Looking around at a couple of hardies for my new to me anvil. Lucked out and had a good friend give me an old champion cut off hardy. Now just looking for a bottom fuller. Are the ones on eBay made of Ductile iron any good? They are lower in price but figured it might be for a reason. Thanks again for any help.

How much use will you be getting from it? Most swageblocks are ductile at best and often cast iron. However for tooling I use a *lot* I try to find or make them from steel.

why dont you make one?

Not near that good yet. Might try it though. Those things are pricy. Watched a guy on YouTube make one.

This is a pretty easy "big stock" project in reality. A bolster matched to your hardy is nice, but not needed. No special tools are needed besides tongs of suitable size.

Just a tip, upsetting the block way down means you have to draw it back out farther.

Phil

my first try I'm going to do one narrower next time.

Why not just throw it back in the forge and thin it out a bit. It looks more like a fuller than a hot cut at this point.

or I could make it a fuller.

or I could make it a fuller.

options abound!

Phil

you need a hot cut more than a fuller.

you need a hot cut more than a fuller.

Without a doubt a hot cut is more used.

Nothing wrong with making this a fuller, then using the fuller to make a new hot cut though. I wouldn't re-grind it till I was prepared to make the new hot-cut.

Phil

I also use this as a hot cut and for sliting.

The small one is a cold cut and is the first tool I made and I still use it over store bought one for cutting steel. They are from rebar that I had left over from resteel strenght test at work, they were ment to be part of a rebar cage for a 12' dia drilled foundation that went down to hard pan. They harden and temper very well.

Long thin tools tend to flex perpendicular to the force applied. Soon the tool bends and the effect is compounded. One makes lots of hammer blows and not a lot of work getting done is the result. The traditional form of hardie can't be beat forged in the correct shape from tool steel. It is a basic tool for a blacksmith workarounds and short cuts don't get you very far in forging.

you know the best part about being a blacksmith? If you don't like it you can remake it into something you do..... If you don't like a tool you can make your own and however you make it, if it works for you you did it right.