The breakdown:

Team forging competition with the object being the forging of 4” of 1” square bar into the best cube possible. Teams will be allowed six heats to accomplish this task with the following parameters:

1, The only tools allowed are 1 pair of tongs, and one 2-handed striking hammer. (weight is up to participants) 

2, Team members must trade off striking every other heat. 

3, Scoring will be applied as follows, for a possible total of 50 points:

   A- Squareness          10 possible points

   B- Dimensionality      10 possible points

   C- Crispiness*           10 possible points                   *yes, that’s the word we intended 😉

   D- Teamwork             10 possible points

   E- Costume               10 possible points

We encourage, and in fact challenge you to practice!! Even if you practice alone in your shop, with or without a power hammer or forging press, practice!! Impress your friends and adversaries!! Practice is good, especially if you’ve never upset a bar into a cube, because it will give you an idea of how to control your material, and what kind of challenges to expect. If done well, your cube should come out to about 1-1/2” square (being a cube and all) Take 2” of 1/2” square and upset it by hand and get a feel for it. Then try it with 3” of 3/4” square. And most important, figure out a costume even if it’s a stick on mustache and Elton John glasses!

We look forward to seeing you there!     David 

More info about SWAPTOBERFEST II