[TheForge] Sow blocks. Why?

[Ralph Sproul]

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Tod Estes
Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 10:01 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: RE: [TheForge] Sow blocks. Why?


Hi everyone,

I may be wrong. I often am. I have an older little giant 25# made in 1913
this one did not have a sow block. It was shipped to Kremlin,OK to the
shop My Grandpa worked in. Mostly it sharpend plows. It has a nice chunk
missing on the front of the bottom die. Grandpa remembered the chunk that
was missing said it just popped out when one of the guys at the shop was
sharpening a plow. They still used it till they closed the shop down. I
did talk to Sid about this and he said that it a common problem with the
early design and was changed when the sow block was put on. He did say
that the if someone really was aggressive with driving in a wedge to hold
the bottom die tight then it could bust too. I think this was what
prompted the change to the sow block design. Some folks band and weld the
piece back on. Sid did say that he can take the old hammer that I have and
put a sow block on it by bandsawing off a secton and fitting a sow block
to it. The bottom casting is hollow but a nice amount at the top is solid.
 Right now it is in lots of pieces and I am still gathering up courage to
rebabbit it. I will proably use it whith the chunk missing for a bit cause
the bottom die is still solid.