Above:  Front view of the Field Forge 1896 (Feldschmiede 1896) restored, reassembled and working.  This forge is foot petal powered and uses two leather bellows to push air into the hearth. This type of forge was carried onboard the Vorratswagon 1896 n/A

Above:  Side view of the Field Forge 1896

Above:  Rear view of the Field Forge 1896

Above:  The Field Forge 1896 (Feldschmiede 1896) disassembled.  There are two sets of bellows.  They mount within the tin galvanized drum.  The hearth is mounted by three steel rods above the drum which has the two bellows stacked inside.  Air from the bellows is transferred from the drum to the hearth by a pipe mounted to the back of the hearth

Above:  This is the newly made foot petal powered bellows.  This replacement lower set of bellows is made from  leather that was stitched and formed into the correct shape by Bedo’s Leatherworks in Falls Church, VA. With their help it works very well now

Above: Feldschmiede 96 (Fieldforge. This is the same forge that is carried in the Vorratswagen 1896 n/A

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below:  A set of matches found inside the drum of the field forge.  This is a brand of matches from East Germany, likely made in the 1960s.  This match company does not seem to have been around in the WW1 Era, but still an interesting piece, associated with the forge’s later history

Below: Feldschmiede 96 (Fieldforge. This is the same forge that is carried in the Vorratswagen 1896 n/A)