Does anyone have experience with the durability of stainless steel
hardware in a wood stove firebox? Google shows conflicting claims from
various manufacturers. I disassembled the stove this weekend and plan
to reassemble it with hardware-store stainless steel bolts, as some of
the originals have thinned down after about 30 years.

The fully assembled stove is locked together horizontally by tongue
and groove joints between the panels. These bolts keep the plates in
place if the stove tips or is moved, so they aren't tight and I don't
think the higher thermal expansion of ss will cause problems. The
other load-bearing bolts will stay mild steel.

Jim Wilkins