After rummaging, cruising the internet and ebay, and the like, I finally found a small electric blower that will work PERFECTLY for my antique forge, in the oddest of places to boot! I was looking for small, hamster cage-styled blower for my forge. It DOES have a hand operated flywheel blower which is quite an interesting setup for a forge that old (somewhere around 1865-1880), but for continuous stoking of the firepot while working alone, I wanted an electric fan while using it at home in the shop. I ALSO wanted something that I can maybe "split" the air and take half of the air and make a 'venturi' to draw smoke up the flue pipe from the forge shroud. Anyway, I'm planning on making a split manifold that will have an adjustment to allow me to control the air to the forge/venturi pipe. Oh, and as to where I finally found the blower? Way up in the woods at Scout camp, in the rafters of the cabin! its a small Dayton fan, probably from the '50s, plugged it in and it runs like a champ!!
Yep, now I have to make a shroud into the flue, the splitter pipe for the blower and hopefully, when I'm boiling sap in the coming weekends, I'll be able to hammer out a gift that I owe a fellow member here from Christmas..........dammit I've been slammed!
Nice find (literally) Scotty! I'm sure that certain member will be more than thankful. I've seen some pretty impressive things that your hands have made. Looking forward to pics Because without pics......??
That is a good find. I went from a small noisy hair dryer that was overpowered to a small cage fan. It has a 2" outlet that fits perfectly into a fernco and then the 2" iron pipe fitting. I found the fan on the bottom of a broken air hockey table that was sitting next to a dumpster. The fan is very quiet, and to regulate air flow, I open the ash dump lever at the bottom of the "T" from the tuyere to spill out air. If I use bituminous coal, I shut the fan off when a piece is done being workedon, as bit. can stay lit for a little while. I use more anthracite to be a good neighbor and keep smoke down, so the fan runs constant. Looking forward to seeing the piece when finished. The warm weather can't get here soon enough to get out and fire the forge.
Pics Scotty, looking forward to anything forge related when you have time to take them. GLO on finding a fan for your project
