PSA: I used the wrong hammer for 8 months straight on my railings

Got a gig making some custom gates for a house in Maplewood last summer. Used a ball peen hammer for all my forge welding like a dummy. Took a visiting smith from a shop in Nashville to point out the head was mushroomed to hell and my joints were all cold shuts. Switched to a cross peen and my welds look way cleaner now. Anybody else stick with a bad tool too long before figuring it out?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarmurphy18d ago

Knew a guy who used a framing hammer for detail chisel work for years before someone told him. His hand was all messed up from the rebound. Its wild how you just get used to something and think its fine even when its clearly not. Glad you caught it though those cold shuts are a pain to fix after the fact. Ball peen for forge welding is a tough lesson but hey now you know

piper_thompson3118d ago

Wait his hand was messed up from the rebound and he just kept going for YEARS without realizing? That's insane, I can't imagine the joint pain he must have been dealing with.