UPDATE 1:
The only issue I am still having is that 2 of 3 legs don’t want to come out of the socket very easy. If it needs to be broken down for transport I will have to work on that but there is no immediate need so im not sweating it right now. Considering how often my other kettles’ legs fall out this is the lesser of two evils. 
UPDATE 2:
This kettle may get its first active duty on an upcoming vacation. To do so i would need to get the legs loose to disassemble. I placed bowl upside down on the lawn and inserted a large slotted screw driver in the slots between the socket welds and gently pried and twisted to get the legs to slide a tiny but and then gently pulled and twisted the legs out. It looks like there was a slight bit of water that got stuck in the socket and caused some rust that fused the legs in the sockets. One they were removed some light sanding removed any rust in the sockets and legs. Aside from very minimal rust staining from the socket, the legs were in excellent shape.
Decided to designate this as the vacation kettle since trunk space is already an issue. It was a $10 craigslist find that was purchased for parts. I swapped out the OEM therm and new style tool hook handles to put on my pizza cooker. If space gets really tight for the ride home, i could to leave it behind it as a great curb find for someone else (worst case scenario).
Topic: UPDATED: Restored a partially crushed kettle. (Read 5078 times)