Old timer at the scrap yard taught me about drawing out steel

I was picking up some leaf springs at a scrap yard in Omaha about 2 months ago and this older guy, probably in his 70s, saw me struggling to get a good heat. He walked over and said 'you're waiting too long between hammer blows, the steel is cooling off before you even hit it.' He showed me how he does a quick series of 3 or 4 strikes right after pulling it from the forge, then re heats. Tried his method that same night and my draw out work got way more consistent. Has anyone else had a random stranger give them a tip that completely changed their process?

2 comments

2 Comments

stellablack1d ago

Hold on, is this REALLY some life changing secret or just basic blacksmithing? I mean yeah, keeping your heat up matters, but acting like a random guy at a scrap yard unlocked some ancient mystery seems a bit dramatic. It's common sense that cold steel doesn't move the same way. You're basically saying you used to wait too long between heats and now you don't. That's like saying you learned to put gas in your car before driving it. It's a basic step, not a revelation. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but this tip is just standard practice for anyone who's spent more than a week at an anvil. You probably just needed someone to yell at you to speed up.

aaronrobinson1d ago

Stellablack, you're acting like this guy discovered fire or something. All he said was "don't let your metal get cold." That's like the first thing they teach you in any trade class. I've seen new guys on my crews do the same kind of thing, get all excited about some tip that's just common sense dressed up with a story about a random dude. It's not a secret, it's just paying attention. People want to act like every little piece of advice is life changing, but sometimes it's just "work faster." Nothing wrong with that, just call it what it is.