Help me ID this forge?

[Fallout Forge]

Hi all! After trying my luck with the search bar and browsing through what I felt were applicable threads, I've still managed to come up short with an ID for this forge. Long story short, I'd been after a coal forge for a while and finally managed to snag one at an auction over the weekend; couldn't be happier! My only question now is... what did I bring home? I believe it to be a rivet forge of some sort, but it doesn't have the lever arm or any gears like most of the ones I've seen; this one seems to be totally belt driven and use a hand crank and a wheel to drive the blower. 

So anyway, any help ID'ing this rusted piece of history would be great! My end goal is to take it apart, restore it to working condition, and then start using it! Also, this is my first post as I'm quite new to the forum, so I guess this will have to do for an introduction. 

Thanks again!

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

I can't help with a forge ID but it is an interesting set up where the acceleration between the crank and the blower is done with belt drives and different sized pulleys rather than gearing.  I don't think I have seen this before.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[JHCC]

That's identical to my first forge, which I also bought in PA almost 40 years ago. I remember calculating that for each turn of the hand-crank, the blower went around thirty-three times.

I don't know the manufacturer, but mine served me well for many years before I moved from Vermont to NYC and had to leave almost all my gear behind (kept the anvil, though).

I made replacement belts out of some basic leather belt blanks sewn together at the appropriate length. The original belts (which were in pretty bad shape) were held together with the kind of lacing shown in THIS VIDEO; that would be ideal if you had access to a shop with the appropriate gear. Otherwise, stitched leather or canvas should be fine. Don't use nylon webbing, though; it can melt.

You'll need to make some kind of grate, and you'll find many suggestions elsewhere on IFI for how to fabricate one. When I had mine, I used a big chunk of 3/4" plate with a couple of holes drilled in it, and that worked grate great.

Make sure to keep the bearings oiled in use. I think I remember there being oiling holes at each one; a couple of drops before and after each forging session should be good.

Keep the pictures coming! So nice to see one of these again; I haven't seen another since I left my old one behind!

And welcome to IFI! Where are you in PA? We have a lot of members in Pennsylvania, and I travel there on business occasionally. What's your history with smithing?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. I have seen one very similar in one of the old catalogs but looking in the Champion, Canady Otto and Buffalo Forge catalogs I haven't found it yet. May have been in the old Sears & Roebuck catalog. I'll keep looking as time allows. Usually the blower will have the name cast into the housing, may show up as you get the rust removed. One thing those old cast iron forges required is to have the pan "clayed" to prevent cracking. Yours looks to be in very good shape.

[Fallout Forge]

First off, I just wanted to say thanks for the warm welcome, it's great to be here! I'll do the best I can to try and answer any of the questions/comments you all have as I progress through the restoration of the forge. I'll also try and upload pictures as I go (if I remember to take them.)

So far though, none of the wire brushing I've done has uncovered any identifying markings that I've been able to see. Most everything is in pretty good shape except for the fasteners and minor hardware (to be expected) and while I want to stay as true to the original design as possible, all that will be getting replaced. Thankfully it looks like Lowe's still sells square nuts!

Also, I do actually have a grate for it! However, it was one of the first pieces moved aside in an attempt to get some of the heavier rust off, so it hasn't made it into many of the photos.

Before I started removing pieces of it, I actually did manage to get all the parts rotating freely. Also, the blower just about half-full of mud, but we'll get to that later. From what I can tell all the bearing surfaces are in half-decent condition and most the oiling holes haven't yet been completely rusted over. 

Anyway, I'm located in Southern PA, right around the Chambersburg area. As for blacksmithing, I'd say I've been doing it off and on for about 11 years now. Some things, like being out of country for the better part of 7 years due to military assignments had left me without equipment and on a much longer hiatus from the craft than I'd like. Thankfully I'm back home and I'm starting to build up my shop a little bit more now with some thing's that I've wanted to get, such as the coal forge. I had been using an awkward little propane forge setup that I'd gotten when I first started, but ever since I had the chance to take a class at the John C. Campbell folk school in Brasstown, NC back in 2013, nothing has really come close to the experience of using a coal forge. There's just something raw about it that I love. As for when my interest in blacksmithing first started, well, I guess I can thank The Lord of the Rings movies and all the behind the scenes stuff with Wētā Workshop for that. Now I just make less-than-mediocre knives out of railroad spikes, files, and other scrap. But, I shall improve!  

Lastly, here's some more photos of the project so far. One of the more interesting ones is the inside of the blower case where you can actually see the rust line where it was filled up with mud. So far it's all managing to clean up pretty nicely though, aside from the blower fins. 

[George N. M.]

It's probably going to clean up easier than a similar condition geared blower.  The bearings and gears in those can get kind of fussy.

Glad to have another veteran on board.  IFI seems to have a higher percentage of vets than the general population.  I haven't figured out if there is some kind of connection between someone who will serve and a metal craft.

Again, glad to have you.

George

late of 1/C/1/12 Cav/1 Cav Div (Airmobile), RVN '70-71

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Replacing the vanes on the fan is relative easy. Use the best vane as a template and cut new ones from sheet metal. I used a food gram scale to make sure they all weighed the same. Cut the heads of the rivets off, I used a 3 in cutoff wheel but a 41/2 in angle grinder will work and tap them out. Went to Fastenall and picked up an assortment of rivets, making sure there were some with the same size shaft. Then set the new rivets hot.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I just ran across your forge while researching something in the Blacksmith's and Hammerman's Emporium for another member. Knew I had seen it before. It is a Potts & Webber, Lancaster PA. a number 2 crank forge if the hearth is 21x28 in. a number 3 if the hearth is 19 in. according to the 1891 brochure.

[ThomasPowers]

Having seen a number of old cast iron forges crack when put back into use; I like steel bowled ones.  My travel forge was made from the front door of a WWII jig borer found discarded. The firepot is an axle cover from a 1930's banjo rear end.   About time to replace it as it's going on 30 years as a firepot and a lot of forge welding in it.