Damn, that hit close to home. The real kicker is that heat isn't just about making the steel easier to move. It changes the grain structure, makes it more forgiving when you hammer. Cold steel fights back on a microscopic level and you end up with stress fractures you can't see until they show up as cracks. Gary wasn't just showing you a trick, he was teaching you about metallurgy on a level most of us never think about. The stubborn part is hard to swallow but that lesson sticks with you way longer than if he'd just yelled at you.

Upright is the only way, learned that the hard way too.

Welp, at least it picked 2am to do it instead of waiting for a client visit. Sounds like the pallet stand was just trying to moonlight as a demolition project.