vikingnerd Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Hi gang!! I am brand new to the forum, and am in the process of building my first forge. I am looking for a hand crank blower, but cannot seem to find any new ones...only antiques. Does anyone manufacture new hand crank blowers? I saw one at a blacksmith supply site, but can no longer find it on that site or any other. Any help would be greatly appreciated.. Hope to become a regular member of the smithing community!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I was just thinking that a cheap chinese copy of an old Buffalo rivet forge blower would be extremely popular if it could be had for $25. Fat chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Covington Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 John at Blacksmith Supply carries new ones. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Have a look at Centaur Forge. They have blowers and may be a source of crankers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckybackery Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 i am new here and i made 4 diffident forges so far but, i cant find a cheap yet reliable blower. please help thank you . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unkle spike Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Please post your location using the "CP" at the top, someone near you may have one. I would say the "old" ones are just as reliable as long as you find one in good shape and take care of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 I built a hand crank blower I was in the same boat. There is a pic under my photos. It has to be reworked looking not high enought gearing. Looking at a bellows you can make one out of plywood, canvis, and rubber roofing paint pretty inexpensively. Granger has a dayton blower #99080464 it is Electric I have used the same one for the last 5 years works great and for $65.00 you cant beat it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckybackery Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 thank you very much I live near Cleavland Ohio. The name of my suburb is Bavillage. I made a bellows , it works but, does not give enough air. i wish i could show a photo but, i do not have a camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloscheider Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Do you know any furnace repair people or plumbers? Ask them for a working electric blower from a junked power vent furnace or water heater (should get it for free if you hunt around). Rig up a blast gate like you would find in a wood shop dust collection system in the duct so you can regulate the airflow nicely (and quickly). I've seen a setup where they added a remote cable control (like you would use to operate a manual choke on an older car) so it was easier to shut off the air flow. I knew one guy who used an Electrolux vacuum cleaner for a blower - it was very quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pault17 Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Someday I will have the contacts and funds to get a "real" hand-cranked blower, but I was looking for some "home-grown ingenuity" and read this article: http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/JF/JF_VE/SMALL/04-110.pdf if you go to the bottom half, you can make your own that should work okay till you can properly outfit a shop. (thanks again Ruben for the link). Every time I read through this thing I keep seeing a new offshoot for te famous 55-forge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckybackery Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 thank you very much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 There are a lot of new electric blowers, AC and DC but I have yet to find a good HAND crank blower less than about 60 years old. I am told Buffalo or Champion made some blowers to bring fresh air into basement Fallout Shelters in the 50's and 60's but I have yet to see one for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Look what I found: 404 link removed Too bad somebody couldn't get an import license and buy a hundred of these things and take orders for them. Hmmmmm.....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckybackery Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 thank you I do know a plumber who might give me a hot water heater blower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new guy Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 those blowers look cheaply made. i would avoid them but they probably will work. also arent we all for locally made products, bein blacksmiths and all? well just my two cents worth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 New Guy, yep they look cheap enough that beginners could actually afford one. As for locally made products, well, there just aren't any domestically produced hand crank blowers made any more. That is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new guy Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 touche, but i was making a joke about locally made assorted things like wall hooks and door handles, not blowers. but i am a fan of an old hair dryer or even a pair of bellows. but a hand crank blowers like those will probably work. well good luck with your smithing and so forth to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckybackery Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 (edited) i do not know if the those hand crank blowers will work . can anyone help me decide if they will work? Edited May 22, 2009 by duckybackery@aol.com bad gramer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Will what work? The hot water bath heater blower? The question is not will it work but will it work in your application and can you get it hooked up so that air is delivered to your forge. A leaf blower would work and so would a hair dryer. A vacumm cleaner will work also. A few years ago I went to a thrift store, like a salvation army, bought a trashed out vacumm cleaner that still ran, took the motor and fan out, put it a ply wood box and had a blower that would have powered a irom making cupola. I had to keep it dialed way down. think I had $10 in the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 While we are on the options available don't forget the Japanese Box Bellows shown on 404 link removed Simple to make from scrap plywood and effective. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckybackery Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 did you make a bow bellows or did you just hear they were effective ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Box bellows ducky? I haven't built one but have used several made by friends and yes they work well and can be built very cheaply. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingnerd Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 I was hoping that I could find a hand cranker so that I could move my forge and anvil back into my shed every day when I am done. I dont want it to be too bulky, so a bellows may be a bit cumbersome. I see those Chinese blowers that someone linked, but I cannot find a price on one. I cant seem to find a reasonably priced antique locally either. I would really rather buy something American anyway. Kind of stinks that no one has made any new kind of blowers. Oh, and I am trying to avoid electric as well currently. Want this to be manual all the way. Any suggestions on a place that may have some antiques for sale...other than local farm sales etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingnerd Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 I found this link. Do you guys/gals think this would be sufficient? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingnerd Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 oops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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