keithgartner

Just another thought. My neighbor has one and we smith together, at rendesvoues, and we attached a bracket to two legs and put a sheetmetal heat shield over the belt and pully. 1. Less weight. 2. Didn't lose fire pan depth. When he bought it there were remanents of a cloth belt and wire belt coupler rusted to the large pulley. Also bailing wire around same legs presumably for a heat shield. Last thought. I bet when forge was manufactured the belt was an asbestos material, the modern replacement would be a fireproof fibreglass material. Keith

I take it you don't want to make your own, which is fine. I won't suggest any one blacksmith tool supplier, but there are a few online that have excellent tools. I will also assume you don't have a power hammer. That being the case, as Thomas stated get the longest punches, slitters, chisels 12" or so you can find. I think you have better control with them, verses the handled ones. Keith

BBQ regulators are only designed for 60,000 BTU MAX. I wouldn't think that would be near enough, volume for a forge. My weed burner has a only a needle valve, no regulator, it goes from yellow flame to 500,000 BTUH, with a 1/16" orface, if you regulate down to 11.0 inches W.C. that would be only 27,286 BTU. Keith

You can make tapered threads traditionally. 1) By making tapered swages for the various sizes, which involves making a rounded chisel, and cut the threads into the swage, top and bottom, making sure they line up, then forging the taper on hook etc., place in bottom swage, line up top swage and tap, then clean up with three cornered, or tapered file. Sounds like a lot of work, but If you are going to make a lot of items, that's the way to go. 2) Forge your taper on item and cut threads with three cornered or tapered file.

It's a good deal when both parties are happy. Nice addition to your equipment. Keith

Also pardon my rudeness. Welcome to I Forge Iron. Keith

The piece that holds the blade, the hub will be no problem, as long as I know the shaft size. Take a Crescent wrench and use it as a micrometer, close it down on the shaft, till it hits but can still slide, then remove and measure the opening. If the shaft has a flat for set screw don't measure there, measure the greater diameter. Then measure the inside diameter of the hole behind the motor, that's the size of the blower wheel, not the housing size, then measure the depth of the housing, with the housing bolted together, through the same hole.

Good job! That will stay put and last forever. I did about the same with mine except, the bottom plate is 24" x 24" x 1" and the post is a R R tie so I can take to 1840's rendesvoues and it looks like a post comming out of the ground. Smoke and mirrors.

I may have what you need. I have half of a blower, the motor, squirrl cage, and flat half of housing. I'll dig mine up today, it's around somewhere. If you could post pics and measurements here it would help. I'll do same. If they are not the same I could fabricate and balance a blade for yours. Keith

Thank you for this post. I now know what to do with #60 chain and gears off a worn out Vermeer hay baler, and the old cloths dryers behind the shed.