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...I agree that the first thing I would do, presented with the issue you describe and your photo, is to hit it with a bigger hammer.
I am going to repeat some stuff you might already know. prior to setting the race, grease the seat and the interior of the race.
I presuming you have a proper crown race setting tool, some sort of wooden sawhorse or other wood block to support the fork crown from beneath, and a big hammer. This is one of those jobs where the bigger hammer jokes originated.
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