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Midwest hammer-in changed my mind on power hammers for good
Went to the group demo outside Springfield last fall and watched a guy run a 50 lb self-contained unit next to a striker team. Everyone there was raving about the machine, but I saw him lose all feel for the steel, stepped back way too early on a railroad spike knife. I used to swear hand hammering was the only way to learn, but that day I realized it's about workflow, not ego. Now I keep a small air hammer for drawing out heavy stock, and my hand work improved because I'm not wasting energy. Has anyone else found that mixing both makes you pay MORE attention to your hammer blows, not less?
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blair701mo ago
Did you ever read that old interview with Francis Whitaker where he talked about using trip hammers just to save his arms for the detail work? That stuck with me because he never said the machine did the job better, just that it kept his hands fresh for the parts that matter. Your spike knife story lines up with that, the tool only helps if you still know when to stop.
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