That old timer who told me my hammer swing was all wrong fixed my work in a day

I used to think I had a solid overhead swing, but a guy at the Bakersfield forge meetup pointed out I was holding my hammer too tight and using too much arm, not body. He said I was wasting 30% of my energy and ruining my control on hot steel. After one afternoon of focusing on a looser grip and more hip movement my welds stopped delaminating. Has anyone else had a simple form tweak change their whole workflow?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.henry3d ago

Yep. The death grip thing. Most new guys hold that hammer like they're afraid it's going to fly away. Loosen up and let the tool do the work. That old timer probably saved you a lot of busted knuckles and bad steel down the road.

the_lee3d ago

Honestly @coleman.henry my grip was so tight the hammer was sweating more than me.