[TheForge] Finishing swage blocks

[John Newman]

I do distribute my swage blocks in the US through Kayne and Son
I sometimes get blocks that need more than the normal amount of
finishing from the foundry,  I then have to do some of the finishing
myself.   Here are some of the techniques I have used.  One of the best
tools is a die grinder with a solid carbide burr this is an excellent
tool for cleaning out bowl and spoon shapes as well as rounds.  The only
downsides of these are the burrs are quite expensive and you have to be
very carefull you don't take to much material off they cut VERY
quickly.  Cold chisels can be used on ductile iron blocks to cut scabs
off the casting.  An angle grinder with a well worn wheel held
diagonally to the axis of a round will get it fairly smooth again be
very gentle just feather the trigger on the grinder.  Woodworking
sanding drums in a drill or die grinder can be used but the sleeves wear
out quickly.  USING the block will smooth out a lot of surface roughness
scale is abrasive and swage blocks will smooth out with use suprisingly
quickly.
Some things to look at while buying a block, extra metal can always be
ground away if it isn't there it cannot.  If there is a missmatch in  a
feature that you will be using it is very difficult to repair, a
smoothed out  crooked swage is still crooked.
One last point, while any sharp corners should be relieved and bad bumps
removed it is a swage block not a jewellers dapping block and for most
work it does not need  a mirror finish

John