Kings Ferry Blacksmith

This part is normally a slip fit on the shaft so, at best, it is being held by surface rust or dried grease. Try shooting some penetraing oil into the bolt hole and give it a chance to work. You can then make yourself a small slide hammer and gently tap the piece off the shaft.

I just finished restoring a Western Chief Blower and all of the shafts had thrust washers on them. If there are no washers then the metal to metal friction of the gears and housing may be causing your lack of coast. Be careful that the washers you choose are not too thick. If they are, the gears will bind when you tighten the bearing plate screws and that will cause the same problem. I used 1/64" fiber washers from McMaster-Carr. You didn't mention if you had put oil in the unit before spinning it. This is important as the friction caused by the combination of multiple gear and shaft/bushing contact would definitely affect free spinning. .

The non-metallic gear you are referring to is Phenolic which is a hard, dense material made by applying heat and pressure to layers of fabric, impregnated with a resin. Phenolic has good machinability and toughness but unfortunately long term exposure to lubricating oil causes the resin to break down and results in the gear delaminating which renders the gear unserviceable.

Thanks Steve and Ten Hammers for your input. In looking at the photos posted by guys who have restored these the tendency is toward tapered wooden handles (similar to file handles). So I guess my question is were the original handles tapered or straight? I know this is a trivial matter but when I restore something I like to keep the orginal appearance of the item. I also know that there is no way of knowing whether or not a handle is an original or had been replaced at some point so my question may very well go unanswered.

Greetings, Does anyone have a photo of an original (or accurate reproduction) of a wood handle for a Canedy-Otto Western Chief Blower that they can post? Thanks!

Greetings, I would like to build a bellows and have read numerous book articles, forum posts, etc. about bellows construction. The one thing that never seems to get attention, however, is the proper wood to use. I saw one reference to pine but I am not sure if that would be the best choice. I am hoping to hear from those who have built or restored a bellows. Thanks!

Does anyone have updated contact information for Michael McCarthy. The email address referred to in previous postings bounces back as unknown. Thanks. -Alan

Are Jymm Hoffman's Colonial Anvils still available??