I Don't mind teaching what little I know. One of the things I see often is how people don't want to swing a hammer but want to sort of push it down with little short, sharp baby taps. This is not only ineffective but hard on a person.

What do you tell people? Even after showing folks and explaining it's not a push it's a drop. Just lift it and drop it down. The only effort used is the lift. Try to catch the rebound to help the lift. Don't be afraid to hit the hot metal. To hit harder lift it a bit higher. Accuracy is more important than speed. Try to get a rythm going but don't hit unless you know what you are doing.

Well above is some of the litany I go through. I still see that a lot of folks just migrate to the short baby taps. Any thoughts on how you get people past that?

I've taught most of my scout troop blacksmithing, and they demonstrated the "wimp" at times.

"Hit it like you've got a pair! We don't have all day!" It's all in good humor, but it helped.

I also would strike for them on the other side of the anvil. Gets more work done, and the scouts would usually try to match me.

I tell them "Hit it like you are driving a 16 penny nail".

But the bad habits are engrained deeply in them and you have to keep working with them. That and I get a lot of college students who never did any construction! (and they want to be engineers!)

The way I go about it is to try and explain that you "swing" a hammer. And you "throw" the hammer at the the work. I try ot to get into some of the more advanced concepts until they get a little control and start to hit the metal watching to be sure they are not starting a bad habit in the process.

My wife usually tells her students "HIT it! Don't scare it!"

i think some of that is because the carpenters use nail guns nowadays the tap and bang it drives the nail ... i usually tell them to hit it like your mad at it!!!! its a common problem today tho cause people arnt used to usin a hammer....

When students are first learning, they have an accuracy problem and they don't know where the metal is going, i.e., how the metal behaves under the hammer. Therefore, they use dinky blows because they're "closer to the work" with the hammer. If they pick the hammer up higher, they must get used to it and find out that they can be accurate with the heavier, higher lifted hammer blows.

Demonstrating repeatedly is better than using words to explain. When the words "rhythm" and "speed" are used, they are not always fully understood. I have often told a student to hit harder, and he/she will hit with the same dinky blows, but with a speeded up TEMPO! I holler, "I said harder, not faster."

Even "fast" is a murky word. It could mean tempo, or it could indicate the distance from A to B.

I do a tai chi Short Form, and in the Opening, there is a relaxed, slow motion arm raising and lowering exercise. It is similar to the use of the hammer. I sometimes resort to having a struggling student do this movement and analyze it.

I tell them "Hit it like you are driving a 16 penny nail".

But the bad habits are engrained deeply in them and you have to keep working with them. That and I get a lot of college students who never did any construction! (and they want to be engineers!)

Most younger folks these days don't know what that is.

Peoples perceptions differ: I had my wife go out to the shop with me over lunch and pick out the hammer she wanted to use to split wood with wedges. In general I would use an 8# long handled sledge. She's happy with a 4# cross peen---but she can split enough of the local wood for a fire in the woodstove without damaging herself!

I'm usually getting the heavy work sawing up the trees by hand saw.

When students are first learning, they have an accuracy problem and they don't know where the metal is going, i.e., how the metal behaves under the hammer. Therefore, they use dinky blows because they're "closer to the work" with the hammer. If they pick the hammer up higher, they must get used to it and find out that they can be accurate with the heavier, higher lifted hammer blows.

Demonstrating repeatedly is better than using words to explain. When the words "rhythm" and "speed" are used, they are not always fully understood. I have often told a student to hit harder, and he/she will hit with the same dinky blows, but with a speeded up TEMPO! I holler, "I said harder, not faster."

Even "fast" is a murky word. It could mean tempo, or it could indicate the distance from A to B.

I do a tai chi Short Form, and in the Opening, there is a relaxed, slow motion arm raising and lowering exercise. It is similar to the use of the hammer. I sometimes resort to having a struggling student do this movement and analyze it.

Good point about the learning curve and dinky blows. They are warming up, learning some accuracy... and in some cases using a hammer for nearly the first time. So I'll need to be more patient.

Maybe instead of talking about hitting a nail we might need a video game analogy. "HIt it like it's a Zombie" or something like that.

I usually say one of two things...." LET IT KNOW YOU'RE HITTIN' IT! " ,...and "beat it like it owes you money".

They usually show up around 16 years old with the common sense and stamina of a 9 year old.

A lot of times the girls do better than the boys

hit the metal with intent. if you want it to move you have to make it conform to your will. divide and conquer. is what I tell students

accuracy is a lot better than speed. Speed will come with confidence. I approach all beginners the same. Beginners, therefore I don't let them hammer against the anvil. I use short 2x4s and mark a spot for them to hit. This gives them a visual of what the hammer is doing and how far off the mark they are. After they have mastered hitting the mark then they can develop proper techniques like tilting the hammer head, offset blows, etc. Light weight hammers are preferred at first until they develop strength. Using the boards has always helped me in getting people to hit accurately with confidence.

I Don't mind teaching what little I know. One of the things I see often is how people don't want to swing a hammer but want to sort of push it down with little short, sharp baby taps. This is not only ineffective but hard on a person.
What do you tell people? Even after showing folks and explaining it's not a push it's a drop. Just lift it and drop it down. The only effort used is the lift. Try to catch the rebound to help the lift. Don't be afraid to hit the hot metal. To hit harder lift it a bit higher. Accuracy is more important than speed. Try to get a rythm going but don't hit unless you know what you are doing.
Well above is some of the litany I go through. I still see that a lot of folks just migrate to the short baby taps. Any thoughts on how you get people past that?

A lot of times the girls do better than the boys

Yes, very true. They don't necessarily do better in the strength category, but the girls tend to be more willing to listen & be diligent and therefore come out ahead. Many of the boys come up with excuses for their poor work ("I wanted it to look rough/rustic/Orcish", etc) instead of practicing.

The sooner people start making punches in a class helps with their hammer technique more than anything I've heard or seen. I'll show how to make a punch with 5/8 to 3/4 inch coil spring then they do it for how ever many tools they choose. Making punches entails cutting to the center with a hot cut hardy and half hammer faced blows with the flat die over your stock on the anvil held at appropriate angles. Two different hammer blows with a tough piece of metal, they are forced into getting their hammers up and hitting better. If they are still pecking after 3, I don't know what to do, tell them to go home.

Dear Brian,

It may be because I am an old self-taught smith but you lost me on the second part of making a punch. I have no idea where half hammer faced blows and a die would come into making a punch. I've always just cut off the stock with a hot cutter, chop saw, hack saw, etc., drawn out one end to the appropriate size either rounding the business end or leaving it square, dress the ends either hot or with a belt grinder, and heat treat. I don't know where developing a shoulder with half faced blows or a die would come into it.

Punchily,
George M.

PS I love the videos of yours that I've watched on Youtube.

Brian

How about pulling up one of your videos about such techniques...especially the one that shows the six-sided heads for punches. it is a real neat one.

David G


carry on

The kids I work with in my class a 11,12,13 years old. It sometimes is hard for me to believe most have never picked up a hammer or even no the difference between a flat or phillips head screw driver. When I first started teaching, I assumed way to much out of them. Like Frank said accuracy and control is their biggest problem. I only get them 1 hour a day twice a week so it is hard to get much done once they get their fires lit.The first couple classes I have them just beat some 1/2" square bar into submission as hard as they can and do what ever they want. At this time I also explain the cow poop theory which I like and they seem to also, lot of giggles. Next I will have them take and flaten the end out into the biggest, thinest even mass they can. Then we start on making nails, were they need to learn the control. Seems to work.

george m, I have done the same things that you talk about in the past, but now when I guide someone from the start who wants to learn to forge, I get real specific. Cutting to the center, turning your material after every hit, will leave you with a nice point on the end. That will enable you to forge more evenly as opposed to cutting from one or two sides or randomly. It gives a centered cut.
Half hammer faced blows with the flat side of you hammer while holding your material at an angle on the anvil will not create shoulders. Your flat die, or flat side of your hammer, hangs over your material. I did not refer to half hammer faced blows held over the edges of your anvil where your hammer is half off your anvil, that will create shoulders.

David, I don't know how to do that yet on my new computers. I've been wanting to do a video on making punches and cutting, but I've been busy. Come by and I'll do it if you film it. My brother is hear now, too, and I'm sure you guys would love to meet each other.

A little video showing how to make a punch. This is the way Brian describes how to make it except in the situation, because i wanted a longer taper than i would on a normal round/square punch, I drew the material out for the working end with half hammer faced blows over the edge of the far side of the anvil instead of half hammer faced blows at an angle on the face of the anvil with the work piece at an appropriate angle to the hammer ( what Brian describes ).
Questions are welcome!

alec

Alec that is an excellent video. But you still talk funny! Come back to Mississippi for some refreasher courses in the proper way to talk..Yall.

Carry on