Alright, so I did some more work on the Sequoia tonight...cleaned out the bowl, which was one of the easiest cleanups ever, and actually did a bit of hugging on it, as it was out of round. Then I removed the wheels, so I could flip over the bottom shelf. I flipped the bottom shelf and put it on the correct way, as seen below.
I'm pretty sure that this kettle had always been put together incorrectly, as the wood on the bottom side of the bottom shelf looks fantastic. I also unscrewed the door handles and straightened out the doors. Then it was on to the cast iron...good Lord was this thing caked with grease and gunk. I'm not done cleaning it yet, but at a stopping point for the night. Here's a pic of the bottom...anyone here know anything about cast iron who can date this? I'm pretty sure it is very old, but more detail would be great.
Finally, what do you all think about refinishing Sequoias? The wood is pretty dry, and even burnt on the top in a couple of places...pics will be forthcoming. I want to keep it as close to original as possible, but I also want to keep it preserved for the future. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated! I'll get some more closeup pics later this week, but I was trying to fix the basics today.