April 21, 20188 yr That doesn't look like a set to me it looks like a top cut or maybe fuller. Got a cross sectional view of the pein? Frosty The Lucky.
April 21, 20188 yr It’s a cold set (cold-cut top tool), not a set hammer. (Drawings from Stokes, J.B., “Basic blacksmithing: a training manual”, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1992)
April 21, 20188 yr Now I have options other than just my little propane forge. I got 80 pounds of nugget coal, (it's anthracite coal, but slim pickings around here) and this little bad boy from the antique shop/flea market. Blower works well, no rough sounds, no major rusting, looks in pretty good shape overall to me at least.
April 21, 20188 yr As is at least for a little bit. Until I get something to line it with. Going to try firing it up tomorrow and see if I'm even smart enough to make it work haha.
April 21, 20188 yr Just make sure the cast iron is dry and a fairly slow heat build up. Also don't dump any water on it while it's hot. Any guesstimate how thick the cast iron is?
April 22, 20188 yr Nut coal is just fine, and should do well in that forge. Just remember that anthracite goes out pretty quickly if it doesn’t get enough air, so give the blower an extra crank as you take your piece out of the fire.
April 22, 20188 yr Mine has not been lined since the late 70's when my Dad bought it. Just avoid any sudden temp shocks.
April 22, 20188 yr I trade this little one for 3 bottles of wine... It will be my first Gunther repair attempt....
April 22, 20188 yr 25 minutes ago, sfeile said: I'll have to double check tomorrow but it feels like a heavy tin to me actually. It looks like sheet steel to me. No clay unless it says "Clay Before Using" in the pan. Remember just a FEW DROPS of oil in the oil port! Unless you like that much oil on the floor of course. Nice forge, you're going to enjoy it once you get the hang of managing a coal fire. Being able to localize heat without getting the torch out is a sweet treat for gas forge users. Frosty The Lucky.
April 22, 20188 yr Yes I think it's sheet steel. Doesn't say anything in the bottom so I'll use it as is. What's the best oil for the blower? 3 in 1 oil OK for it?
April 22, 20188 yr You need something heavier than 3in1 oil. I use chainsaw bar oil with a little STP or similar mixed in and have used 80 wt gear lube. You only need enough oil for the lower gear to pick it up which will distribute it to the other gears and bearings.
April 22, 20188 yr These old things don't much care so long as they have a little, I used my power hammer oil which is chainsaw bar oil with 1/4 c of a super slick engine oil additive but I don't recall the name. Anyway, motor oil, gear oil, lard, etc. They were designed to run on whatever was at hand in a day when I don't think there were many specialized types of lube oil, especially not on the farm. They'd probably just use motor oil if they had something with an engine that is. I'd use heavier than 3 in 1 but it'll probably do. All it needs is a coat on the gears. They're angled so slung oil hits the other gear's shaft and oils the bushings. It's really a well engineered system meant to go a long time on little or no maintenance. Frosty The Lucky.
April 22, 20188 yr 50 minutes ago, Frosty said: Remember just a FEW DROPS of oil in the oil port! Unless you like that much oil on the floor of course. Oh, like the quart of gear oil I had leaking out of mine for a day? Lol. Yeah.... I did that...
April 22, 20188 yr 2 minutes ago, Daswulf said: I did that... I think we all did that. I was happy to have a dirt floor until I learned how little oil it takes. My Champion blowers let me know when to add a little by the gears chattering a little.
April 22, 20188 yr Cool. I have lots of bar oil. Thanks guys. I'll give a report if I can figure out how to light a fire tomorrow haha.
April 22, 20188 yr 4 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: I think we all did that. I was happy to have a dirt floor until I learned how little oil it takes. My Champion blowers let me know when to add a little by the gears chattering a little. I know it'll leak out because I had to clean all that oil off the floor. Frosty The Lucky.
April 23, 20188 yr Grabbed this bit of roadkill from the shoulder of the highway on the way to the airport. The blue piece is hollow and appears to fit over the other solid piece. Some kind of linkage, I guess.
April 23, 20188 yr John if you can figure out what it fits those pto drive shafts can be a little pricy. And you got both halves. Nice find.
April 23, 20188 yr Anthracite may have issues with a small hand crank blower, an electrical one is highly suggested!
April 23, 20188 yr I figured that out yesterday. I found a little issue with it other than that. There is no way to clean out under the grate. I got a piece of pipe today and am going to cut the solid end off, lengthen it a little and make a trap door for it so I can clean ash/clinkers/etc... out of it.
April 23, 20188 yr 5 hours ago, Daswulf said: John if you can figure out what it fits those pto drive shafts can be a little pricy. And you got both halves. Nice find. Das, are you suggesting that I might be able to resell them? How would I go about doing that?
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