Bill_T

I guess it's my turn to resurrect this old thread again. About 17 years ago, a buddy and I bought an huge collection of blacksmithing and woodworking tools from an estate. The man had died at 96 years of age, after collecting for more than 60 years. We hauled away literally tons of stuff - we had to rent a 24-foot box truck, and we loaded it to the point that the springs were resting on the bump stops. There were about a half-dozen or more leg vises, a half-dozen or more post drills, I think about five or six anvils, a couple smaller forges, dozens and dozens of tongs, hammers, punches, swages, chisels, etc. Many axes, sledgehammers, etc. Also a bunch of steel stock, and lots of other interesting things, including several big galvanized cans and buckets full of coal. We cherry-picked what we wanted to keep and then spent the next year selling off everything else. The net result was that the stuff we kept was basically free, having been paid for by the proceeds of everything we sold. One of the things I kept was this cool old Buffalo Forge. It was complete and without damage. I had to completely disassemble it to transport it, and when I got it home, I had nowhere to set it up, so I tucked all the parts and pieces away in a corner of my garage. I knew that someday, eventually, I would have someplace to set it up. Then we moved, and I still had nowhere to put it, so I moved it into a shipping container at my business. Then I moved my business, and I moved all the parts into the warehouse. I managed to move everything without losing or damaging anything! About three years ago, I built a workshop building behind my house. I gradually brought stuff home from my warehouse, including all the parts and pieces to the forge. A couple weeks ago, I decide it was stupid to have this awesome forge sitting in pieces and the time had come to bring it back to life. I sandblasted everything and painted it with high-heat paint. Here I've drawn in a little coal fire, to get the idea. Based on the information I found in a 1955 catalog at vintagemachinery.org, it is a Model 248. The only things I believe missing are the divider in the hearth, the bar that hangs off the front, and the butterfly valve that goes into the draft pipe that goes up the chimney. I discovered in trying to put it all back together that I believe I need some gaskets in the pipe that goes from the blower to the fire pot. I can't get everything to line up, and I think the thickness of those heavy cloth (asbestos?) gaskets likely will make the difference and allow everything to line up. Does anyone know of a source for those gaskets? I have one, but I need a couple more - they're like the heavy cloth that is used in wood stoves and furnaces. The other thing I note is that the catalog says "clay hearths before using", so I guess I'll have to get some refractory cement. Thanks!