just aquired a new (to me) forge and it needs some refurbishing. My question is, am I missing the gear/ratchet mechanism that for the drive wheel and the lever doohickey? I don't see how else the blower could be driven. All other forges I have seen have the gear/lever assembly as one piece, but maybe this model detached.

Uses a belt?

Only pict of the mechanism I have of my pump forge on this computer.. Note the belt isn't on in this pict. If I get a chance I'll try and remember to take a few more picts Sunday if I manage to make it to the shop.

Emower yours does not use a gear/ratchet it uses a short belt hooked from the finger gear to the weighted lever.  The flat spot with the screw in it is where the short belt hooks up.  Then goes up to the weighed lever.  As you pump the handle the belt wraps and un wraps around the finger gear turning the blower flywheel.  One other thing is I think they work a lot better if you use a rod from the weighted lever to the handle.  That is what the hole is for just in front of the chain.

Thanks guys. Matto: so if I understand correctly, as it operates, the short belt wraps around, tightens up, stops the blower, then unravels the other way on the next stroke? So the blower will be reversing direction every other stroke?

Thanks for your help, I am new to all this.

I re-did a similar unit a few years back.It was a Champion, and did the wind- un wind thing Matto described. I was lucky enough to have the dried bits of leather, so I could figure that side of things. You are correct in the thought for the need of a ratchet mechanism. What the Champion had, and what I suspect you have is a mechanism inside the hub with a fixed gear on the shaft with a loose bearing (not sure of the proper term)  around it, with 3 milled slots, each slot had a loose  pawl beveled on the end. On the power stroke the pawl on top would drop by gravity onto the gear and power forward. On the return stroke the bevel on the pawl would simply ride over the gear teeth until it was time for the power stroke, drop down etc etc. I was missing one pawl- just filed a bevel on a piece of 1/4" square, or so, and fit it into the slot, freed up the other 2 pawls, wd40 on the whole thing, and put it back together. Worked a treat, pure simplicity, very functional and simple to figure out and fix.

Looks to me like you pull the whole shaft and big wheel off, and carefully disassemble the hub, clean, free up and lube, put it back together. There were no boingy fly- aparty things for me- I just took it slow.

Good luck

Steve

Now that I thought about it, the gear was in the outer diameter of the hub and the 'pawl bearing' rode inside.

Edited July 18, 201510 yr by Stash
Additional, corrected info

Emower that is right except the blower does not change direction just the free spinning gear to take another bit to spin the blower.  It is a slip gear as stash described.  There are three to four little fingers inside the hub that as it spins lay down and pickup to turn the blower.  The older ones don't have notches to catch just smooth. Uses friction to turn the blower.  Very slick little setups.

That is really slick. Thanks guys, I never would have thought to take apart the hub on the drivewheel.  I am looking forward to getting it going again.