I've not had any problems with smithing or needing several reheats for the more basic tools. Granted, I started playing in 1.22-rc2, so I don't know what it was like before then, but there's a pretty generous grace period before items start to cool down, which is what you should really be taking advantage of rather than excessive use of a bellows which eats through charcoal. For example I can hammer out a shovel head in what feels like a dozen hits, and and axe head in not much more. Spears and falxes are more complex and take a reheat, but last way longer for the effort. I do my best not to forge iron blooms by hand, though. But, with a water wheel-powered helve hammer, I can bang out iron blooms at 700 C, the minimum forging temperature, and finish before it even starts to cool, at such a rate I need 3 forges to keep up.
Just make sure you haven't left your forge in the rain.
