Hopefully never too late to the party, or fate stepped in.

[Schmidlapper]

Born in 1869,  in central Pennsylvania, my grandfather would become a farmer and ferrier. My father born in 1917, was the youngest child of a second marriage and he learned blacksmithing then from his father.  Born in 1961, also from a second marriage, growing up I was always a generation out of step with the rest of my relatives. My father had obtained a lot of his father's blacksmithing tools over the years, which mostly sat around our house while I was growing up. I never showed any desire to learn blacksmithing and my father was usually too busy working to show me. When he died at the age of 93, it was I who settled his estate for my mother. In the process, I became overwhelmed and left a lot of items go that in hind sight I maybe shouldn't have. At that time, I sold the property to my cousin who now owned the adjacent farm it had come off of. At that time, I offered to give her what would be her great grandfather's forge, additionally I sent to auction, two leg vises and a post drill. I kept the 1906 Fisher 110lb anvil, swage block, hardy blocks, hammers and tongs as they were more easily stored. This was all in 2010. Recently, my cousin contacted me and wanted to know if I wanted the forge back, and I said I did. It is now in my shed and in the process of being overhauled for use. It is a Champion #41 agricultural forge which came with a #40 blower. I have already rebuilt the blower, and replaced the missing clamping bracket meant to hold the blower to the forge. It still needs an ash gate and clinker breaker to be functional. Once complete, it is my goal to begin learning the art of blacksmithing in my recent retirement. So I guess being a long time computer nerd, I naturally wound up here searching for some knowledge. So I guess I should say, Hi everyone.

 

Bill Smith 

[JHCC]

Hi, Bill, and welcome to the party. Looks like you're at a good starting point, so take some time to read over the forum for things that catch your eye (especially the READ THIS FIRST tab at the top of every page). There are some good threads for refurbishing forges, so that's probably a good place to start.

[JME1149]

Welcome to the family Bill. This is a good place to learn and get inspiration from, just make sure you do a little research first before you post questions that probably have been answered a hundred times before.

PA has several blacksmithing groups to help guide you on your journey, depending upon which side of the state you are closer to and whenever they allow us to start having meetings again. Looks like you've got a nice start on the equipment, everything you showed looks to be in decent shape, although you didn't show us the anvil. It's never too late to start learning.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Bill, glad to have you. 

That's a nice forge mine isn't near that multi talented. (more limited) A couple things, don't worry about a clinker breaker you can lay a bar grate over the top of the tuyere and it'll work just fine. Clearing clinker is then a simple matter of scraping it out of the fire or poking it through the grate. Making a suitable fire rake is an excellent beginner's project.

The ash dump is even easier, measure the OD of the bottom of the tuyere where the dump gate goes, buy an exhaust stack cap that size from a parts store and clamp it on. They're already counter weighted and will stay closed until you reach under and tip it open with tongs, stock, the shop kitty, whatever. Aim the counter weight side towards the side you stand on to use the forge. Right?

Take a look at the pan and under it. If it says, "Clay before using," anywhere you need to ram about 1" or more of plain old ditch, garden, whatever clay in the forge to help diffuse heat and prevent cracking from uneven heating of the forge itself. It doesn't have to be fancy but I've found 2-3 parts sand to 1 part clay works well but if you're using clayey soil you probably don't need sand. You do NOT want to make mud and plaster it or it WILL shrink check like a dry mud puddle. you want JUST ENOUGH moisture you can ram it down hard with the end of a: 2" x 4", wooden mallet, etc. The fire pot will heat evenly, it's touching fire across it's entire contact surface. Just don't dump water in it to "control" the fire. A trickle maybe but a slosh can crack the fire pot, cast iron does NOT like uneven heat or sudden temperature changes. Yes?

One last thing, assuming() from the picture you are right handed you'll want to address your forge from the other side. In use you want everything as ergonomically organized as is reasonable.

You'll hold the stock or tongs in your left hand at the anvil and swing the hammer with your right. If you crank the blower with your left hand you'll have to grasp the stock or tongs after letting go of the crank handle, turn to the anvil and begin work. Yes? Are you holding your hammer while heating or your fire tools? I leave my hammer and any anticipated bottom or top tools on the anvil, face or the anvil stand. 

I crank my blower with my right hand leaving my left free to manage the fire, stock position and fire tools. When I remove the stock I turn to my right stepping back and out of the smoke, flame, etc. my right hand empty. As I address the anvil the hammer is where my hand is and the project is still off the anvil where I can do any final arrangement if necessary. This keeps my tools where I can quickly grasp them and the HOT steel where I'm much less likely to brush into or touch it bare handed. 

Yeah, that's probably a lot more than you wanted to read, I get kind of talky. (get?) I think that is in large part to say, there isn't anything but a drive to a parts store keeping you from putting that excellent coal forge to use. A bar grate is as simple as short lengths of 3/8" or 1/2" round steel rod bent in half with gaps of around 3/8" +/- between bars. The "tricky" part is cutting them so they fit easily. Or you can weld them to a cross piece at each end with gaps, etc. A bar grate is easy to clear, the coal rake or poker will scrape between the bars, break up and clinker and allow it to fall through. Make sense?

Frosty The Lucky.

[Schmidlapper]

Thanks a bunch guys.

JHCC, I have been researching good info from the forum already, I rarely ask questions.

JME1149, I am attaching a photo of my anvil.

Frosty, the manner the blower attaches to the forge would preclude me from standing on the other side and cranking the blower even if I flipped it over. The inlet pipe is not centered, but comes up nearer the one corner. 

[Frosty]

Nice anvil. Some tools only work one way.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

You are going to love working on that Fisher anvil. It looks nearly new and only needs hot steel hammered on it to keep the hardened face shining.

[Schmidlapper]

The forge is marked only with a 41, and because how the blower interface to the forge was so purposefully designed, I suspected the forge was a Champion also. With those two clues I finally found this catalogue description. With this information I could then verify that the clamp I had found to buy was the correct one needed to attach the blower. I remember it having the clamp when I was young, but it had become separated and lost in the 45 years since. Believe it or not, the first search I made for clamp, Champion, forge, blower, #40, interface led me to the clamp I eventually bought. The fellow had made one for a friend and then two extras, which he had put up for sale on the bay. After our discussions and some photos we concluded it was the correct clamp I needed, and it works perfectly. I couldn't have been more fortunate in getting this special purpose clamp. Maybe they are just common, I don't really know. 

Thanks IronDragon, I recently linseed oiled the anvil and stump so it looks pretty. the anvil when I was little actually sat outside for years, so did the forge. It is a testament to the endurance of cast iron irrespective of good care. My father eventually built a workshop and moved the anvil inside, the forge stayed out. He mounted the anvil to this walnut stump in the 80s and I recently added the bands to limit some cracking.  

 

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

That's the same clamp that holds the blower on my Army pack forge.

[Schmidlapper]

It sure is the same. That forge must have at a minimum used a Champion tuyere and blower, possibly the whole shebang was supplied by Champion. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Yes, I found it in an old Champion catalog, listed as an Army/Navy forge. Mine is a WWI vintage and we use it as our traveling forge.

[Frosty]

My champ / Buffalo rivet forge uses the same clamp though the long bolt passes through the tuyere and keeps it attached. It's a fast, easy and solid way to connect the blower and forge.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Schmidlapper]

Yes mine also passes the bolt through holes in the air inlet and remains on the forge. There are two ears on the tuyere inlet pipe for the narrow clamp jaws as well. Which is Buffalo, blower or forge?

 

[Frosty]

The forge is a Buffalo rivet forge, the blower is a Champ 400. Looks about like yours, pretty standard for the day.

I don't think the halves of the fan cover on mine have a gasket. I'll try and remember next time I'm in the shop. The gasket material in yours may be something someone did, back when, to "improve" it. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Yours is a Champion # 41 forge & blower. Here is a link to the catalog page 9 and the pack forge is on page 10.

https://ozarktoolmanuals.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfcatalogs/Champion_Blower_Forge.pdf

[Schmidlapper]

12 hours ago, Frosty said:

The forge is a Buffalo rivet forge, the blower is a Champ 400. Looks about like yours, pretty standard for the day.

I don't think the halves of the fan cover on mine have a gasket. I'll try and remember next time I'm in the shop. The gasket material in yours may be something someone did, back when, to "improve" it. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Don't know what was in there originally, there definitely was something sealing the halves. I did put a small seam of plumbers putty around the edge when I rebuilt it, as recommended by some. It looks very similar to what was in it before actually. 

[Frosty]

I"m hardly a blower expert, I have one and have only had the top off the gear box twice. First to wash out some crud when I got it and just recently when something started catching then jammed. Luckily it cleaned out. I was speaking for what I see in  mine and a couple others I've looked at. I don't recall seeing gaskets. 

I certainly could be wrong though. 

When I was doing service station mechanic work some gaskets were unavailable so we cut a lot. Things like valve covers and oil pans would go years with pasteboard gaskets.

That and I think where you want to put a gasket doesn't stop a liquid it holds low pressure air. I have trouble imagining it'd need something special.

This seam doesn't slit a gearbox does it? That WOULD call for buying a sheet of gasket material and cutting one. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Schmidlapper]

Plumbers putty is just that a putty that can be easily formed, it doesn't harden for a very long time and is meant in this application only to prevent air from escaping through the air plenum seam. There are no actual gaskets used in these old Champions.

[Frosty]

Yes, I know what plumber's putty is. If it didn't have any gaskets why do you think putting one in is a good idea? Saving that bit of air leakage won't mean anything, you aren't going to be turning that blower but MAYBE 15-20 rpm without burning your fuel up needlessly. 

You do NOT need much air to have a good working fire. Even anthracite only needs constant air, not a lot. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Schmidlapper]

It had putty in there already when I tore it down, and it was suggested by others who have rebuilt them. I don't really know how important it is or isn't to have it. I know it cost about 10 cents in materials, was easy to re apply and it doesn't have any air leaks from around the blower housing.