Blacksmithing Forge: Turning a Wooden Blower Handle & Fabricating and Installing the Air Pipe 

My great grandfather made his living as a blacksmith here in Jackson Tn. When I was 5 or 6 I would clean up and turn the blower for him . Fond memories .

For handles like that I like to have the bolt fixed to the crank with a counter nut and then the handle body loose on the bolt so it can spin. Makes it less wobbly. I preferrably use a long cylindrical bolt with a smooth shaft, then have a counter bore for the bolt head in the body and if you really wanna make it pretty: press a turned metal cap into the counter bore. If you don't have a smooth bolt you can also put a thin piece of pipe over it, then tighten it with the bolt itself.

All is well. Ginger was supervising. 🐈

Ginger is really getting into the act the past few episodes... he's got Keith Trained!

I would suggest mounting the handle on a smooth shaft so that the handle spins on the shaft. It will be not be good to have the handle turn in your hand all the time.

The hood is a work of sheetmetal art. Keith's restoration projects are often required for another project which is great motivation.

@6:25 Wood turning! One of my earliest childhood memories was of "Pa Alec's" (my Grandpa Alex's) wood shop. He had Cedar trees all over the farm in South Georgia (Preston, not far from Plains). He turned big bedposts (among other things) and the house always smelled like Cedar! I remember watching him over the table saw when I was so young I had to grab the table and stand on tip toes to look over it! I'm 65 now and every time I see wood turning it triggers that memory. He also gave me a pocketknife when I was five or six (mom was thrilled) and taught me how to whittle...

Love the way Ginger walks onto the set and informs us that this is his shop, his human, and that he decided to suffer the camera's presence. For now.

Once again The boy cat named Ginger sweeps in and makes sure everything goes to plan. Thanks for the video Keith.

Never heard a word you said in the first 4 minutes - Ginger was photobombing your video so cutely! 😍

Nice job Keith, well done

cannot wait to see the forge in operation keith!

Oh, what fun it will be when you start practicing the "Black Arts" under the spreading Chestnut tree.

I used to demonstrate blacksmithing at the Minnesota State Fair, where the had a similar hand cranked blower. I think I used about a third of my total blacksmithing energy just to run the blower!

I do a little wood turning, though not proficient, your handle turned out great! This forge is going to be nice.

I love when Ginger make an appearance. Every shop needs a shop Cat!

For any metal workers who dislike the contrast in precision between metal and woodworking I suggest you Google ornamental turning. Even if the product doesn't appeal to you, the tooling required for it might blow your mind. The "Bible" of this craft is "Principles and practice of Ornamental or Complex Turning" by J.J. Holtzapffel written in the 1800's but re-published in the 70's.

Kieth, I love watching you do metal work. But not so much on the wood lathe.

Thanks Keith. I look forward to seeing you use it.

I can't say how fun it is to watch Technology come alive.

My father could do anything with metal, but he'd get flustered when facing a piece of wood. When I was in high school I once made a handle similar to the one Keith made in this video on my father's little jeweler's lathe. My father was glad that someone besides him was willing to take a gouge to a piece of hardwood.

5:20 You shouldn't lean over the band saw like that because you might cut your head Keith. The cutting band should be covered.

I've seen these in use and they're sturdy little forges! Nice refurb!!

Happy Monday Keith!😊⚙️🛠👍👍👍👍✌️

Keith Nice set up. Blacksmithing is as much fun a grown man can have without having to go to the Pastor later. Nice set up. I have a Buffalo Forge blower. It has a worn out bearing and i can’t find a replacement.I have not every had that style of hood draw properly. I think it is more of a wind break. Frank

On that handle... the wood outer part should spin on the metal shaft it resides on. Using the bolting face of the spinner arm as a bearing will fail in very short order

I look fo ward to seeing you do some blacksmithing!

Keith of all trades!

Shop kitty demands attention! That forge is looking amazing as well. The hood is gorgeous.

Looks fantastic! Super excited to see you using it!

Thanks for sharing.

Oh Keith, like you don't have anything better to do than practice TIG welding. I can think of few people on RU-vid that are involved in so many different things. Hats off to you.

Thanks Keith

You're a man of many talents, Keith and a joy to watch

The forge is such a great project! Thank you Keith!!

I live NE of Atlanta in Barrow County but most of my extended family lives in Tifton, Omega and spots in between. I don’t get down that way much but the next time I do I'd really like to pay you a visit. It wouldn't surprise me at all if you know someone I'm related to or friends with near you.

Nice work Keith

Boiled linseed oil would be good for the handle.

Some tools had wood handles that turned on the shaft but not all, wearing leather gloves it should be fine and after a while it will get a mirror polishing.

If you turn down a thin nut and put it before the washer on the other side of the handle's arm, it could tighten itself on the arm and then all you'd need to do is remove the square from the carriage bolt and have a rotating handle rather than on the bolt. It won't survive that long, these days the quality of bolts ain't the same like back in the day.

Impressive. Not many metal machinist I know can turn wood. And... you're a Bear agricultural scientist.

Red Georga clay is what your forge needs, Keith. Not some stinking atomic-age goo! Smiths have been using good clays since the beginning, and would be "in period," never wear out, and be completely recyclable. Great video. This might be the first of your videos where everything you did was within my accumulated skillset. Lots of fun!

looks great, you mentioned hind site, i would of had them bend me a 90, 3 foot on each side

So many old beautifull tools. Awesome.

Holy smoke Keith you have a lot of projects in the air!!!

True piece of American History. To think of all the Iron that was forged with this (@@)! if this helps Keith, you welds look better than mine, and need to pick up my tig skills as well, Bear Tx.

I hope to see some more woodworking on the channel. I know its not your focus but even showing how [wood] parts used to be made is a fun change once in a while.

Great cat video -- maybe think about not interrupting it by all this machining. 😜

looks good

I think the wooden handle is supposed to rotate on the bolt. If you take the carriage bolt off, put it a lathe and turn down the square part, then it should rotate nicely. Look forward to heating up some metal and hammering on it.

The funny thing about the whole measuring for the inner circle is you used a hole saw. All you really needed was the pilot. I've done that exact thing before though. Scribed out the whole foot print just to realize I'm just using 2 different hole saws. One with a pilot drill and the second with a pilot shaft. I still catch myself scribing out the footprints before realizing it. I guess the ritual of it is just comforting.

Nice! I can't wait to see it in action.

An electric air pump should be the next upgrade on this baby! forget that "blower of agony!"

some fancy wood turning there!!! be careful of the 'ROM-C' boys!!! Removal of Machinist Credits lol

Keith, After watching you fit the pipe on your forge and seeing the work your sheet metal shop did, I have a suggestion. On your Monarch restoration instead of the hammered fix for the chip pan, why not insert the bent area? I recommend that you weld a 3/8" or 1/2" round bar to the edge for added rigidity. You could cut out a couple of handholds to ease the removal of the pan. The forge is looking good. Do you intend to use it inside or outside? Bob

Thank you Keith!

Have noticed in several of your recent posts the sound volume going up and down. It would be great if you could fix this.

Awesome as Always Great content loved this restoration.. Finding Lately your Audio to be appalling Too much of a difference between the quiet parts and normal...

Another excellent result.

Going to be a great grill! :-)

Thank you for another great video. Cheers

Great little video,keep up the great work.😎😎😎👍👍👍

Looks really good.

Thank you for sharing.👍

That tig weld looks good Keith!

Sketchy on the drill press. One should by practice put the hand bar section up against the post. Then the torque will be on the drill press itself and your hand is then holding it level to the table only. A three-dimensional hold that bobs and twists can be dangerous. Keith knows this but it was a quick job...

Thanks for sharing

excellen the forge and the blower looks great. but my lazy self would be getting one from an inflatable bouncy house like windy hill foundry clark did and let the original be for looks.

Great to see you doing some woodworking, Keith! If I may ask, what’s the status of the furnace you made several years ago? Did I miss an update? I don’t say this nearly enough, but thanks for the years of great content!

Hindsight being what it is, in your retrospect of making the pipe section longer, you could have added that inch to the end going into the female section before you welded it up. You couldn't hear me talking through the interweb though. That's just niggling little details that don't matter, it looks great and will function just fine.

your amazing Keith

Blister builder- that wood handle should rotate on the shaft, otherwise you will be constantly slipping your hand around the handle as you crank it.

I would like to think the handle should be a rotating on its own shaft type than one that rotates in the hand. So, a glove or hand could grab hold and turn. A slip one that is full metal has to slip in the hand all the time. So, the hand closes on the hand, not the handle. Nice overall project result. Thanks.

fabulous

Hi Steve. Great video as usual. I was just wondering if the pipe you were using is galvanized. If it is , you should be cautious when welding it. When galvanize steel is welded it releases toxic fumes. Not good for you. It also messes up the torch and the weld with this weird black soot. In case you have to weld galvanized steel in the future, you should make sure you grind the zinc coating clean before welding.

Keith ... if you had drilled the hole saw before cutting the major Dia .. it would have bee easier to hold on to . and the line you marked should have bee folded to give you a fixed flange to take the weight of the pipe.........but just a thought I suppose

You used some tools I have not seen in a long time! I remember when you restored that metal cutting band saw! and when you do the blacksmith project that will be new too! TM long time viewer

I would have turned off the threads on the bolt or even gone a couple sizes bigger and turned that down w/o the threads which WILL eat away at the inside of the handle. The reason the handle bends when you apply force is partly the threads and partly only one washer and partly a smaller diameter bolt than is needed. And I'm pretty sure I saw two washers in the reproduction picture of the "factory model" which were usually utopian views with smaller feature items like your handle to make it seem like an easier job than it is. Such a fine peice of hardwood! I hope you build a chimney for the smoke you must make when the fire is lit for the first time. Any large open fire especialy coke fuel for forging is gonna blow away everything else in a minute flat as far is carbon monoxide is concerned. BTW have you sourced your coke?

Just a thought, you might want to put small feet on the ends of the legs to prevent gouging on the floor by the ends of the pipe legs. Looks Great otherwise.

Keith, please don't forget to put some gear oil in the blower -- it hurts to listen to those gears! ;)

Those sure are handy to have for all kinds of jobs that need or use metal/iron. I have to laugh at products made today with 100% plastic however, that's the case when you have high labor rates and ridiculous costs of running a business these days. I'm wondering what the compartment is for towards the front of the forge, Coal?

Ginger thinks... "it's good that he's setting up a barbecue to make me my roast fish. I'm so beautiful that I deserve it, without a doubt." LOL

Good morning Keith. Have a great week!

Fire!!

the handle is supposed to rotate on it's shaft

Yet another very enjoyable video. Constructive criticism - you should never put your fingers on the far side of the tool rest with the timber turning. Getting your fingers trapped between the wood and the tool rest is not a pleasant thing to contemplate!

Hi Keith, love your work. Did you consider allowing the wooden part of the handle spin on the shaft?

❤

Have Adam show you the TIG Finger.

WHat happened to Mary-Anne?

I notice you didn't loosen the overtight bearings...doesn't matter if it works properly once it looks good .....

Keith, what are you going to do with yourself? You have four large projects almost finished. "Lg. Lathe, Surface Grinder, Diresta Bandsaw, and The Forge". Do you have some old machine hiding in the background? I always enjoy your content!! RJA.

Ginger keeps appearing at the beginning of your videos more often

Nice video thanks, but ... I was thinking you would make a smooth pin for the wooden handle on the lathe. I would have done that. Btw.. thanks for the excellent demonstration of the superiority of working with customary units over metric units. ;-)

Its a nice item is that... 😐🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

Why wouldn’t you want to drill the hole before you cut out the circle? It would be easier to hold in drill press

I would like some info on your Monarch lathe. I have one the same size , but mine has another feature of changing the feed rate. There is a hydraulic clutch between the input shaft and the headstock, I was wondering if there is a port to install a pressure gage ? Thanks

You should have made the wooden part rotate on the bolt.

If you haven't put a finish on the handle, I would recommend not putting one on. Similar to the end of an oar, any finish will cause more friction on your hand (even though the handle does spin on an axle) and can eventually cause blisters.

Do you still have Mary Anne the cat. I never see her on the vid