Highland

Very interesting history. So much our ancestors did that we don't know. And do we tell our grandkids all that we have done? Thanks for the info on putting clay in. The pan has already cracked and a piece of steel has been bolted in above it. Guess someone forgot the clay. I will make sure we get clay in it.

Thank you. Here are some photos of the forge: It has had some farmer repairs over the years: Here is the post vise. I had no idea what is was for until I started reading this forum. My son lives in Maryland and if this pandemic allows I will take all this down to him - and he will have to figure out how best to install it. Don't have photos of the treadle grindstone but try and dig it out of the barn and get one. One of the items I had hoped to find was a knife made by her grandfather. I remember him telling me he made knifes out of bandsaw bands since that was good steel but I could not find any. There was some larger equipment I could not save - a corn grinding mill he ran off a tractor power belt. He ground corn on the weekend for the locals. Something else I could not find was his blacksmith correspondence. He qualified as a blacksmith using a correspondence course. It consisted of about 10 small booklets - about 20 pages each. He sent in a nickel for the first book. He had to write in all his answer to questions about blacksmithg and metalwork. He would send it in with a nickel for the next book. If he got a high enough score he would get the next book. Once he had successfully finished the course he got a certificate as a certified blacksmith and got a job on the railroad. Thanks for the reply. It may need a gasket of some sort since there seems to be space along the sides. I will add some oil and see what happens.

I don't forge but my son and his two sons have started with a homemade forge. They are making hooks and small items and having fun doing it. What I have for them is a Buffalo forge and a post vise. My wife's grandfather ( born 1899) was a blacksmith for the railroad and during the depression moved back to Mississippi to save the family farm from a tax foreclosure. After he died and the farm was being sold I saved a bunch of old tools that were going to be thrown over the hill into the ravine. These included a couple of corn huskers, a sit and peddle grinding wheel, a vise ( which I had no idea why is was designed the way it was), and a Buffalo Forge. The forge has a hand cranked blower that works now that I took it apart cleaned out the mouse nests and cleaned it up. It looks like the gears sit in an oil bath. Primarily I am looking for more information about the forge. Googling Buffalo Forge returns thousands of links. The blower cover has "Buffalo Forge Co" across the top, Buffalo, NY on the bottom and across the middle Handy. Does anyone know anything about this forge? Any idea how old it is? Is has some farmer repairs on it but still can be used as a forge.