It works when I do that - thank you!
I also found a bit of an incompatibility it seems with the Knapster mod. For some reason, the mod prevents MetalWorking from gaining exp in version 1.17.11
I'm not sure if you have a list of incompatible mods anywhere, but it might be worth mentioning - or fixing if you're keen on that sort of thing.
Edit: I just saw you mentioned you aren't working on 1.17 any longer - I'll just work without Knapster until they update for 1.18 (if/when they do)!