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Yea, the drum was mounted like that when I bought it. What size and kind of hearth do I need for this? I was thinking of making something out of diamond plate steel and putting the grate on top. Should this work or do I need a cast iron firepot ? Any ideas? Do I need the coal fire below the hearth a few inches? If so, how's the best way to do this?

Trying to upload pics of the forge...looking for recommendations for a firepot and hearth to connect to the base. Will a steel table with the cast iron grate mounted on the top work or will I need to use some sort of firepot mounted to the base of the forge where the 3 holes are at and then build a hearth level with the top of the firepot? What thickness of steel would be the best?

I'll try to get some pictures up. I think what I may have is a rivet forge.

I posted earlier with the Buffalo Forge blower problem. It's now turning free. My question now is what size of table would be needed. I'll probably just be doing small stuff but would like to have enough room. The blower is mounted on the original frame and I have the cast iron grate. The original table is missing. Do I need a fire pot? A drop-in type fire pot from what I've seen wont fit the forge. Would some 1/4" diamond plate sheet steel with the grate bolted to the top work. There are 3 mounting holes on the base just outside the air outlet that the table and grate mounts to. I think this is the only support for the table. I've tried looking at other pictures and can't find anything on this type of forge. The blower and frame is made by Buffalo Forge and stands on four legs all bolted close together at the top and turn out at the bottom. Sorry about the long post.

I finally got the blower unstuck , now I am soaking it in oil this time. I think I will go ahead and clean the forge stand and blower up and paint it since I have gone this far. After the two day soaking in diesel and brake fluid I decided to try just a little pull on the blower shaft with a pipe wrench to see if it would move any at all. It started to turn so I slowly worked it back and forth while spraying oil on it. It seems to be good to go now. I'll continue to soak it in oil while I get the rest of the forge cleaned up and ready to paint. Thanks to everybody for the help and advice!

Still no luck after soaking for 24 hrs. I'll check on the nut and shaft fitting where the fan attaches. I tried moving the fan when it was mounted to the shaft but it wouldn't budge. I'll let it soak another day or so. Since the fan is now off and the shaft is exposed do you think it would hurt anything to put a small pipe wrench on the fan shaft to get some bite and leverage on the bottom gear?

Thanks for all the advice .... I did have some acorns and trash inside the blower and a lot of gunk. I dissassembled everything to get to the gearbox. The gears look good, nothing seems to broken but it is still frozen. The top gear that is attached to the handle seems to be free but the bottom section that that is attached to the blower seems to be stuck. I've cleaned it up pretty good and now it is soaking in diesel fuel. Hopefully this will free everything up. I figured I'd let it soak for a few days and try again.

Help... I ran across a Buffalo hand cranked forge and was wondering how to get it unstuck. Any ideas? It's a complete unit but is seized up. I've tried WD 40 on it but has not seemed to help so far. Are these units rebuildable?

I guess it would make better sense to keep them both and maybe get rid of one later if need be or maybe do some trading. One is around 108 lbs pretty good shape, the other is a 160 lb old colonial type anvil with only the hardie hole, it has been used quite a bit and the face repaired at some time along one edge. I may post some pics later and see if anyone knows what type they are. The hardie holes on both are only about 3/4". I'll have to dig around the forum and get some ideas on a good homemade forge. Thanks

New member here from North Carolina. Just trying to begin blacksmithing. I'm still accumulating a few tools and have finally found an anvil (actually 2) trying to figure out which one to keep. Will be researching on a forge next.