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I Forge Iron

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yeah well, nostalgia ain't what it used to be. Why back in my day.........

It is fun, it's a real rush having lotsa power under your total control. Man and machine, God we love 'em! It is neat in a big hammer you often don't even need to hold on, just guide it a little. Folks often don't understand how you can "control" the work piece and I tell 'em "you better not try". You gotta work with it not against it. I spent a lotta years fighting with steel until I learned to "work in harmony with it". Seems kinda Zen or something, but it is true. When you get there it is like "enlightenment". In later years the tong could almost fall out of my hand, I had such a light grip.

Willy Wonka? Is that good?

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I always tell the kids, "theres 250kg of good british steel coming down out of that hammer to hit your job, its harder and stronger than you, you must work with the hammer grasshopper, not against it. It will always win". "You must become one with the hammer my son"

Phil Johnston

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It's a lesson worth learning. You have to have the center of resistance right under the center of force. Sounds simple, but it takes time (took me years). Seen guys with a "death grip" on the tongs and a sore wrist in a short time. Yeah, you can't fight it, that's for sure. Old Clifton Ralph, used to say: "The tong don't need to be big enough to hold the work, only big enough to hold you"!

Dang Forgemaster, "Grasshopper" that's the name I was looking for.

Edited by nakedanvil
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I know I need to work on that. I go home some days with forearms more tired than if I had been using them to hammer. I have had things wrenched a litttle trying to get tapers back on center. Appart from the easiest thing which is to start them centered any tips on getting them back in line.

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John: It is SO counter-intuitive it's near impossible to believe until you see it in real-life. You can't tap-tap-tap it straight, it'll knock you silly. You gotta get up the confidence to hold the tip up off the die and NAIL THAT SUCKER! Then the inertia of the part is working for you. No noticeable kick at all. You MUST hold the tip up in sea-saw fashion, never put the tip down and lift the back, that will break your arm! The "tip" is away from you and the "back" is nearest to you. There is no room for hesitation, you MUST have the confidence to nail it full on or don't even attempt it.

BIG FAT DISCLAIMER: This can be a dangerous technique! This is what I do, you try it at your own peril! Your skill, confidence, knowledge are unknown to me, so trying this technique is your choice alone. This is a technique used by professionals and requires skill in it's execution. Don't try this at home!

Edited by nakedanvil
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You mentioned something similar in another post and I did have some luck with it, I was just hoping there was an easier way. I did it the other way though and put the tip down, I did have it yank the the tongs out of my hands the one time but I let them go rather than let it hurt me. It did allow me to get things back centered though. I will have to try it tip up and hit it harder. The one thing I have been learning is even though the bigger hammer has all the extra power it is often faster not to use it all and work slower but keep everything lined up.
Big fat disclaimer understood, big hammers, presses and table saws are unforgiving machines.

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