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Rant: The forge at the Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska runs on a hand crank blower and I stood there for 20 minutes
Stopped by the Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska last weekend with the kids and wandered into the blacksmith shop they have set up there. The guy running it, Walt, was maybe 70 and had a hand crank blower hooked to a small rivet forge, and he let me take a turn on the crank while he worked a piece of 3/8 round stock. What got me was how steady the air was compared to my electric blower at home, no whoosh and pause, just a constant low hum that let the coal build heat slow and even. He said he has run that same blower for 19 years and only greased it twice, and the fire never once went cold on him. I stood there cranking for 20 minutes while he drew out a hook and I swear I learned more about reading color than I have in two months at my own anvil. My electric setup pushes so much air that I just burn steel and cuss, and here this guy is shaping a hook with one hand and telling stories with the other. Any of you run a hand crank on purpose, or am I just romanticizing a sore arm?
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