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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- You can find the hammer at Big Blu Hammer Right Hand Diagonal Peen . I bought mine at Pieh Tool Co in Camp Verde, AZ
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- 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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