antique forge

Started by sav17, September 26, 2009, 01:19:33 PM

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sav17

Hi All
I have always had a yearning to make my own custom knives and been looking at how to build a cheap forge
Well today on a trip into swansea town by chance i spotted a small antique shop up a side street in one of the quieter areas on the outskirts ,we decided to have a mooch in the window and when we strolled up we noticed that they mostly did renovated cast iron fire places ,but then we spotteg the gates opening into the yard next door we looked in and saw this !!!!!!!!
 

 
Hand operated antique forge i was real excited we went in and then an elderley chap appeared from no where and greeted us and starting chatting he showed us around lots of old cast iron ware and fire places and old country machinery that he was renovating and selling on he seemed delighted that we had recognised it as a forge and said it had been his possesion for about thirty years and had only just decided to put it on display the yard was a mish mash of fire grates and cast kitchen ranges chimney pots, tiles and old paraphernalia
Jen spotted an old wooden horse yoke we think its to connect two heavy horses to a plough or something similar, with the metal work still attached she wants to buy it and renovate ,well to be honest we were like two kids in a sweetshop ,he showed us around and produced an antique ransomes hand operated lawn edger with the original paint still on it we were gob smacked and like I said our eyes were every where
When we mentioned we were looking for a forge to actually use he was very interested and told us that he thinks it was exmilitary and still in perfect working order Then came the big question "How much for the forge" after showing me it still worked perfectly and saying he had put a new plate in the bottom of the fire box ,he looked at me pushed his flat cap back scratched his head and said "hows about £60 "(around $100) I was expecting it to be a lot more and unaffordable
So it seems me and jen are the proud owners of an antique leather bellows operated forge I was so excited I forgot to ask if he had any other related equipment tongs hammers etc It seems he has a large storage area elsewhere so we will be picking it up the weekend and I,m looking forward to cleaning it up and renovating it as much as using it
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
all the best keep safe
"Richie"
happiness is a critter in the crosshairs

22hornet

It amazing what you can pick up at some places. Unfortunatly around here anything that looks old carries a hefty price tag too.
Good luck with the knife making.
"Belief:" faith in something taught, as opposed to "knowledge:" which is awareness borne of experience.

sav17

things like that usually carry a high price here to I,v seen an identical forge with a split bellows on ebay for £200 I think the old gent was impressed that it was goimg to be used again :biggthumpup:
happiness is a critter in the crosshairs

buffalo bob

is that a hand operated bellows.  while growing up, my neighbor had a forge that had like a hand operated turbocharger on it.  spin the crank and watch the sparks fly . we kids loved to play with it while he shod the horses.

drinksgin (deceased)

Bob, I think the handpowered impeller type forge is a bit newer than the leather bellows type Sav has found.
I think the impellers are still available in the catalog from Lehman's, Kidron, OH
NRA life, TSRA life, SAF life, GOA, CCRKBA, DEF -CON

sav17

Quote from: drinksgin;97436Bob, I think the handpowered impeller type forge is a bit newer than the leather bellows type Sav has found.
I think the impellers are still available in the catalog from Lehman's, Kidron, OH

Apparently talking to the chap on the history of the forge he says it was bought from a military surplus guy about thirty five years ago and he had about 50 of them in his warehouse he seems to think it was exmilitary maybe from the second world war ???
happiness is a critter in the crosshairs

buffalo bob

amazing how the leather holds up over time. real quality workmanship back then. people took pride in their craftsmanship. not so much any more.

sav17

I gotta agree with you bob its really crude construction but its built to last I,v been told by an old farrier that I need to get hold of something called neatsfoot oil to soak the bellows in to preserve the leather and maintain the flexibility cant wait to get it set up and start using it :biggthumpup:
happiness is a critter in the crosshairs

drinksgin (deceased)

Sav, just go to where the horsey people are, a saddler should have a ton of neat's foot oil.
Also, don't soak it, just rub in enough to keep the leather pliable, works good on leather boots, too.
NRA life, TSRA life, SAF life, GOA, CCRKBA, DEF -CON

Brithunter

Groan .............................. another Welsh Windbag :Banghead:


Yep that leather will need treatment if your to use it for more than a few strokes and especially for long. Too much dubbin or neats foot will rot the stitching, or so I was told, which reminds me my boots need cleaning and treating before winter sets in.

You got the Forge now you need to find an anvil :greentongue:  and stand to bring it up to a nice comfortable working height, that is unless you like bending over all the time, they seem to hold their price as we found out years back when looking for one. For knife making it will need to have the "face" in good condition, ours was cheaper because it was not so good.

Once you start making them you need to consider handle material of course. How's the lady with leather work?
Go Get them Floyd!

Alboy

Quote from: drinksgin;97436Bob, I think the handpowered impeller type forge is a bit newer than the leather bellows type Sav has found.
I think the impellers are still available in the catalog from Lehman's, Kidron, OH

 
Drinksgin
 
As you go into Trinity and stop at the intersection of your road and 19; look to your right and my grandfathers shop is there. On the Hwy 19 side to the north is his old forge that had the impeller type forced air. Just in case you needed to look at one again. My grandaddy was always at the forefront of technology.
 
I spent many a day making sparks fly just like bufalo bob was talking about, wixh I had paid more attention to how to smith.
 
In this picture on the left you can see part of the impeller as Grandpa had rigged it to an electric motor so he can could control the air flow more consistently. That was after we grandkids had all grown up and gotten to smart to pump air for him.:Banghead:
Alboy
BLACKPOWDER WATERFOWLER
KATY TEXAS PRAIRIE
 
THIS TOO SHALL PASS

gitano

Be nicer than necessary.

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