Justin Topp

Flat jaw tongs!

Thanks! 1 by 3/8 inch flat bar. About 6 and a half inches for each reign

Reigns are mostly done. Just clean them up. Even them up ect.

Done. Happy with them overall definitely has flaws though.

These are mostly decorative so they are pretty thin but yea I would’ve made them thicker if they were heavy use tongs

They work! Parallel at every thickness up to its max of 5/8”. Not comfortable at that size but functional. Wrought iron was used for the whole thing. Haven’t decided if I’m gonna etch it. I think I’m gonna but I don’t know how yet.

They have some flaws that make them far from perfect but they are cool so I want them anyways. I’ll post em soon

I’m trying to figure out how to etch them since I used iron. I’ll probably find a bucket and dilute some acid. Gonna finish them tonight

Nope no joke! They are tongs that the jaws are always parallel despite the reigns being opened and closed so they can hold different stock sizes to an extent. They are called that because they look like a dolphin. Here’s some pictures I found

Figured it would be fairly easy. But yea dolphin jaw tongs. They Seemed like a fun challenge

Well I started a fancier pair of tongs today. They are made out of wrought iron because it’s so nice to forge. Got the jaws and one reign mostly done. Any guesses to the type of tongs I’m making ? Forgot a hole in the jaw with the reign

Well in that case I will leave future typos haha

Oh oops haha should be tongs*. That’s what I get for not double checking. —

Had a storm trash my forging area and I had to go get a pickup so I haven’t been able to forge recently but I got about an hour and a half tonight for forging and I started a few pairs of tonsils. Just making the blanks for now.

3/4 lb tinkering hammer from 4140 for my neighbor. Hackberry handle. Used wood from his tree

As a side note I found these burners for 20$ and I need some for a forge I’m building any obvious reason not to get them?

I was saying more for that fact it’s usually 70 degrees so hot enough I don’t need one. It was 40 when I went out so I had it on. I wear a big leather apron for welding do I’ve got slag burns covered! The coat won’t be a complete waste though. I will be making char cloth since I’m just about out of it

I’ve heard of that I might have to try it. This one was flames 8” tall on fire but probably would’ve stopped it

The weirdest part is the fact the last one I had would be showered in sparks and molten flux and stuff and wouldn’t care where that ignited with a tiny spark. At least it’s summer so i can go without one

Today is not my day......, this coat was brand new. I mean I have worn it for about 30 minutes total. The last coat I had identical to that one lasted months of being hit by scale and flux and sparks and this one somehow burned when it was like 12 feet away up wind?? I dunno. Also This hammer was really out of proportion and ugly started out fine but just went wrong so that’s a bag of coal and 2.5 hours wasted. And my forge lining decided to start crumbling after surviving with no damage for the year and a half I’ve used it and the 100 before that. I’m calling it quits before I ruin anything else

Modified the treadle hammer a bit for more swing so I can fit top tools and added a pilot so it always hits in the same exact place. Hits much harder now and much more accurately. Now to make it more solid and figure out how to add a motor ... haha

Ah didn’t know that thanks

Ah very interesting. as for the hammer I’m going to be finding a better anvil. A block of steel perhaps and a larger hammer and Move the treadle to the front and use it like a normal one and not go from the side

I had read about it so I was just guessing there, Buzzkill- I think your probably correct. It’s shiny just like how cable is shiny in the non etched parts

So I did a few things today. To start I made a treadle hammer that works okay. More of an experiment than anything. Made from scraps. I used my chisel to shape a few bits of wood On this and it works great! Next I messed with some rebar. Folded up to 54 layers and it had a pattern? I’m assuming the rust on it reacted with the CO in the coal forge and converted back into iron? It’s ASTM A617 grade according to the markings on it. So supposedly rerolled axels unless I’m mistaken. so I started by flattening it and cutting it to make 3 layers next I folded it in 3rds 2 times to go to 9 than 27 layers than I folded in half to get 54 layers. I cleaned and etched and it’s showing some pattern. I’m gonna twist it tomorrow. This was useless I know I was just experimenting