Just realized how tricky hand forging can be without the right tools

I mean, when I first started, I tried to shape a hinge by eye and ended up with a lopsided mess. It took forever to fix, and I felt pretty dumb about it. Maybe it's just me, but do you all have old projects that didn't turn out how you hoped?

3 comments

3 Comments

xena_brown5028d agoMost Upvoted

Tell me about it, been there lol.

clairem471mo ago

That hinge sounds like a normal Tuesday in my garage. It's just metal, you can always heat it and try again.

linda451mo ago

What if the hinge isn't just plain steel? Heating it can actually make some metals weak and easy to break. I saw one snap once because it was cast metal and couldn't handle the change. You really need to know what you're dealing with before bringing in a torch. Sometimes a good soak with oil and some elbow grease does the trick without the risk.