Sam Salvati Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Found a Buffalo Forge hand crank blower, got it from a new friend in trade. I am working on tearing it apart, and refurbishing it. Here is the blower as I recieved it , chunky oil in some spots, pretty tough to turn but everything all there and no rock tumbler noise: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 Got the fan housing, fan blades, and gear case cover all off. Not always, but sometimes you have to take the gears and shafts all apart, not recommended, sometimes they wore specifically so they won't go back together properly ever again. Always good to get a look at the gears, check for missing or very wore teeth and other wear points on the shafts or loose bearings. Clean and degrease the old gears, get all the loose gunk and rust out of the gear case as much as possible, grit dust inside is a bad thing for obvious reasons, sandblasting is a no no on the gear areas. The gears look nice and fit on this one, the small gear on the last shaft (that the fan rides on) is a bit loose side to side, but not all floppy and sloppy, it's the only one that shows almost any wear, no chips broken teeth or nothin. Here it is all tore apart and a shot of the gears: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 If I'm not mistaken, this design of blower is directional so it moves air best in one direction only. You'll figure it out in short order once it's back together and working. It is also a very good size for the normal 11x14 pot or thereabouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjkaty Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I have a Buffalo Forge and Blower but need blower bearings... ND 12 iD 11/32 Any ideas where to get them? I have an email out to Howden- Buffalo and Buffalo Metal Tool (formerly Buffaloe Forge) but no luck yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 First Welcome to IFI! Try the local bearing, shaft, and driveline outfit. I've always had good luck finding even the most oddball sized bearings imaginable. Take one along so they can mic. it. Frosty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I think some people have had good luck with bicycle bearings for the balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berend Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Just finished restoring a Buffalo Forge Blower with the same problem, the caged thrust bearings on the lower shaft were just pile of rust. I tried every bearing shop in the are without luck. I ended up replacing all the ball bearings with new 5 mm ( I think they were actually 5.1 mm) ball bearings that I took out of casters from TSC. Since I didn't have them caged, I surrounded the shaft with more bearings than were originally there, greased the heck outta them and added a thin brass washer to hold them in on the fan side. The blower works great now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I have five Buffalo blowers in use at the school, but no 210's. I have one odd one, a '300' which has gears at a right angle to the pear shaped fan case. The other four have similar gear cases, not unlike Sam's. The fan cases are all "snail shell directional," unlike Champions which often have the pear shaped fan cases. Two of the fan cases are cast iron and two are pressed sheet metal. My personal blower has a conformation similar to Sam's with the horizontal blast. Three have the blast heading downward about 30 degrees off horizontal. I think that Buffalo had a basic design, but it got altered a little over time depending on who was in charge of the machine shop and/or who the sub contractor was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Evan David Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 New hammer on the block, did you find a rivet at the top of the gear housing?. Mine has one but before I file it off to remove cover is it easily replaced? R. Evan David Scottsdale, AA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 Hi Evan, welcome. You probably missed the date on this post they go from 8 to 4 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Evan David Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Thanks, I am new to Chat System so any help would be appreciated. as I said I am a new hammer on the block trying to build a forge. I took a beginners 8 Hr. Class at Funks Grove near Bloomington ILL this fall. The forges they had were 30" x 24" with sides and ends out at a 45 Deg angle. They used hand crank blowers. I have a Buffalo Forge Blower, the fan cage measures + - 7 1/2" in Dia and the Gear Box is oval + - 7 1/4" long and + - 4 3/4" across tapered at the bottom end. The gear box cover has a rivet on the top which I am not sure how it would be replaced, therefore haven't removed it yet. Any Help? Per your reply , Marc1 am I in the wrong location to post, and if so where do I find it? Thanks R. Evan David Scottsdale, AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Can we get a picture? The only "rivet" I can think of on a blower is the lift to oil button. Now several blower tops cannot be lifted off because they have to slide to the side to disengage an internal interlock. If it's rusted in place it can be hard to shift it without cracking the cast iron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Evan David Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Thomas, THANKS! Yes, what I thought was a river is as you suggested a small push Oil button for the gear case. I was afrade to remove the cover earlier, but with your help, knowing it was not a retaining rivet I was able to remove the cover carefully with a small hardwood block. All of the gears look to be in excelent condition. Thanks again. R. Evan David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 You are doing my reputation as a grumpy, cranky, old curmudgeon no good! Glad it worked out for you and even gladder that the gears are ok, may need some soaking in a solvent if there is any old grease/oil/crud built up in it and please oil it during use. Note that blowers are rather notorious for flow through oiling---ie they often drip oil. Also if you will be using it in a cold environment you may need a light oil for winter use and try not to over oil it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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