This outfit belonged to my father-in-law, the rest of the family members didn't want it so I ended up with it. I am pleased as I have a  propane forge and this will be a welcome addition to my shop. The blower works ok, if you crank it counterclockwise. It cranks hard and is noisy if you crank clockwise. I added ATF fluid. Does this make sense? 

What kind of noise does it make, does it vibrate at the same time? 

ATF is good for cutting crud and cleaning up rust, it's marginal as a lube. These machines usually call for 30wt. non-detergent motor oil. Modern detergent motor oils don't have the problems they did at the turn of the last century so I don't sweat that bit.

Frosty The Lucky.

It doesn't vibrate much, just a slight grinding noise. I will change the oil to 30 wt. Hope that helps. Thanks Frosty!

I have found that some of the old blower gears will take a set and prefer one direction over the other. Oil it up and crank it counterclockwise to keep it happy. Just don't over do the oil. You might check the end play on the fan, it could be hitting the case when you reverse the direction.

Ditto Randy on the gears taking a set but it's possible there's a little crud in the case that only picks up when the gears are turning one direction. The ATF may break it loose and when you drain it will carry it out. I doubt that's likely but . . . maybe. 

My blower has different gearing but it's quieter when turned one direction, not much but noticeable, it makes the same amount of air regardless. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks fellows for the information. Is it imperative to line the forge? It won't be used that often. It has some rust but no deep pitting.  

Your forge is a steel pan, so it doesn't need to be clayed but I would fill it with dirt so I could make a ducks nest fire pot.