Grandmother has hand crank blower

blgoode

blgoode

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Messages
7,260
Well, I dont want to make a coal forge but my beautiful grandmother has a hand crank blower. Any way this can be used in a gas set up? I know it will work to add oxygen to the mix but is it worth using?
THanks in advance.
 
Depending on the burner- you can use a junk hair dryer, so why go with something that require effort to use when you could press on and off. On the other hand- you would have added control.
 
IMHO no. When mixing air with gas you have to have adjusted the gas and air volume same time. ie. if you want a normal (not oxidizing or rich) fire at a lets say at 3 psi, you need a decided & constant air flow. You adjust it with a choke with an electric blower but with a hand cranked blower it is I think too difficult and also dangerous. I you dont crank it the fire will be gone and explosive gas will be accumulated in the hot forge. It is scary isnt it?. :) ..
 
Bri, to make that work you would have to have Little Granny there cranking it while the gas is on. :eek: :D PS: Give Granny some of my relish before she starts. :D
My coal forge has one of those old blowers and it has a pulley on it with a belt connect to a motor with a sewing machine pedal to control the motor.
 
Ahh! So coal is the way to go with onw of these. This was my great grandfathers so I may clean it up and have it as my fun knifemakers tool inside!
Thanks fellas....
 
I have a hand crank blower that came with an old forge I got a while back and love it. After getting the hammers and stuff I needed it turned out to be a very relaxing fun way to spend a few hours. That is if I forget about the
carpultunnel (too lazy to look up the spelling) it gave me.
But I sure do love it none the less.
 
Yep, with a coal fire you run the blower periodically to bring the heat back up. With LP its more like an engine, you need a constant mix of fuel and air.
Would be a neat thing to have around though, I love old tools :cool:
 
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