GNJC

Thanks for that Al, check your PM. G.

As a pleasant surprise I have had enquiries about blocks from people in Southern Australia and the Midwest of the US. These are very welcome, but an obvious concern is the cost of shipping, so I am currently looking into the most economical method of delivery. Clearly there could be economies of scale if more blocks were to be sent in a given order. So, if anyone in these areas is considering a block, please let me know... the more the merrier and the cheaper. If anyone knows of a bit of space in a shipping container that is up for rent, I would be glad to hear from them!

Swiftden, most of the info' you want is in the thread. Diemensions = 10"x10"x4", Weight = 79lbs / 36kg. I'll do some searching and PM you with estimates.

I’ve now spent a couple of hours dressing a block with a grinder, flap wheel, sander, files & paper and I am quite pleased with the result, same again and I think it will be enough. (I’ve not yet done anything to the ‘novelty’ features, only the utilitarian parts) I’m not bothered by small marks on non-working surface. That said, the bottom face of the block (with the widest dishing feature) is spot on, but there are a few small pits on the top face - in the biggest spoon and deepest ladle (see pic's below). I have no means of measuring depth other than my Vernier callipers, but the deepest is a lot less than 1/32". Not a big problem, but potential buyers are hereby made aware. On this first block that I’m keeping (I'll use it as an experimental / demo' block) the biggest flaw is between the inclined planes on a flat (not a working surface, see pic’); a bit of sand came out leaving a 2mm deep hole that is 4mm long… I did not notice this until last night; I will not supply a block with a flaw of this size to anyone else without their prior approval following a viewing of emailed photographs. I suspect I’m over-sensitive to marks due to my silver and gold working background, certainly I’d have been happy to find a block like this for sale if I hadn’t developed this one. A point a friend has made is that a slight pit will just lead to a slight bump on a spoon or ladle, which could then be filed / ground down; I think that is a good point. John B has pointed out that the size of hammer face used will also be of relevance; I think that is another good point. However, I am looking into ways of mitigating these blemishes - if necessary - without removing much metal and will pass on any I think viable. Following the feedback that has already been given, I’ll speak to the head foundryman tomorrow morning and give him the go ahead to start casting. When I saw him last Friday, he estimated that - allowing for poor casts - I can expect an average of two blocks every week. (Which, I suppose, means from zero up to four!) Please remember that, apart from shot blasting, your blocks will be supplied as they come out of the mould and you’ll have to dress them yourselves. I’ll send a couple of sheets with each block giving what advice I think is appropriate and helpful in re’ dressing, dimensions and use. I’ll supply them in the order that people expressed interest; although some may want theirs later, collected at shows or via friends to avoid shipping cost.

SReynolds, that isn't cheating unless you try to hide it and pretend it was done differently. I think it all depends upon who you are making something for and what you are saying it is: On anything modern / utilitarian it may be the sensible option to choose such techniques; to use them on reproducions of antiques and claim they are were made authentically would be fraudulent.

Hello, It looks fine; if you are concerned about hardness what about case-hardening? Not too difficult to do and could make a real difference. as for stock, find your nearest fabricator (gates, railings etc.) and give them £5 for a couple of handfuls of stuff from their offcuts bin. You get cheap metal, they get more than scrap value. G.

Back from the foundry again with a couple of blocks. Hmm… they had half a dozen which had been cast at the latest of a couple of different temperatures, the most successful so far being at 1340 degrees C. I brought the best two back with me, one is certainly going to go back in the melter; I think the other will be alright, but will give it a good going over this weekend before I decide for certain. They all had slight casting flaws on the upper surface; this appears to be a function of my design – the large spoon and deep hemispherical recess tend to push the ‘rubbish’ up to the area surrounding them. I have uploaded some pic’s - below - to show this. There is a small bit in a few places on the upper parts of these features too. The lower face and sides are fine (middle two pics). The good news is that the ‘dishing’ problem has been solved (the upper face as a whole was often slightly concave), both faces being flat on all the blocks I saw. Obviously I want all features to be perfect, but am I being unreasonable to hope for this with an inexact science such as foundry (not laboratory) casting? What is to be expected and what is acceptable for a complicated shape like this? Thoughts from those who have an interest will be gratefully received.

Lucky you Colleen, old files are great for recycling. Forge in or grind off the sharps. Then... Depending on their size you could use them to make punchs and drifts - they are good for smaller drifts because they are stronger than mild steel. If you have some matching ones they can be used ,with the tangs hammered into a block of wood which goes in the hardy hole, as a hands-free fuller. You can make screwdrivers, chisels and wedges too, firesteels are simple and effective, knives (as you've written), skewers and 'S' hooks. Anything that is small and needs to be hard / strong. The things that I have enjoyed most are crook knives (Welsh - Twca cam) for spoon / bowl carving and gouges for the same. I like making tool that I can make other things with! Store them in racks on a wall, 1"x1" batton along a plank with 2"x2" along the base; use more batton as spacers.

They were very keen to remove marks. I have it in my mind that there was a blacksmith in England who exhibited horse shoes 'without any hammer marks' at the 1851 Great Exhibition. But I am not sure if this is an urban myth or not, because I have just tried a web-search and found nothing. Hmm...

Possibly they wanted to form angle-iron style posts and fittings. 2Tim215, I've sent you a PM.

Tom, trawl through the boot sales once they start which, conveniently, is after the rugger season closes. You'll often get a good sized wrench in good condition for well under £10, often under £5. G.

I use four a lot - small and large round & small and large slot. Others I use drifts to open / shape chisel cuts (and punch holes) to the size / shape I want. Nearly all my drifts are mild steel, easier and quicker to make them with. Which part of Buck's are you in?

Hello, I think you would be crazy to buy a new anvil when there are so many good used ones going, ebay has several at the moment. I know a chap who had a large anvil and swage block for sale a few months ago - I think he still has them - he is near Bridgwater. Another chap is about to put two very good industrial swage blocks on ebay. However, hate to write it though I do, if you are set on a new one the obvious place to go is those with a virtual monopoly on new blacksmithing equipment here in the UK... Vaughans. John B is probably the best to seek advice from in re' use and size, but a 3cwt would do for pretty much all but the very heaviest of jobs. If you need an 'artistic' swage block, give me a shout :). Hope that helps, G.

Well… I told you it was tough stuff and it is. Hammer faces are all fine Dave – relatively, they are so much harder than the block – the handle that broke came as a surprise (best American hickory!). To be fair, until my recent experience with a low-phosphorus ‘modern’ cast iron I would have been suspicious of cast iron as a block material too. What I find particularly surprising is the malleability of the stuff, but this only seems to show under a really heavy blow; using hammers of between 1 and 3½ pounds to hit it, the surface merely looks burnished. Eric, no problem, I’d be horrified if I thought anyone was using gratuitous violence on a good tool; but, as Phil points out, this is a new product being tested (it has a few casting and finishing flaws, so was being used for a test before going back in the melter). Beth, no need, that is one of the things my wife is for. Guy, fat chance of a lie-in with a toddler around… As an aside, I had a spare few minutes after forging yesterday and used the undamaged upsetting hole, it worked a treat; I then flattened the upset end and whacked it at a high yellow heat into the ‘rose’ feature (distorted), same again with the ‘star’. Bearing in mind that I have not tidied the block up – i.e. smoothed the casting surface and defined (filed) the features’ corners / edges – they gave very good impressions; but I’ll use a near welding heat next time.

Hello all, there were requests for harder hitting, so this afternoon I gave the block some serious whacking and did indeed manage to break a piece off. Strength proven. The pic' at the bottom was taken afterwards. Enough said & done! :)

This post seems to be getting a bit serious. First thing, all on here are present because they enjoy smithing. I enjoy learning it, I have also enjoyed passing on the basics to friends and their children, just drawing down, upsetting and so forth. I’m not thick, in working life I have even earned the right to be called ‘Learned Counsel’, but on IFI so what? On here I’m an enthusiastic amateur who, although well able to digest a book or do a web-search, sometimes can’t find an answer to sometimes simple questions. Therefore I refer to the pooled knowledge on here. And, so far, have always had constructive and polite replies. If anyone on here gets irritated by repetition of questions or seemingly daft ones, so what? They can go to a different thread and learn something themselves or just have a chat. IFI is, without any doubt, the best thing in blacksmithing on the net. I would argue that the industrial revolution occured in the greatest part because of freedom of thought and the communication of ideas.

Put me down for the first copy!

Right ho, I'll start like that and do it until breaks or I'm too knackered to carry on (good point about giving it 'support'). Following that, I'll hit what is left in various positions, aiming to break it from the centre outwards while being supported from underneath. We shall see...

Hmm... I think it is a good thing there are libraries, 'thought in cold storage.' Although learning from trial & error is good. But a lesson from an expert is even better.

No problem, but I take your point Dave. I didn’t do any roundhouse hits because I was trying to take that top corner off. Bear in mind its weight of 79 lbs / 36 kg and you’ll appreciate it was hit fairly hard to move it. Nonetheless, I shall ‘properly lay into it’ tomorrow and also whack it while flat on the ground (if it is still in one piece). It will probably break up then; I was surprised that it didn’t crack / break up when it was dropped flat. Assuming Youtube is compliant I’ll post the video once taken.

Well, I didn't take it back to the foundry today so it's still here. I'll do another film if you like, instructions please Dave... <_<

I have managed to get a video uploaded onto Youtube. However, the quality is not brilliant because my attempts at uploading my original footage failed, forcing me to convert to a more basic type of file. I’ll send the original, higher quality, footage out with the blocks. Apologies if the filming seems rushed; I was doing it on a concrete slab that I didn’t mind breaking, but having to finish it quickly before the postman arrived.

This afternoon I took out the cast iron block along with several large hammers and proceeded to bash it while being filmed. I hit it while it was standing upright, to allow me a good target and to show how hard I was hitting it by its movement after each strike. Starting with a 6½ lb short handled hammer, I whacked it in what I think is the most vulnerable place – the top corner of the thinner part at one side of the ‘swoosh’. The result was that the block went flying but suffered no damage other than a dent / smear; several more hits and the result was the same. A short handled 14 lb hammer was next. The block jumped a bit further, another smear / dent but no other obvious damage. More blows, same result. Lastly, a long handled 8 lb hammer was used several times; with a good swing it, too, sent the block flying but did not break the block. Just more dents. So, having done that I decided to set Colleen’s mind at rest; I held the block at chest height and dropped the block – flat faced – on to a concrete slab. No visible effect, so I did it again, same result. I think it should dispel any fears that people have regarding the suitability of modern cast iron for such a block. Youtube link available if I can get it to work, if not I'll send a disk with each block sold. Having just finished all that, I received a ‘phone call from the head foundryman. They have done a run of castings, but… each one has ‘rubbish’ (politer than the word he used) to a greater or lesser degree on the flat part of the upper face. He said he thinks this can be fixed by using metal at a slightly higher temperature; he’ll do another run at the start of next week, if that does not succeed he’ll try it hotter still. (I don’t know how a higher temperature will improve things, but clearly he’s the expert, not me.) Irritating, but I’ve seen the quality of stuff they turn out, so I think it is worth waiting. But, if it still does not cast perfectly after the heat ‘experiments’, I shall start thinking about seeking outside expert advice. Any comments / advice regarding this matter from those who know about casting will be most welcome.

Hello Guy, Yes, I agree that some of the 'industrial' blocks do have vulnerable points; if there were not already so many of them around, I would think about having a go at designing an improved version. As I explained to you on the 'phone (it was a bad connection), and earlier in this thread, I do not think that the use of cast iron will be a problem. Well, my attempt at a destructive test will happen on tomorrow or Thursday, which will be interesting. If it is particularly so, either in breaking or withstanding my whacks, I'll put it on disks and send one out with each block!

Hmm... thanks again all. I think I shall do some experimenting. Drewed, brass / bronze brush giving 'highlights' is a good point. I have a fair number of lumps of cherry sap / resin, will give that a go too. I shall post my conclusions. Colleen, dogs keep my floors sparkling! :) Sadly my toddler has started copying them... :(