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It's all most done. Just need to clean the dirty hand and finger marks off. Does any one know a good place to take some of the parts to get recromed?

 

NICE FIND!

The little apartment-sized ranges led a hard life, so survival rates don't seem to be good. On top of that, gas apartment-sized ranges seem to be far, far more common than electric ones.

This little A-B is a rare beast; I'm glad it has found an appreciative home. Is that a real automatic oven timer, or just a clock and minute-minder?

 

Yup that is a real automatic oven timer. The guy I got this gem from had it in his barn for 6 years and was going to scrap it if no one would buy it.

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A-B must have really cared about the apartment market.

Most apartment-sized ranges were the very least range you could make and still have something to cook on.

Yours has the automatic oven, the windowed door, a convenience outlet and a cooktop light. That's as graciously equipped as almost any large range of the 1950s and early '60s. Not even the three-small/one-large burner configuration can be held against it, because many 30- and 40-inch ranges had that configuration; even TOL GE 30-inchers had it. Someone buying one of these A-Bs wasn't really giving up anything.

Very cool indeed.

 

From what I can fined most of these A-B's were put in mostly trailers. Park models I would assume.

 

In the '50s, nearly all mobile homes were what we would today call "park models," because they were still of a size and weight that could be towed behind a car. If the trailer was large, it did take a powerful car, though: When M-G-M made The Long, Long Trailer with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, a Lincoln had to be brought in every so often, because the Mercury used for the rest of the movie couldn't handle really bad hills while towing the New Moon seen in the film.

Starting in the late '50s, you began seeing mobile homes that required truck delivery. Within ten years, those became the standard, though people still continued to call them "trailers." That term applies only to models that can be towed with a car; if your car can tow half of a 32' X 80' Palm Harbor double-wide, I wanna see what the Hell you're driving.

Anyway, that A-B range would have been a nice, deluxe touch in one of the era's trailers, maybe even an upgrade feature.

 

 

 

A-B Stove Company, Battle Creek, Michigan model #52-685 A

 

That is one adorable range! Congratulations on a great find!

 

When I first started re-chroming parts for my vacuum cleaner collection, I stopped by a Harley-Davidson store and asked them where I could get some items re-chromed. He gave the name of a local shop.

Picture the "type" of person that would be a motorcycle enthusiast, (NOT by any means trying to be degrading or placing labels) and then imagine the type that would be getting vacuum cleaner parts re-chromed. (AGAIN NOT trying.....blah, blah, blah).

Long story short - he and I were both hesitant of each other at first but then became good friends. He also got to be involved with it and (as is customary in most repair shops took photos of "to be re-chromed" items - so they have proof of what come into the shop, displayed next to photos of the completed project.

So, his "wall" in the office had a '63 Ford Galaxy, several Harley's, Ford model "A" radiator shells, custom made choppers - and an Electrolux model XXX!

The process is expensive, there is a lot of work involved - but you will not regret doing it. New chrome is beautiful.

That A-B deserves it! Great looker.

Rick

P.S. Some of the items in my avatar photo have been to his shop....

 

 

 

I think I found a local place that re-chromes. I'm going to see what they have to say.