V block swage/bolster

One of the YouTube forging videos viewed recently, this by Torbjorn Ahman, featured a very nicely engineered V block, which he designed to refine a sharp right-angle bend. I don’t have the facilities he has, but it set me thinking how I would make it without eg a lathe, etc. So this is the result, rather crude, but hope will prove effective.

Attachment 33105

There are three ways of forging a sharp right angle ( only the external angle is sharp). One is to jump-up, or upset, ie thicken the corner.This is quite laborious. The other is to draw down the stock either side of the proposed bend to the finished thickness. This is Torbjorn’s method. This is even more laborious, unless you have a power hammer. The third way is to weld. And there may be other methods. I have only used the first method.

The wings of the block have been rounded, since the stock is forced down with a set hammer, or fuller, and without being relieved, would gall the face of the bar. Torbjorn’s design incorporates rotating semicircular discs.

Generally, a refined corner looks better than a round bend, but it’s a lot more work.