What to Look For In a Blacksmith Hand Crank Blower?
Handcrank blowers are a bit hard to find and I can't recommend buying over the internet unless it is from someone that you completely trust. I use a Champion and like it but I am not sure the name is as important as it's condition. The main thing with the blower is that it should turn smoothly in both directions. If the gears grind either way it may be more costly to fix it if not impossible.
It should have been kept well lubricated and should be able to be lubricated easily with oil or grease ports. The fan blades should not hit the housing and there should be no cracks that later could cause problems..
The gear box is the heart of the blower and it must be in good shape to give you years of performance. I know some smiths that have refurbished a seized gear box but you must get the blower cheap enough that you can invest many hours soaking it and cleaning the gears.
The larger the blower the larger the forge fire you can effectively work with it. You will still have nice control on small fires. The small blowers really only work well with small fires. You can't easily get enough volume through for a large fire.
In my opinion the stand is secondary to the blower itself. I can always make a new stand if it is not in the best condition.
I really like to look a blower over in person before buying it. I understand that this is not always possible but it is best practice. With a large and heavy object shipping will be expensive.
I hope this helps and good luck in your search for hand crank blacksmith forge blower.
David Robertson
Artist Blacksmith
