January 9, 20206 yr I have unable to get in my shop due to a surgery to repair my menisicus from football. I was just about to be able to get back in but it seems like I might have retorn it. My question is are there anyways to get better and learn outside my shop. Any plans I could follow when I finally can get back to swinging the hammer?
January 9, 20206 yr one can forge siting or with your leg on a scooter or stool. Certainly much of your finish work can be done siting. You may have to enlist a bit of help to reorganize your shop so you don’t have to move around.
January 9, 20206 yr Talk with your PT about exercises to strengthen your core/shoulders/arms. One fairly cheap practice is getting a piece of 4x4 and driving a lot of nails working on getting your hammer control *perfect*---Wear the stupid looking goggles or face shield as they are not nearly as stupid as a lifetime of bad pirate jokes and bad depth perception! (and if you are driving a lot of nails from a body position you are not used to you WILL have "misfires". One of the small propane micro-forges would be great to use while sitting down with a small anvil you can position between your knees. I've forge arrow heads in a set up like that (as well as all the nails for my mastermyr chest and a lot of viking style hot forged hack silver jewelry.) But talk with your PT! They will probably be happy to help as anything that encourages a patient to "work out" helps them get better faster!
January 10, 20206 yr Glen (of Glen GS Tongs) does all or most of his forging sitting down. You can watch how he positions and uses his tools on his YouTube channel: link removed As Thomas has already suggested, I would talk to your PT beforehand; make sure that you know what NOT to do as well!
January 10, 20206 yr Not really blacksmithing advice but I suggest that you do NOT go back to football after you are healed up. High school football does not give you a recreational skill for the rest of your life like say, tennis, swimming, or even basket ball. There are no adults doing full contact (helmets and pads) pick up football. I have known too many men in my life who had bad knees and shoulders from HS football that plagued them all their lives and restricted what they could do for their entire life. And now that we know more about the risks of brain injuries the benefit of enjoyment for 3 or 4 years of your life versus the possibility of serious, lifelong injury is an equation you should very seriously think about. If my son had wanted to play HS football that is the one sport to which I would have said no. You have already proved that you are not bullet proof, don't tempt fate a second time. In the meantime, good luck on your iron work and your rehab. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand."
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