I finally stopped fighting a tough clinch by just changing my hammer angle

Had a draft horse in Spokane that kept throwing a clinch no matter how I set it. Instead of hitting harder, I tilted my hammer head about 15 degrees off vertical on the final strike and it seated perfectly. Anyone else found a weird little angle trick that just works?

3 comments

3 Comments

joseph_green133d ago

Yeah, it's wild how much a tiny angle shift can do. @brian_hart is right about hitting it straight, but sometimes straight isn't what the nail needs, it's what the wood needs, you know? That clinch was probably binding in a weird grain pocket, and your tilt just gave it a new path to follow. Makes you wonder how many other jobs need a crooked hit instead of a harder one.

max7163d ago

Ever think we get too stuck on the "right" way to do things? Like with that nail, the perfect straight hit is the textbook answer, but the wood doesn't read the book. It's all about reading the material in front of you, not just the tool in your hand. Makes me wonder how much time we waste forcing a straight line when a little smart bend would get us there faster.

brian_hart3d ago

My last stubborn nail needed three tries before I remembered to just hit it straight.