WHAT IS THIS FORGE WORTH?

[ZIG]

Sorry I dont have pictures yet , but let me explain what I have found. It is a very old hand crank Buffalo with a large cast table. Now the difference is, thta is a hand crank but has all the big gear system/flywheels under the table . The handle for the blower is on the left side and above the the table. The opening and clinker breaker seems to be rather flush with the bottom of the table. Not sure if it is missing some part of that or not, Maybe yall can tell me.

Point is , what would it be worth, Oh yeah it seems that the gear or flywheel , is belt driven. I tried to get it to move but couldnt , but I didnt try to hard. I would like to know what yall think about it and what would somwthing like that be worth, and also, can anyone give me some kinda time line on how old this thing would be. I would love to have it and will speak to the man that owns it. But I would really like to have it just to have , I imagine it is rather old, but I dont know much about them. It had a flywheel system much like a old foot operated sewing machine, if yall have ever seen one of them.

I appreciate your help and hope yall might be able to date this for me and tell me more about it. Thanks in advance

[ThomasPowers]

Too little information! What is a "Large Cast Table" Concrete like the forge I bought in OK that had a 6' diameter implement wheel full of concrete or the 40" sq cast iron RR forge?

If there is no picture you need to give very accurate descriptions: To an auctioneer 100# is a "large anvil"; to me a large anvil is 400#+, to you???

[ZIG]

Sorry for the confusion, What I meant was that the table was one solid piece of cast with the tuyere on the left hand side. Table is approx. 30" X 36". It is a Buffalo model with the blower operated by pulling straight down on a handle. Not a rotary system. But when you pull this wooden handle it works these flywheels with exposed gears on them . I researched and found some old ad's for this table and I believe it was one of the first designs Buffalo came out with.
The flywheels are are moved by the handle of course, yet they normally came with a leather flat belt drive that eventally turned the impeller.
I know I am vague on my descriptions but I wasnt able to take any pictures at that time. I have tried to describe it as best I could , so I apologize for my un-educated post. But was hoping I might get close enough in my rant to get some advice upon what this thing might be worth. I know that it only produces a burst of air on the down stroke. Therefore , it would be SUPER labor intensive, but seeing how it was possibly one of the original models developed by Buffalo I thought it would be wise to invest in it just to have. I was just wondering if anyone else might have purchased one like this or seen one at a sale or on display somewhere.
If anyone could give me some advice as to what it is worth that would be greatly appreciated . I hope I have explained my situation a little better than before. Thanks in advance for you time and feedback.

[Brandon Graham]

I sold one about like that last summer for $150

[arftist]

If it has a flywheel, it should supply continuos air. The input from the downstroke of the lever merely keeps the flywheel from losing it's momentum.
As to the value, only the buyer and seller can determine that. Is the machinery complete? Are there cracks in the forge body?
Is the mechanism actualy repairable, and if so, by you? If you have to pay a welder or machinist to fix it, it is likely not a good value at this time. Someday in the future it may be worth far more than the cost of the repairs.

[ZIG]

Thank you all for the replies up to date. All the flywheels are in good shape, the blower turns very well. Of course, it has alot of rust but nothing to worry about. The only thing that has any damage from being in the weather is that the tuyere is rather thin but still intact and the legs,( pipe) are in need of replacement.

I have been a Boilermaker for almost 25 yrs , so any modification or repairs are not a problem. I can fabricate anything I want either at home or at work. I stopped and looked at it again today while no one was around and gave it a close look. The table wasnt quite as big as I said. but it was a rather large table to lay tools and have extra coal upon it. I turn the flywheels and they worked freely . This thing has been outside for many, many years but without any cracking or damage to the flywheels I feel it would be something to possibly hang on to , if only for an antique.

As far as what it is worth, I understand the ( IF YOU THINK IT IS WORTH ) but I was just wondering what a forge of this sorts may have re-sold for in the past, or what yall may have seen in yall's travels, auctions. I am not new to the trade , only new to the this site. Which , along with all of your's many pictures of different kinda of forges , I have seen many types and design of factory built ones that I never ever had a chance to see. I thank yall for that . I appreciate everyones devotion to the craft and that is the reason I was so curious about this particular forge. I looked today to get a model number off the thing, but there wasn't anything other that Buffalo Forge , cast on the blower housing. So... I resort to the experts on this site. Because I wouldn't know where else to try to figure the age of this thing out. Need CSI I guess. LOL

So......If anyone has any round about idea on what a forge of this design might be ( Basically) worth , please tell me. I am not worried about getting taken on a deal but would like some in-sight to what is possibly the average price range for an item of this age and design. Other than replacing the leather flat belt , I could fire it today and feel good about it doing the job. I wouldn't use this forge for my work , but believe I can get it for under $200. I was wondering about the age of this item , just for my own account of it. Because I feel when people come to my shop they would ask and I would kinda like to have some sense of how old it was. I am sorry for my vague description of this and asking so many questions to boot.

I believe it is somewhere between 1875 to 1900's, I would like someone to elaborate on this style for me, like what would you call this system it would be actually called. That is what I would really like to know . I hate I dont have pictures right now, so bear with me on my descriptions. Didnt figure there were to many still around with the pull down handle and flywheels exposed like that. But I am not a forge expert and have only seen a few in person that I believed to be made in the 1800's . Thanks for all you help so far. I have really learned alot on this site and am proud to be allowed to see yall work ,shops, forges, designs. I have really enjoyed reading all your post.

Thanks in advance for all yall's help.