Smithing change?

[Wu]

Alright I just learned to make the bastard sword that is my character's smithing level. I have been able to smith the regular salkamaerian armor more than 11 swirlies ago, but the best one I have ever made was good new (others just saw it as average new) and that was right after I learn to make the albarian steel. Now though I fail nearly every time I try and smith salk armor the two that I did complete were only scraped...... has something changed in the smithing system? It is frustrating to waste so many resources on an armor that I only failed around 1/6th of the time now it is failing just about 1/2 the time...... What am I doing wrong?