A friend of mine has an old forge that was his grandfathers and he asked if I was interested in it. I would like to get it but I want to give him a fair price for it. Any idea what it’s worth?  I don’t know the manufacturer yet. He is going to see if he can find anything on it. Thanks 

Any idea if it works?  Like a used car the price goes up if the engine and transmission works and down if you don't know. (Are the bearings worn/sloppy, are all the vanes present and in good shape, no missing teeth on gears, cracked castings, missing parts,...?) 

How large is it?  Is it floor standing or a benchtop forge?

Any manufacturer on it?

Thanks for the fast response. I haven’t seen it in person yet. It looks like a benchtop. The crank turns but it looks like it’s missing a belt to the blower. He said he will clean it up a little and check it out. He just pulled it out of the barn.

If I remember right I gave $20 for mine. I have been told it was a farrier forge.

Searching "rivet forge" will bring up lots of images. Monetary value is whatever anyone is willing to pay but I would say that if the blower works flawlessly and there are no cracked castings anywhere then $100.00 USD would be the absolute top end. I have picked them up for anywhere between $10.00 and $50.00 depending on condition and after a little TLC in the form of disassembling, greasing/oiling, sometimes repairing legs or feet that have rusted away and claying the fire pan and then re-sold them for $100-$125. Good little starter forges or better yet good for demos where weight of equipment makes them easier to lug in and out of craft fairs.

PS it looks like you will need a leather link belt to drive that fan. Harbor Freight sells them and some co ops and feed stores might have them. Figure in another $30 for the correct type of belt for that forge or make your own if you happen to already have some veg tan saddle skirting on hand.

In the picture it looks like the main gear has a repaired (brazed) spoke, that would reduce the price in my book. I would say $50.00 is about the tops. It does need a lot of TLC.

“Scientific MFGD by FOOS MFG CO Springfield Ohio” is what it says 

12 hours ago, TwistedCustoms said:

claying the fire pan

What does claying the fire pan mean?

Edited July 25, 20187 yr by Mod34
Excess quoting removed

It means adding a layer of clay to the inside of the forge to protect the cast iron from the heat of the fire. This has been discussed elsewhere on the forum several times; take a look around for those threads. 

What JHCC said, there's plenty of info on site about claying. Those cast iron pans weren't meant to have the fire sit directly on them but most often when the forges turn up the last clay that was installed has been busted up and dumped out so you never see them ready to work. Clay is a consumable and has to be done periodically. If done well and the forge doesn't get moved often a clay job can last for years. If heavy material is dropped in the pan it can crack the clay lining and cause it to need replacing sooner. Search for "claying a fire pan/iforgeiron" on an off site search engine such as google and you should get results for how to.

Thanks everyone for all the information, I really appreciate it. I do apologize for not not doing research before asking though 

Sometimes you have to ask where to start in order to do your research.