Watching my kid build a Lego tower made me see my hammer work differently

Last week, my 5-year-old was trying to make a tall tower and kept hitting the bricks too hard, making them fly apart. I told him to tap them gently, just enough to lock them in place. The next morning at my forge in the garage, I was shaping a leaf and realized I was hammering the same way, using too much force on thin sections. I started using lighter, faster taps and the metal moved so much better without thinning out. Has anyone else had a simple moment like that change your hammer control?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery_jackson6d ago

You said "hammering the same way," but your kid was using his hands, not a hammer.

the_jennifer6d agoMost Upvoted

Actually that's a pretty big stretch. Building with plastic bricks and forging metal are totally different skills. The force needed to shape hot steel is nothing like tapping a Lego piece. A light tap that works for a toy would just bounce off cold metal. Maybe you just got in a better rhythm that day, but it wasn't because of Legos.

margareto266d ago

Wait, did you just say the kid was using his hands? How do you hammer metal with your bare hands?