My favorite anvil block cracked open mid-shoe last Tuesday

I've been using the same 100-pound cast iron block for 8 years, and last Tuesday I was shaping a size 2 keg shoe and it just split clean in half. Had to finish the shoe hanging the hoof between my knees like some kind of amateur. Anyone else ever had a block fail on them mid-job and what did you switch to?

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3 Comments

max_ross3mo ago

Heard a guy at a clinic once say cast iron blocks are basically disposable, like brake pads for a car. Eight years is a good run though. Had a buddy switch to a ductile iron block after his cracked, said it dented instead of breaking. Wonder if that extra give messes with the hammer rebound or if you just get used to it.

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david373mo ago

Cast iron blocks are meant to crack, that's kind of their whole thing... absorb the shock instead of your arm. Sounds like it did its job for 8 years, that's a pretty good run.

5

martin.felix3mo ago

Right?! My old one did the exact same thing after about 6 or 7 years of lifting. Gave me a real nice warning crack one day and I swapped it out (well, the next day after I finished panicking).

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