


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## mtn man (Apr 17, 2012)

Go over it with an orbital sander first with about 80 grit to get the rough stuff off then maybe a 220 grit for smoothness then hit it with the wire wheel in the drill will clean all the pits up nicely. A powered drill with a varible speed control works good in hard to get areas plus different sizes and styles of wire wheels will help also. Don't forget the safety glasses and a mask for your protection. I would recommend Stove Brite paint also, makes a huge difference in appearence too. I got alot of ideas from Coalys threads too. Good Luck


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 18, 2012)

mtn man said:


> Go over it with an orbital sander first with about 80 grit to get the rough stuff off then maybe a 220 grit for smoothness then hit it with the wire wheel in the drill will clean all the pits up nicely. A powered drill with a varible speed control works good in hard to get areas plus different sizes and styles of wire wheels will help also. Don't forget the safety glasses and a mask for your protection. I would recommend Stove Brite paint also, makes a huge difference in appearence too. I got alot of ideas from Coalys threads too. Good Luck


Thank you. I will get some sand paper and hit it with the two grits you list. I've already just about brushed the entire thing and it didn't quite knock it down like I'd like. So I think you're right. Stove Bright....GOT IT!

Thanks bro!


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## fossil (Apr 18, 2012)

This outfit has everything you could ever imagine for cleaning up metal.  I've done business with them many times, and never been disappointed.  Good luck with it...I'm a big believer in bringing old things back to life.  Rick

http://www.eastwood.com/


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## rkshed (Apr 18, 2012)

Nice stove!
If you paint it, high temp or whatever, try to heat it up outside for a while or the house will stink as the paint burns/cures. I restored our old Garrison last fall and made the mistake of painting outside with high temp and not starting it until late September when the weather cooled. Well the house hazed up and stunk as the paint burned. After a week of burning it cleared up and was great. Heated the house for the winter with it. No oil!
Good luck.


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## BrotherBart (Apr 18, 2012)

Stove Bright is an acetone based paint. Do any painting either in a well ventilated garage/shed with an exhaust fan running and preferably with a good organic mask. That stuff WILL cause brain damage. And the advice to do the burn in outside is good as well.


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 18, 2012)

BrotherBart said:


> Stove Bright is an acetone based paint. Do any painting either in a well ventilated garage/shed with an exhaust fan running and preferably with a good organic mask. That stuff WILL cause brain damage. And the advice to do the burn in outside is good as well.


Hey thanks. I will be careful. Didn't know that!


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 18, 2012)

fossil said:


> This outfit has everything you could ever imagine for cleaning up metal. I've done business with them many times, and never been disappointed. Good luck with it...I'm a big believer in bringing old things back to life. Rick
> 
> http://www.eastwood.com/


Wow, they got everything. Me thinks I need one of those plasma cutters for this project...don't you?!


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## begreen (Apr 19, 2012)

You might want to compare price for putting in the glass. You can get neoceram or pyroceram from here. Send them a paper tracing of the thin metal for a good fit.

www.onedayglass.com


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 19, 2012)

begreen said:


> You might want to compare price for putting in the glass. You can get neoceram or pyroceram from here. Send them a paper tracing of the thin metal for a good fit.
> 
> www.onedayglass.com


Very cool. They have some cool stuff as well. So, am I losing anything/efficiency going with glass as opposed to steel in the doors? What are the pros/cons of both?


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## Dune (Apr 19, 2012)

Heavy Metal said:


> Very cool. They have some cool stuff as well. So, am I losing anything/efficiency going with glass as opposed to steel in the doors? What are the pros/cons of both?


 
With the glass you can see what the fire is doing, plus enjoy the veiw. I would skip the steel and go right to the glass
Fire is facinating, steel boxes not so much.


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## begreen (Apr 19, 2012)

I would also make a baffle if there isn't one with the stove already.


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 19, 2012)

begreen said:


> I would also make a baffle if there isn't one with the stove already.


There is not. And a friend of mine familiar with stoves said the same thing last week. He helped me bring it home. How far up from the stove would you recommend or do you do it right at the flue?


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 19, 2012)

Dune said:


> With the glass you can see what the fire is doing, plus enjoy the veiw. I would skip the steel and go right to the glass
> Fire is facinating, steel boxes not so much.


LOL! I get your point! It all depends on $$$$. But I agree with you


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## begreen (Apr 19, 2012)

Not sure how high without seeing the upper insides of the firebox, but maybe a few inches above the firebrick? Take a look in the Fisher threads for some examples.


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 19, 2012)

begreen said:


> Not sure how high without seeing the upper insides of the firebox, but maybe a few inches above the firebrick? Take a look in the Fisher threads for some examples.


I'll take a few pics tonight and post tomorrow.


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## Defiant (Apr 20, 2012)

BrotherBart said:


> Stove Bright is an acetone based paint. Do any painting either in a well ventilated garage/shed with an exhaust fan running and preferably with a good organic mask. That stuff WILL cause brain damage. And the advice to do the burn in outside is good as well.


Lot's of great advice here but BB's might be too late for some of us.


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 23, 2012)

Defiant said:


> Lot's of great advice here but BB's might be too late for some of us.


LOL, I was thinking the same thing....NOW HE TELLS US!?? Oh well.

Didn't work on the stove this weekend, but I did get another 1/2 cord split and stacked. So far I have over a 1 1/2 cords of black walnut (little bit of that is maple) split and stacked. And I have three more walnut trees in the back yard coming down by the end of May. Can't sell the logs as they all have metal all over them. I've already cut 6 large ones down in the last two years!

Oh, I did measure the fire box on the Grizzly with brick in it. it's 20" deep X 22" wide! I'm really excited about that. Bigger than I had been anticipating while cutting wood. I took a sharpie to the side of my saw (I have 16" Husky 345e) and marked off 18" and 20" on the bar cover. I suck at making consistent cuts! So this will help me cut better.


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## Defiant (Apr 23, 2012)

Heavy Metal said:


> Can't sell the logs as they all have metal all over them.


??


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 23, 2012)

Defiant said:


> ??


You would be horrified like I have been every time I cut into one of these "yard" trees. I have cut 3 of these that were close or right at 30" logs. Nails, screws and pieces of wire, deep inside the middle of the trees. And many times at almost ground level. No clue how in the world or why, some idiot would plant walnuts, and then somebody drive metal into them...fencing or whatever the case may be. I did get $70 out of a top log of one of the bigger ones. I sent the bottom log (the biggest) one with it to the Amish logger, he wouldn't touch it. I knew it had metal in it, but thought they might overlook it. They run metal detectors up and down the logs before processing. They pay very fair. In fact higher than if I pay a small time logger to come in and get them.

Never fear, Once I get these problematic walnuts down, I have 10 acres of solid hardwoods. There's some nice ones that are accessible that I plan on selling this summer to pay for the stove installation.


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## Dune (Apr 23, 2012)

Heavy Metal said:


> You would be horrified like I have been every time I cut into one of these "yard" trees. I have cut 3 of these that were close or right at 30" logs. Nails, screws and pieces of wire, deep inside the middle of the trees. And many times at almost ground level. No clue how in the world or why, some idiot would plant walnuts, and then somebody drive metal into them...fencing or whatever the case may be. I did get $70 out of a top log of one of the bigger ones. I sent the bottom log (the biggest) one with it to the Amish logger, he wouldn't touch it. I knew it had metal in it, but thought they might overlook it. They run metal detectors up and down the logs before processing. They pay very fair. In fact higher than if I pay a small time logger to come in and get them.
> 
> Never fear, Once I get these problematic walnuts down, I have 10 acres of solid hardwoods. There's some nice ones that are accessible that I plan on selling this summer to pay for the stove installation.


 
Old time farmer retirement planning. Plant black walnut along the fence line. 40 years later, retire.


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## mtn man (Apr 23, 2012)

Most glass shops carry hi temp glass, but they all have their own prices too. When I was looking for a piece of glass, I goggled glass shops close to my area and called all of them and most where close to $100 for a 10"x14"piece and found one that sold it for less than half of that. Also read somewhere in the forum that they had gone to the scrap yard and took the glass off a stove top and had it cut to fit too.Worked for him and his wallet.


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 24, 2012)

mtn man said:


> Most glass shops carry hi temp glass, but they all have their own prices too. When I was looking for a piece of glass, I goggled glass shops close to my area and called all of them and most where close to $100 for a 10"x14"piece and found one that sold it for less than half of that. Also read somewhere in the forum that they had gone to the scrap yard and took the glass off a stove top and had it cut to fit too.Worked for him and his wallet.


Now you guys have talked me out of going with steel plates! Gotta get to those "money" trees so I can get some glass. Thank you sir.


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## begreen (Apr 24, 2012)

Just to get a rough idea of cost I priced out 1/8" pyroceram cut to 10" x 12" with 1" radiused corners. That came to $51 each at www.onedayglass.com


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## Heavy Metal (Apr 24, 2012)

begreen said:


> Just to get a rough idea of cost I priced out 1/8" pyroceram cut to 10" x 12" with 1" radiused corners. That came to $51 each at www.onedayglass.com


Thank you my friend. Wow...that's pretty salty. Or is that about average? We's po' folk.


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## begreen (Apr 25, 2012)

Yes, ceramic glass is expensive. They usually have a better than average price.


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## Heavy Metal (Jun 26, 2012)

Well, not much new to report. I did take the advice and got my self some sheets of sandpaper and went over the stove several times with my orbital sander. I also bought a large container of Naval Jelly and am getting ready to treat every inch of the stove to kill the rust and get it ready for paint. Sorry I've been away so long. Went on vaca in March and then have been super busy with kids and everything else for Spring.


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## TX-L (Jun 27, 2012)

Have you considered a secondary burn retrofit?  I did one, my see description at https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/bullard-secondary-air-retrofit-project-complete.55033/ 

I never did put glass doors on it, but would like to sometime.


There are additional similar projects profiled in this site if you search for them.

Good luck!


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## wazzu (Jun 27, 2012)

I really like those older airtight stoves. You don't have to battle trying to fit wood in them. They are also more heavy duty in my opinion.


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## Heavy Metal (Jul 2, 2012)

I wanted to take a closer look at the inside of the stove over the weekend. I took some pictures and notices a  couple interesting things I wanted to get everybody's thoughts on.

The first thing that I noticed that I thought was particularly interesting is the vent system. The vents on the upper front side of the stove don't allow air directly in the fire box (like a door vents). But there is a box you can see in the picture inside with a hole half way down. This is on both sides of the stove.









I finally measured the flue and it's 7 inches. But....there's an old baffle in a bag inside the stove, it says 8" but it fits in the 7" pipe? So is 7" fairly standard? Will I be able to find pipe at my local stores or will I be hunting online?









Here is a picture of the entire firebox.


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## begreen (Jul 2, 2012)

Looks like a simple secondary air port introducing air at the front of the baffle. This would be to introduce air right at the flame turn around point. I'd be tempted to run a manifold off that hole to feed a drilled tube or two under the baffle for a more complete secondary burn.


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## Heavy Metal (Jul 2, 2012)

begreen said:


> Looks like a simple secondary air port introducing air at the front of the baffle. This would be to introduce air right at the flame turn around point. I'd be tempted to run a manifold off that hole to feed a drilled tube or two under the baffle for a more complete secondary burn.


So leave one side as is, and take the other side and go off that hole for a secondary burn system?


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## begreen (Jul 2, 2012)

I would do both sides with some box channel capped on the ends and a couple tubes bridging the manifolds under the baffle.

http://www.metalsdepot.com/products/hrsteel2.phtml?page=rttube&LimAcc=


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## Heavy Metal (Jul 2, 2012)

This stove was built in 1979. Do you think it's steel or cast iron? I'm not sure how to tell.


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## begreen (Jul 2, 2012)

All steel.


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## Heavy Metal (Jul 24, 2012)

I just found a buyer and got some pricing for several walnut and white oak trees. Should have enough money next month to start buying pipe and hearth materials!


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## BrotherBart (Jul 24, 2012)

I was almost temped a couple of days ago. A pristine looking Grizzly cat insert showed up on craigslist for $200.


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## Heavy Metal (Jul 25, 2012)

From what i've read, the inserts were their best stoves.....or most popular.


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## Heavy Metal (Aug 16, 2012)

My trees brought almost exactly $1000 So I'm ready to begin!


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## Heavy Metal (Aug 24, 2012)

begreen said:


> Just to get a rough idea of cost I priced out 1/8" pyroceram cut to 10" x 12" with 1" radiused corners. That came to $51 each at www.onedayglass.com


So I called 4 local glass shops today....$100 a sq ft! So this price you got here...is HALF of what I've been able to find. I'll be going to onedayglass for sure. Thank you sir.


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## Heavy Metal (Sep 24, 2012)

Just ordered my glass from Onedayglass.com. Can't wait!

The hearth is built for a corner. I used 2x12's, so the stove will be a foot off the floor. I used my existing prefabbed corner hearth on the top and extended the hearth out about a foot all the way around. We special ordered a nice looking porcilin tile and we have that. So I will rent a tile saw Saturday and lay the small amount of tile.

The stove is painted and cured (outside!!). My boys helped me bring it in Saturday and put it on the hearth. Wanted it on there before I do the tile...didn't wanna risk breaking them after the fact.

So...what's left?

Apply tile this weekend
Doors/glass
dampers
Chimney fab. and install
I'm using 8" as that's the stove flue. I picked up a couple pieces on sale at menards of the double-wall for the attic/outside. Saved $50. Now I just need to buy some single wall, adapter and a the attic thimble.

How do you guys feel about heat reclaimers? Someone at work is telling me how much safer they are...that's not been my impression around here. But I'm certainly all ears.


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## begreen (Sep 24, 2012)

LOL. Safer than what, an open fire on the living room floor? A stack robber is going to cool down the flue gases. That can equate to creosote buildup. And the fans on these units are noisy. Is that what you want?


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## Heavy Metal (Sep 24, 2012)

begreen said:


> LOL. Safer than what, an open fire on the living room floor? A stack robber is going to cool down the flue gases. That can equate to creosote buildup. And the fans on these units are noisy. Is that what you want?


Hell no. I'm doing all this to replace a pellet stove. If I have to listen to fans ever again, I'll go batty. That's exactly what I remember hearing around here about reclaimers.


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## Heavy Metal (Sep 27, 2012)

I need help on what to do with the chimney. I'm going right up through the ceiling and out the roof (single story home). I'm going to have to jog the pipe with some angled elbow to get around a rafter in the ceiling. I want to buy my single wall pipe local at Menards. They have quite a bit. But I don't understand how they connect together...to the stove. I bought two pieces of 3' double wall for outside a month ago as it was on sale and I saved $80. But now I need the attick thimble that the double wall goes into, the adapter that goes from the single wall to that....

Any help would be appreciated. Here's an illustration of what I'm looking at.


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## Heavy Metal (Oct 26, 2012)

Well, my hearth is complete, wood stove is installed with chimney, glass is in the doors, wall shield is almost done and it's awesome! We used 24x24 decorative tins on the walls and it looks fantastic.

We've had a couple fires in it and wow! I'm blown away at the heat and the length of burn overnight on a stove that is nowhere near airtight (which I'll be fixing). I've got serious draft which was my biggest fear. But I can literally feel air going past my face when I open the damper and then open the doors. I'm also surprised at the burn efficiency of this old stove. I do not have white smoke billowing out my chimney. There's smoke, but it's way less than what I thought.

My first time firing it up, before going to bed at around 10pm, I threw a few small pieces of seasoned elm into it (nowhere near stoked or full), shut it down and the next morning had a big bed of large coals, threw a few small pieces on, opened it up and had fire going quickly. I couldn't be happier. I'll post some pictures this weekend.


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## Heavy Metal (Nov 16, 2012)

Here it is all finished! And one of me and my youngest cutting tile for the hearth.


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## begreen (Nov 17, 2012)

That finished up nicely. Looks like the pooch approves too.


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## Heavy Metal (Nov 21, 2012)

Does she count as "a combustable?" If so I will have to move her outside of the 36" zone! Thanks man, and thanks for advice on the glass! Really glad we didn't go with metal plates.


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## begreen (Nov 22, 2012)

She looks too mellow to be combustible. You've got a cute helper in the last shot, but where's her ear protectors dad?


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## tzfbird (Jan 6, 2014)

Sorry to bring this older topic back up.  I got a Derco Grizzly installed in a house I bought a few years back.  The years are pretty close as far as the build date of the house.  I have a Model: T which has a blower and box in place of your baffel plate.  The doors have a bit of decoration to them in the corners besides the screens and glass.
I'm finally starting to read into running the stove correctly instead of everything wide open as I've done in the past.
The main reason I joined and posted is about the vent holes.  I have venting along the base in the front.  There is a cutout at the base of each vented side as well as a plate with holes that goes across the bottom just inside the doors.  It's hard to tell in your pictures if there are openings at the bottom or not.  Just wanted to throw that out there.
Let me know when you get your stove figured out so I'll have some idea of how to run mine correctly.


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## Cuerno Verde (Feb 3, 2014)

Got any pics? Might be like mine.


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## GrizzlyHearth (Feb 24, 2014)

Heavy Metal said:


> I wanted to share my new project. I finally got that old Grizzly stove from a neighbors grandmother. It's in pretty rough shape rust wise. But it's such a neat, cool old stove, I just can't help myself.
> 
> So I'm wire brushing the the entire thing with an attachment I bought for my cordless drill. When I finish knocking the surface rust down, I will coat it with Naval Jelly to kill the rust and then paint with high-temp flat black. Every square inch of the exterior is pitted, nothing I can do about that, and I'm not going to grind it down smooth for various reasons. But I think I'll be happy with it once I'm done...for what it is.
> 
> ...



I have one of these in my Home and I LOVE it. It was here when we moved in. It is a beast in the greatest way. I too can't find any info other than your post. Any other info you can share on it like replacement parts? Thanks


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## valley ranch (Feb 24, 2014)

Greetings, Looks like a well built stove you're working on. I put glass[ pyroceramic] in the door of my stove, the price was $25 for a 1' X 2' piece, a long while ago, I admit, the price has gone up I see. 

I see two metal post sticking out from the sides just inside the door, wondering what they were for? 

Looks good, look forward to seeing how it comes out.

Richard


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## Cuerno Verde (Mar 1, 2014)

GrizzlyHearth said:


> I have one of these in my Home and I LOVE it. It was here when we moved in. It is a beast in the greatest way. I too can't find any info other than your post. Any other info you can share on it like replacement parts? Thanks


One of the staff members named webbie supplied me with some info such as an old sales sheet and such. Ceck out my post called " Name this Grizzly" if interested. Info is damn hard to come by..... Does your Grizz look anything like mine?


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