Bigred1o1 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 has anyone out there had any luck switching from right to left handed hammering (i have no problem stick welding left or right handed) but hammering just has me stumped but due to gravity and a ice ( i fell out of a tractor bucket and 8ft or so) and landed on the edge of a metal gate this had the result of cracking one rib, a small rip in my Thoracic diaphragm(non birth control) from my rib cage and doing a good bit of damage to the cartilage(soft bits on the front of the ribs where they curve up and connect to the sternum) anyways its made hammering right handed quite painful and i have a few jobs to do that i would like to keep working on so long story short any thoughts/tricks for switching your handedness thanks all will be well this is more of a discomfort thing and knowing me i will forget and aggravate it as i go along but this had more just got me thinking about how dependent i am on my right hand/arm for most of what i do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Same way you get to Carnegie hall: Practice Practice Practice! Some people are more strongly "handed" than others but even severely handed folks tend to be able to switch *if* the dominant hand is injured and unusable. I sometimes switch off a bit if my right hand gets tired and I have a job I need to finish. I am not as good with my left but a lot better now than when I started! Smithing teaches you to use your other hand/arm actively and that is one of a problem new smiths have as they are not used to doing different controlled things with both arms simultaneously. Now I would advise using a soft hammer to practice with as it will be "hammer control, what hammer control?" all over again. (I had one student who was doing really badly on hammer control---such that I asked him if he was using his dominant hand?---he replied that he was trying to train to use his other hand and I explained that as good as that was he should mess up his own equipment learning that and NOT MINE! If it wasn't in a class I might have set him up on a hard faced anvil with a soft hammer and let him suffer.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 yeah that was about what i thought but i was hoping for some magic fix like its a cinch just put your left boot on your right foot and your right boot on your left foot it might pinch a bit but presto there you got hammer away like a champ and yes i gone back to my favorite soft hammer and i am tapping away so far no divots in the anvil and my left handed stick welding is coming along quite nicely way better than i would have thought in fact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Heard about a guy learning to file left handed after a shoulder injury. Or you can practice in a mirror. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewed Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Drop your hammer weight at least a pound. Your "off" hand will be much weaker than your other. Also work on small, fast, light blows rather than just wailing away. Me? I can't hit worth a snot with either hand so it doesn't really matter. Does make the crowd wonder when I switch hands mid heat.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 You trained your right hand to do what you wanted it to do, hold a hammer, throw a ball, etc. It did not happen in one practice or one lesson. Put your right hand in your pants pocket clear up to the wrist. Pick up a light weight hammer with your left hand and work on hitting what you aim at. I suggest the top of a 55 gallon barrel to start with, then progress to the bottom of a 10 quart water bucket, then to smaller targets. Next start 5-6 nails spaced 2-3 inches apart in a board. Hit each one once using a random pattern. Once you have hammer control, you can increase the weight of the hammer a bit and start on hot metal. To answer the question as to why you should put your right hand in your pants pocket? So you won't hit right your hand with the hammer while teaching your left hand how to use a hammer (grin). I learned by necessity when building our home. There are some corners and areas where you need to switch hands in order to drive a nail. At the end of a 50 pound box of nails (using the off hand) I was doing ok. Then came the day at the anvil when I was hammering and something was just not right. I could not see what it was but it definitely was not right. I took another heat and on the second hammer blow I realized that I was using my off hand to forge with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seldom (dick renker) Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 When I was an active farrier I could drive nails with either hand. Haven't tried the hot iron bit yet, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnicusJoe Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I switch hands easily while forging filing or what. But that isn't weird for me considering I am ambidextrous. Writing, throwing, cutting, it just depends on which hand is closest to the object. I can remember that I specifically had to choose between right or left, we got fountain pens to write with when we were taught how to write in first grade, lefties got a blue one and righties a green one. I liked the blue one better, so I said left. And I used it with right hand too, I couldn't care less what the teachers told me, I just wanted the blue pen . Happily I still have this pen today and it still works! I can imagine it being hard to use a hand you haven't developed just as well as your dominant hand. I have no clue why I am ambidextrous, have always been that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 its odd i am used to using my left hands for many things having been a potter at one point and a glass blower i am used to having to do 2 things simultaneously but the hammering is moderately aggravating but in the long run it seems like a very good still to pick up for when doing a long job to be able to give my arm a wrest i know its within my ability to do it when i was teaching people how to throw pots i taught myself how to throw left handed so that i could sit in front of a few people facing them and demonstrate and not have my body in the way and my hands would be oriented they same way as theirs were so far all i can say is my left arm is a wuss and reluctant to take directions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 There was a guy who demoed at Caniron VI who used switched hammering hands all the time so he could hit the metal from the right angle. I know another professional smith who had to learn how to hammer left handed due to an injury. He will now hammer with both hands sometimes for things like upsetting square corners and upsetting the ends of bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 yeah its going to be the silver lining i am hoping that comes out of this i have a order for 26 wall hooks to hang rifles and rolling pins from i was not looking forward to doing now its perfect all of them are going to be made out of 1/2 or 1/4 inch stock so its going to be nice light repetitive work perfect for a hammer with training wheels on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 If you want to see where your hammer blows are landing, I suggest you use a light weight hammer and get a block of modeling clay. I was taught to practice on modeling clay when I first started. Ted T called me one night and gave me several pointers to get me going in the right direction. The clay was one of them. It helped me to "see" where the force was being exerted and showed me where to change. The clay acts very close to what hot iron does. I'll keep you in my prayers for a quick recovery. Mark <>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 thanks mark i am not having so much of a problem with where the hammer is going as in getting the proper force behind it and getting my body in line with the swing i had a similar problem when i was teaching myself to shoot left handed this fall it will take a while to get it right but getting a quick gripe out of the way here and then having it followed up with some good advice was just what i needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLD Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 draw a spot on your anvil with chalk. hit that spot with the hammer every time. just move the metal with the right hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Allyn Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I've taught myself to do a number of activities left handed including hammering, sawing, shovelling, raking, pushing broom and swinging picks/axes/sledges. It's a good idea just for the benefit of building both sides of your body symmetrically. You'll have less back issues, too. When I'm learning a new activity I will study closely the way I've been doing it right handed. Body position, arm position, hip angle, etc..... It all goes into the work. For learning to hammer there's nothing like a few boxes of nails. Start with some 8 penny nails. Drive a couple dozen every day for a few days. When you're starting to get comfortable with those then go to 16 penny nails. The 16 pennies will require harder blows and you'll start to gain power in your off-handed blow. When you're comfortable hitting nails then start swinging at things on your anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 sounds like i have some nails to drive home it was interesting shooting was the same way having to merer my stance from right to left handed the big part is going to be finding out if the strength is there about 15years ago i took a header while snowboarding and ended up doing some nerve damage to my left arm i had thought i had it just about back to good but now and then it dose something odd all in all this has a lot of interest in it for me and with i think be much more entertaining when i am a bit farther along on the mend the idea of driving nails had never crossed my mind that is going to be the first thing i try after the cows have had their feed in the morning and i can get into the shop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I was going to suggest helping a friend frame a shop building... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Tim215 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I often switch hands after my wife noticed I was starting to look a little lopsided - practice is the only way, but with a lighter hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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