Borrowed a forge welder's trick for bending shoes

I always struggled getting a perfect fullered section on hind shoes until a guy at a clinic showed me to wet the anvil horn first. The steam cushion actually stops the steel from slipping sideways. Anyone else use water or something else to control the steel?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_kelly551mo ago

That steam cushion thing is interesting, but I've wondered if the water could actually make the steel cool too fast in certain spots. Might mess with the temper if you're not careful.

reesemoore1mo ago

Yeah I used to think the same thing but watching someone do it right changed my mind completely.

kim9631mo ago

Wet the anvil horn just a little, don't soak it. A light mist from a spray bottle works better than dunking it, keeps the cooling more even. That trick saved me a lot of frustration with hind shoes.