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Yeah maybe I was just using the wrong kind or something.

I did. They then to jump open during the impact on the thing you are hitting full on with a sledgehammer.
I'm sure that can be solved somehow, but hold-downs are not really means for impact use

I've considered that. I've tried a couple of variations as well.
The thing is that as long as the steel does not touch the anvil solidly, it doesn't lose heat quickly enough to be a problem.
And...

One of the side effects of laminating steel, is that afterwards, the effects of the hammering is visible in the layer patterns. With only 5 layers, this is pretty distinct. And this tells me a lot...

Well, not really. Lately I have been focusing on laminating steel and making things that look more interesting than monosteel. One of the side effects is the need to draw out thick billets. The first...