Irondragon Forge ClayWorks

BGD, don't know what you paid but new they run right at 20k. good find no doubt.

No, but I did put in a Crane cam & kit and six Stromberg carburetors on a custom made log manifold ported & polished. Boy was it fast.

I had a '57 Plymouth Fury (ex Florida Highway Police car) with push button shifting. I eliminated that and installed a Hurst floor shifter.

OK so you are talking about the beveled gear (idler) that drives the bottom fan shaft gear. I would soak it a couple of days in a 50/50 mixture of acetone and automatic transmission fluid. Then try gently bumping it back & forth using a wood piece on the teeth. That has loosened many frozen parts for me. A picture of the gears might help. Here is a thread about restoring a 140 blower. BTW You might want to edit (within 30 min.) your above post and trim down the quotes as outlined here. The quote feature

Is that the gear on the fan shaft? Have you made sure there is no critter nest's behind the fan? Mud Dobbers are notorious for locking up the fan by building nest's behind it. Have you tried loosening the fan shaft lash adjuster? If someone has gone King Kong on it that will lock it up tight.

We won't remember your location longer than 30 seconds after leaving this post, hence the suggestion to put it in your profile. If you narrow it down a little more, you may be surprised how many members are near enough to visit and lend a hand on so many things. My experience with propane forges is limited but with everyone's help here my wife & I built a very good one with a naturally aspirated burner. Now if you gravitate to coal forges, I've used one for over 30 years and there isn't much that stumps me with them.

From Popular Mechanics.

Seems with HF, it's the "luck of the draw" when it comes to any electric tools. Some are good and others are junk. I've had good luck with most though. The Bauer is the first of that brand I've had experience with and time will tell. It also seems like all porta-band saws are made in China now even the Big name brands.

Welcome to our world.

Seeing as we have drifted away from Porta-band's, let me relate this about corded saws. My wife bought a Bauer portable band saw from H/F December 1, 2017 and gave it to me for a Christmas present. She bought the 2 year extended warranty then. I used it several times cutting 1/2 X 3 inch flat stock to make dies for her guillotine she made and some other small jobs. Everything I cut with it went smooth but didn't do a lot of work in 2018-2019 because the horizontal/vertical band saw was quicker and didn't need setting up. Then covid hit and we didn't do much in 2020 (nothing with the Bauer). Anyway yesterday, I decided to modify a small table for a new BBQ and had to cut an inch off the half inch angle iron legs (perfect job for the porta-band). Cut three legs like butter but on the forth one the saw quit cold (grrrr). I had to finish the cut with the 4 1/2 inch angle grinder. Today even though the saw was 2 years out of warranty, I decided to take it to H/F to see if they could send it out for repairs or something. I told the clerk my "tale of woe" and she said "no problem would you like to exchange it?" I asked how much it would cost and she said nothing. Could have floored me with a feather. I did buy the 2 year warranty on the new one. How about that?

That blower looks to be in good shape. It's comparable to the Champion 40/140 blowers supplied with the rivet coal forges. It would be perfect with a side draft charcoal forge which require a lot less air than a bottom blast coal forge.

Back when we started up The Iron Dragon Forge & Clay Works my wife had a Tax ID # with her Beauty shop and we included the B/S shop with a DBA on that number, I say we it was her accountant that got that done. As far as making one's own charcoal, for us old folks, making the charcoal isn't a problem, until we would get to the stage of going out into our 60 acre woods to cut down dead wood then getting it back to the shop from there. Too old to be hauling, cutting and splitting it to feed the retort. Of course in all probability by the time that would become a reality, we'll be pushing up daisy's.

Ah corned beef, cabbage and potato's, with horseradish, we love that dish too. Brings back memories of being on the light house and the keepers wife would make that at least once a month and invite the wife & I to dinner.

The only other power hammer I have used is a Big Blu 155 in a school (ESSA) I used to volunteer in the Blacksmith shop. An air hammer is totally different animal. My 30 Pound Star has a fairly simple clutch system. Just 2 wood faced shoes that engage the taper on the pulley, the harder the foot feed is pressed the faster it runs. Mine runs at 120 BPM wide open. I took this picture for another member who has a Star and needed a picture of the clutch pads.

I've made dies for my 30 pound Star out of RR track. It had a drawing top die when I got it and was adjusted so the dies touched at rest. I made a top flat die and made it match the factory die, also touching at rest. Haven't had any trouble with them in 20 years of use. It's kinda hard to see the dies in this old picture. The previous owner reinforced the frame with steel plates because he had read about the Star had an inherent weakness in that area.

I would go with the part that does not for now. After using it a while and doing some hard hammering on the heel, then I might take a chance and only size the shank a little while very hot. A lot of good solid anvils have had the heel broken of by trying to size a tapered shank that was too big. BTW That repair really looks outstanding and I hope it's as good as new.

Just as the craft today looks different than a century ago. Adapting is the secret to survival.

For little pieces & cutoffs I graduated from coffee cans to 5 gal buckets years ago.

My wife calls them lips & nostrils.

I guess Haggis is out of the question. I like it when accompanied by bagpipes.

I know it sounds like we are piling on but you have to realize, we stress safety and when we see something that can maim or worse, we will strongly point that out.

You have already had 13 views and I bet someone who is familiar with carbon arc welding will chime in. It will help to know your general location too.

For once I got the ID right. When I saw the picture it brought back a long lost memory of "Average Chandler" nickname of my friend the retired boilermaker. Haven't seen or heard from him in decades.

That would be my suggestion too, plenty of usable face to work hard on, just no heavy hammering on that spot.

That usually indicates the anvil is at the wrong height for you. This thread is good for finding the right height.