P1010988 copy.jpg
I start the first go-over with my "big" body hammer - a 14oz. double face deep-reach, either my Plomb or my Fairmount - this one is a re-handled Fairmount, (with the hand-dressed octagonal Plomb-style grip.)
Note- face not clean enough for this job. The other face has been swept off with 320grit, my standard for this paint-grade work.
P1010989 copy.jpg
My back-up is not steel, but rather a nice (resilient) Masonit-topped wooden workbench.
I am only "bumping" the metal flat with just the weight of the hammer.
P1010992 copy.jpg
2nd go-over is with the same hammer but over a steel bench anvil.
Flatness is visibly progressing in the image.
P1010993 copy.jpg
I keep count of the "steel on steel" hits, using only three or four in two inches. I watch the surface carefully so that my hits are evenly distributed.
(reminder: metal is 5052, .050" and welded with 5356 alloy filler.)
P1010996 copy.jpg
Note that the center of the new area is not hammered.
P1010997 copy.jpg
3rd go-over is with the delicate 4oz hammer. I turned this from a one inch Gr8 bolt during lunch, 1973. Yes, the pick has been hard-faced with Stoodite, typical for my pick hammers - not that they get much use in this century ...
P1010998 copy.jpg
When off the bench anvil I will back-up with my old-school "dolly-block" brazed from 3pcs - a horse-shoers rasp, a block of mild 3/4" flat bar, and a flat chunk of leaf spring. The file side gets very little use any more, but the spring side is a great little flat dolly that is very easy to hang onto because of the "H" geometry and the high-friction grip.
Next up: Going to the "file-finish."