Heard a guy at the guild meeting say he still uses a hand crank blower from the 1800s

Was at the monthly blacksmith guild meetup last Tuesday and some older smith was bragging about his old hand crank blower. Said he bought it for 40 bucks at a farm auction 20 years ago and it's never let him down. Got me thinking about how much I rely on my electric blower and if I should keep a backup old-school option around. Any of you guys still using manual blowers or bellows in your shops?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricialee8h ago

Wait, 40 bucks for a hand crank blower from the 1800s? Seriously? I think my jaw hit the floor when I read that. Around here, you can't find a rusty old one for under 200, and even then it's usually missing half the parts. That guy got a steal and a half, and he probably doesn't even realize how good he had it back then. I've been keeping an eye out for one myself just as a backup, but prices have gone insane lately.

margaret3048h ago

Stake out the estate sales in the older farm towns, @patricialee. I picked up a working Champion blower last year for $60 because the nozzle was dented. Took me an afternoon with a pipe wrench and a propane torch to straighten it out, but it works fine now. A little elbow grease goes a long way if you're patient and check the listings early.