I have my grandfathers old rivet forge, it is marked with Champion 142, also has a handcrank blower attached. It set outside in the shed for several years and is/was rusted some. Anyway I have used it for about a year now and last weekend as I was using it one of the bolts holding the firepot to the hearth popped off. I finished up the day and once it cooled down I got to looking and wondering how to fix it.

Would it be better to take it to a friends and weld the firepot to the hearth or find a bolt and reattach it that way? The bolt seems the easy fix but not sure about long term.

Figured I would ask the fine minds on this forum for advice before fixing it up or attempting to this weekend.

Thanx for your help everyone.

Bolt yes, weld no! You could make it worse if the firepot is cast iron.

It was bolted to start with so you can remove it if necessary. Welding when a bolt is good is almost always a mistake.

Bolt it.

Frosty

More than likely that was the ORIGINAL bolt, so a new one should outlast you. If you are worried about rust use stainless.

absolutely bolt only :)

If you bolt it you can take it apart if needed, if you weld it, you can't replace parts that do wear or burn out. Bolt it....

Definitely replace the bolt, do not weld it.

If you have access to "Never seize" I would apply some to the new bolt before installing. Might make disassembly easier if ever necessary. It's a metalic compound to help prevent gaulding. I would also replace both bolts while you are at it. You may have to grind off the other bolt head / nut off to remove it. I always replace all bolts in the small rivet forges when i restore them.

I say weld it, just because everyone says bolt it. I gotta be different.

All kidding aside, bolt it.

Well looks like I will be finding some bolts for it tomorrow night or Saturday then . Yes nakedanvil it is cast didn't think about that at the time, just want to get it fixed the correct way. Oak Hill Forge if replacing the bolt was the better option I was planning on replacing the other one as well. And since it seems like everyone is in agreement about bolting that will be what I do.

As long as I can get this thing fixed by October 23 I will be happy. I have signed up for the Brian Brazeal class down the mountain and this will be the forge I am using for it, so it needs to be working for that.

Again I want to thank everyone for their help in this problem I really do appreciate it.

I talked with Brian today and he was in Tucumcari NM (east side along I-40) and headed toward TX.

Also when you replace those bolts remember not to overtighten them, because you run the risk of busting the pan or the fire pot.

An old trick to prevent over tightening: put a split lock washer on and tighten until it *just* closes. Makes it easier to keep a thin casting intact that way. If this is a bad idea for a forge, someone else will say so I'm sure.

Phil

The split washer trick will work fine on a forge.

I grip the ratchet right at the head rather than the handle so all the torque I apply is what I can with my wrist and a good grip. It's about the force necessary to open a new mayonaise jar give or take.

I used to know a guy who would use one or more finger on the handle and how tight he wanted it would determine which finger/s he used.

There are lots of tricks some better than others but the thing to remember is you want it just tight enough to hold securely in a low strain application. Say finger tight and 1/4 turn. But don't quote me on that!

Frosty

Good to know cause I probably would have torqued them down if I hadn't read this