I got this forge recently. I'm curious as to how old it is? I'm thinking it's at least 80 or 90 years old, since the blower has an electric motor. Any information regarding the forge's model number, etc., would be appreciated. It's quite heavy, I'm guessing around 700 pounds.

Absolutely gorgeous. Do you plan on refurbishing it or simply using it as is?

Is the motor a 110 or 220? Mine was 220 but the previous owner hacksawed off the back bearing, put a pulley on the shaft and ran it from a 110 motor, He also burnt a section of RR rail in two in it damaging the firepot.

I've done a frankenstein on the blower; finally finding a 110 blower that shares most of the same castings but not the mounting bolts to the forge so I have 1/2 the blower shell from the old one and the new motor and 1/2 the shell on the new one

Not as nice as yours but it was only US$80 back in the 1980's in OKC. I lined it with creek clay and it was great for large billets!

Thanks to y'all for the information. I plan on refurbishing the forge. The hood is not in real good shape, but the tuyere appears to be good. The gizmo that loosens the ash and clinkers at the bottom of the grate is intact and works as well.

Clinker breaker is the term you are looking for...

Today I put the forge on a drastic weight reduction program. I removed all the clay from the forge pan, plus three fire bricks. That took at least 120 pounds off! I need to rebuild the metal part that holds the adjustable hood. As of yet, I haven't tried to get the blower going. I would be surprised if the motor is still working, but you never know.

I have the same exact Champion forge, but without the hood that you have. My blower is mounted separately from the forge, which allows for a larger ash dump area. I build Very Large fires, in a firepot I designed and fabricated.
You will love that forge. I used firebrick to fill the forge body with clay troweled into the cracks and to smooth out the transition between the bricks and firepot.
I would recommend using bricks to elevate the firepot as much as you can, it is a deep forge, and if you have the pot low you may have a hard time getting a fast heat in the middle of a bar. If you are only using it for the ends of bars that won't be an issue.
Have fun, and don't count the blower out, take it apart, clean the contacts and brushes carefully and try it out. I have 4 blowers from that era, and 2 have the original motors. The one on my forge I converted to a new motor.

So basically what you both are telling me is to clay the forge pan back to the depth it was in the first pictures I posted? Originally the clay was around 6 inches deep, and I was a little surprised there were only the three firebricks in front of the fire pit. On second thought, clay is probably cheaper than firebrick. I appreciate your input.

Yes the depth in your first pictures looks about right to my taste. Looks like that clay was shot so you didn't loose anything. I used all my old broken bricks as filler.

I removed the tuyere and blower from underneath the forge today. It came out as one unit and probably weighed 60 or 70 pounds. It turned out harder to separate the tuyere from the blower than getting them out from under the forge. I haven't tried the motor yet, but did find out it is 220 volts. I was surprised to find the motor had a "Champion Blower & Forge Co." metal tag on it. I was able to get the gasket off in one piece.

Good thing you found the voltage info. Many years ago, I bought a similarly sized Buffalo forge from an old fellow who told me there was something wrong with the blower because it just wouldn't get up to speed. I got it home and saw he had a two prong lamp cord wired into the rheostat. After a little cleaning, I exposed the motor tag - which said it was 220v. Of course, it sang like an airboat prop with the right voltage and put out plenty of air.

I have had about three such tuyere irons go through my hands over the years, although they were not attached to an industrial style hearth. I think on my last one, I drilled a hole through the ash, sliding door tab and taking a rod, I put a turned eye through the hole. I curved the other end of the rod to rest in a simple hook, the latter hanging on the front lip of the hearth. I then had a simple pull/push to dump the ash.

The old Champion tuyere was three slotted with a rotating "pick" coming into the side slots, an interesting alternative to other brand-name forges, which had a rotating tuyere valve or ball.

Frank, I like your idea of a simple push-pull mechanism. The half crank one way and then the other of mine is a bit more complicated.

Stewart, I don't think mine has been modified. The blower housing was made to line up with and attach to the tuyere. The straightforward manner in which the blower/tuyere unit attached to the underside of the forge indicates to me it was designed that way by Champion. Possibly mine is a later version of the ones you mentioned.

Thanks to you both for your input.

Mine I bought in OKC was bolted to the underside too as was the one on the MINT never been fired one sold by the surplus equipment shop in Columbus OH.

just be careful lifting it with the chain rigged like you have it.if it had any cracks it may split wide open.2 slings may be better plus maybe a spreader above to keep the sde pressure off.that sucker sure looks good. just would hate to see some "after" photos

Actually any rheostat spec'd for that load should be interchangeable; doesn't surprise me at all that similar items for similar tasks might be interchangeable.

EGreen, the fellow with a front end loader, who put the forge onto my trailer after I bought it said the seller dragged the forge out of an old shed by hooking a chain around ONE of the legs and pulling it out with a tractor. The fact the forge survived in one piece tells me it's pretty sturdy!

stewartthesmith, thanks for the pictures. I especially like the one from the Champion catalog.