My ‘new’ 40 lb. block anvil
I scored a 40 pound block of steel at an estate sale for $2. It’s 8″ high x 9″ wide x 2″ thick. Shined up pretty nice. Will be thinking how I’ll design a stand for it and perhaps what kinds of grooves and things to make on some of the edges to make it like a swage block.
Made some nice smooth surfaces to pound on. The top face was the first surface I ground on and was more concerned about keeping it flat than to completely eliminate the cut markings. I was also still getting used to how aggressive my grinder worked and didn’t want to unduly gouge or scratch the steel.
You can see here that the block is not perfectly square. It’s off by about 1 degree, but the surfaces are plenty flat enough for light forging. I think given the dimensions and weight of this block, and with the right design of stand for it, it should work very nicely for up to 5/8 inch stock.
You can see some round marks/marrs where I tested my hammer on the surface. I didn’t get much rebound using a ball bearing, so I thought I’d feel what it was like with my hammer. You can tell where the hammer hit, but it didn’t actually ‘dent’ the surface. So i think it will be a very good hardness to use. Hot iron will be softer than this, and it will be softer than my hammer in case I land an errant blow.
Made some nice smooth surfaces to pound on. The top face was the first surface I ground on and was more concerned about keeping it flat than to completely eliminate the cut markings. I was also still getting used to how aggressive my grinder worked and didn’t want to unduly gouge or scratch the steel.
You can find the hammer at Big Blu Hammer Right Hand Diagonal Peen . I bought mine at Pieh Tool Co in Camp Verde, AZ
For reference, this is my Big Blu #7 Right Handed Diagonal Peen hammer (2.4 lbs./ 1 kg.) You can also see the one corner edge that I dressed with a slight radius. I’m thinking about making two other corners with more rounded edges than this, perhaps a half inch and 3/4 inch radius.
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