Canedy Otto Blower Value

[G-ManBart]

Spotted this at an estate sale coming up nearby and wondered what folks thought a reasonable price would be?  Obviously I won't know if it turns freely until I see it in person, but there are a number of other similar items around, and it's on a horse farm, so I think it was used rather than stored.  It looks to be pretty decent, and the stand adds a few bucks to it, so what's a fair market value?  

Yes, I know it's worth what someone is willing to pay, but we all know that's not much help.  I saw a similar one sold on eBay for $200 plus shipping...is that normal, high, or low?

[Desmond Redmon]

From the picture that's going to be the low end if anyone else is in competition I think.  Most run 3-500 if in working order, and that looks in really good shape.  Also depends how much the auctioneer knows about the value as well.  I had to do a lot of searching for images and such while I was rebuilding mine, short of an electric blower these are really nice to use.

[SReynolds]

Twenty times that of electric blower. Hope your auctioneer don't  know it.You are in luck if it be a late model. The early versions are identified by a single line on gear case "fill to air cock" where late versions have two separate lines of verbage. I don't  recall at moment. The early version has that problematic plastic resin gear. And you make a gear for it. 

Oh, just remembered; the late model gear case has an oil cup on the input shaft boss. The early version will not.

Good luck.  These babies are real nice. No ball bearings growling at you. If you wanna have a conversation and operate an old crank blower, this is your ticket to ride. Otherwise;  dont speak to me untill i get this workpiece hot with my growling  blower.

I paid 300.00 for mine which is a late model with the factory stand, in all original condition. It is smoother than a Carpenters song.

[G-ManBart]

Thanks guys, that really helps!  

Luckily, this is an estate sale, not an auction, so it's just a matter of getting there early, and hoping they haven't done much research on it!  I'm interested in a couple of other things they have, and it's not far from my house, so I'm going to do my best to get there early....fingers crossed.

[G-ManBart]

Well, it all worked out....got there early enough to snag the blower....$95 which seemed more than reasonable.  I spent about ten minutes with a bronze brush and some cleaner to get a better look at it, and I'm happy.  The fan turns freely, moves what seems like a lot of air, and there are no weird noises.  The oilers are all free, and everything seems to be in working order....if very dirty.  The original red paint was coming off as I cleaned it, and there was still some of the gold paint on the raised letters.  I'm thinking it's worthy of a nice cosmetic refresh after checking that all the moving parts are good.  The fan has a little bit of in and out movement, but not enough to hit the housing and I couldn't get it to move up or down, so I suspect the bearing is likely still good.  Here are a couple of quick pics I took:

 

 

[NoName]

   Bart,

   Nice find. Hands down the Canedy Otto is the best handcranker I have ever used. Yes, I have used a couple of Champion 400s. Not trying to start a debate. From what I have seen it is just a matter of production numbers.   People also sing the praise of Hay-Buddens, and for good reason. On the other hand, they also produced more than 250K anvils than Arm&Hammer.

  Just my 2 cents 

    N.N.F.                        Beautiful, Manchester, Michigan. USA

[SReynolds]

Probably  said 125.00 and you said 95.00

I hate you.

Exactly like mine; late model. I left mine all original. Gold paint and all. I keep her wiped down with diesel fuel.  I just cannot bring myself to cover that original paint with  Krylon. Not many are in nice original condition.  

[G-ManBart]

LOL...honest, it was marked at $95 and I just barely got there ahead of the next guy in line who wanted it.

It had so much crud on it that I couldn't see any paint at all, but that showed up as soon as I did a little cleaning.  The layer of dirt/oil/etc was so thick I couldn't make out any of the small letters.  I'm going to try a gentle cleaner to see if I can get it reasonably clean without removing the paint, but it was almost dissolving before my eyes....we'll see.

I will say you're right...it's pretty darned quiet!

 

[JHCC]

Allow me to fill you in on the art restorer's secret weapon: Q-tips. We went through cases of them in the studio back in the day. Just moisten one in your solvent/cleaner (I'd suggest Murphy's Oil Soap; step up to mineral spirits if that's not doing the job) and gently dab off the crud. Check the the tip before you toss it aside to see if it's taking off any paint. Repeat as necessary.

Another good option is to sharpen a thin piece of wood or bamboo (we used chopsticks) and twist a bit of cotton wool on the end. Made a giant-sized Q-tip (which was better for larger surfaces), and you only had to throw away the tip when it got dirty.

Once you've gotten the blower as clean as possible, give it a coat of clear spray lacquer to protect the remaining paint and to prevent further rusting. You might want to disassemble it completely first, and clean and seal each piece separately. That way, there's no risk of gluing the pieces together by mistake.

[G-ManBart]

Thanks...I use both of those methods pretty regularly on other projects and you're right, they're very handy.  I hadn't thought about Murphy's Oil Soap, so I'll see if I can dig some up.  The crud is so thick I know it's going to take some manual method to remove, but even softening it up first should help.

[JHCC]

5 minutes ago, G-ManBart said:

The crud is so thick I know it's going to take some manual method to remove, but even softening it up first should help.

Try misting it with Murphy's in a spray bottle and giving it a moment to soak.

[G-ManBart]

5 minutes ago, JHCC said:

Try misting it with Murphy's in a spray bottle and giving it a moment to soak.

That's kind of what I'm was thinking...give it time to soften up the top layer, and repeat.

Made a video of it in action...we'll see if it works.

13B4590D-222F-4EFD-959E-B9BA710F627B_zpsksgj9cgc.MP4

[SReynolds]

Mine. In the shop. Looking at blowers today at the farrier supply i found one canedy otto.  Just like mine/yours. Gunky. But smooth. However;  the crank arm was literally  arc welded to the shaft. Asking 250.00 for it.

I still hate you

[SReynolds]

There is to be end (axial) play in the fan shaft. But not radial.

[G-ManBart]

14 hours ago, SReynolds said:

Mine. In the shop. Looking at blowers today at the farrier supply i found one canedy otto.  Just like mine/yours. Gunky. But smooth. However;  the crank arm was literally  arc welded to the shaft. Asking 250.00 for it.

I still hate you

LOL...I think the guy behind me who didn't get it hates me even more!

3 minutes ago, SReynolds said:

There is to be end (axial) play in the fan shaft. But not radial.

That makes sense.  It's not a significant amount of movement, and won't let it get anywhere near the housing so I wasn't too worried.  Yesterday I was visiting with a friend who has a ton of blacksmithing equipment and played around with a couple of Champion 400s he's restored and the difference is night and day...makes me even more happy I managed to get this one.  Now I need a forge to go with it...the two at the auction were small and pretty rough.

[SReynolds]

I use them as well. Quite nice, if you have one that  is well cared for. Otherwise they sound like a rock crusher.

A friend just bought a 12" 400 for his brake drum forge for  250.00

I thought the idea of a brake drum forge was cost. They are nearly free to build. So  a 250.00 blower on a brake drum is akin to .......well....something I'm  sure!

[Daswulf]

Well he purchased poorly if it sounds like a "rock crusher" but the blower is pretty much the heart/ Breath of any forge.other then that you just have a fire.

[JT]

I just bought this one today for $195.00 rolls over very smoothly ..  JT

[C-1ToolSteel]

Nice.

[SReynolds]

Early model. Like to get me one.

[ede]

Here's mine which I got for a whopping free dollars.  It's lacking a stand and is part way through the restoration process.  There was a layer of gunk on it when I got it.  Right now it's on the back-burner but it's good to hear that these are nice blowers. 

Note: mine is not a "Royal Western Chief"

[SReynolds]

Rivet forge blower. Its the same thing. The forge was likely a western chief.  Look up the forges on line undercanedy otto catalog.

Yours is the late model. Same gear case. Smaller fan case.

[ede]

Thanks for the info, SReynolds.  Yes these rivet blowers appear to be smaller than your style.  I'm guessing they push less air being smaller. 

Also  there is no seal between the gear case and the fan case where the fan shaft goes through.  Instead, there is a much larger hole where the fan shaft goes through. Does yours have a seal or is there a mechanical fit btw your gear case and fan case?  This explains why my fan case was so greasy as a simple tilt allows the lubricant to go from the gear case to the fan case. 

[SReynolds]

Not sure which direction you tilted it. It is however designed to pivot about the pivot point/mounting bolt atop the pedestal. 

It holds about one pint. I gave mine a good cleaning (first time for this blower, by myself ) and there is zero leakage.  Anywhere. I do oil the input/drive shaft and SPILL oil there. But none is leaking.

There is a gap in the gear case as you said.  No seal. No need. No oil will leak if you fill it to proper level. Overfilling will cause it to leak there. But that isnt gonna harm anything. The champion 400 blower, as well as others i imagine,  are designed to spew oil. You squirt it in. It dribbles out. The Canedy Otto has a large sump thus placing that fan shaft much higher. Thus no oil weeps out from said location.

Don't recall if you have the forge to mount said blower (????) The air outlet is the mount. Thus that funky looking flange.

Smaller fan. Less air. The rivet forge doesnt require 12" fan case.

[ede]

1 hour ago, SReynolds said:

Not sure which direction you tilted it. It is however designed to pivot about the pivot point/mounting bolt atop the pedestal. 

It holds about one pint. I gave mine a good cleaning (first time for this blower, by myself ) and there is zero leakage.  Anywhere. I do oil the input/drive shaft and SPILL oil there. But none is leaking.

There is a gap in the gear case as you said.  No seal. No need. No oil will leak if you fill it to proper level. Overfilling will cause it to leak there. But that isnt gonna harm anything. The champion 400 blower, as well as others i imagine,  are designed to spew oil. You squirt it in. It dribbles out. The Canedy Otto has a large sump thus placing that fan shaft much higher. Thus no oil weeps out from said location.

Don't recall if you have the forge to mount said blower (????) The air outlet is the mount. Thus that funky looking flange.

Smaller fan. Less air. The rivet forge doesnt require 12" fan case.

When I got it, it was laying in a plastic tub for how long knows when.  Whatever oil had been tossed out long ago.  I've heard favorable things on using ATF for the gear case and will probably use that.   After it is restored, I shouldn't have any trouble keeping the oil in the gear case as long as it is kept upright.  

The blower came by itself.  Before you told me it was a rivet forge blower I was envisioning fabricating a separate stand.  Now after seeing photos of the rivet forges, I see what you mean about the air outlet being the mount.  I may have to re-think how I go about mounting it.