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Hammer making tongs


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  • 1 year later...

Is it a mistake to make  hammer head pick up tongs out of mild steel? I was looking for dimensions on the widest point of the jaws. Unfortunately the threads I'm finding are pretty old so pictures and links have vanished. Along the way I read Brian Brazeal recommends half inch coil spring.

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I don't know if it'd actually be a "mistake" but a hammer head is heavy and the bits on hammer tongs are pretty long and narrow. It could deform in use so maybe.

I LIKE coil spring for tong stock, 1/2" wire is my ideal, I can forge them thin and light while maintaining good strength and springyness. One of the guys in our club makes tongs like breathing, in fact Brian Brazeal adopted a few of his techniques when demoing for us. Anyway, he favors 4140 for tongs for the same reasons I like coil spring. 4140 is not as susceptible to work hardening nor being quenched above red heat like 5160 spring stock.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Mild steel for my tongs. It is strong enough for any job your tongs may do, and no matter what, high carbon steel/tool steels will become brittle and break off when quenched. If you do make them from hc or tool steels, just don't forget to not quench them, just let them air cool to a normalized state.

The obvious problem is when they get too hot to hold, and you want to keep working. Make two pairs or just use mild steel. 

For what it's worth, hammer eye tongs don't have to be narrow, they just need to fit the width of the eye so make them bigger on the working end.

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Thanks Frosty, Irondragon, and anvil for sharing your experience / experiences.

anvil I probably wasn't specific enough on what part of the tongs I was talking about. Had already started on a set made from mild steel 5/8 round stock when I came across this thread.  The area where the tape measure is laying. I just took a guess from viewing other pictures. They still need some work, I think I'll try other types of material and see how they work out.

hammer tongs.jpg

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  • 11 months later...

These are usually made of coils spring, but what diameter? All the coil springs I have are 1/2” diameter or smaller. They always seem too small for most punches, tongs, etc. I’ve been keeping my eye open for large ones though. (Last weekend at our hammer in I made a hack out of the shop owner’s 1-1/2” coils spring. That might be a bit large for most things…)

Keep it fun,

David

edit: I thought I posted this yesterday, something strange much have happened. (On my end that is.)

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Goods, for somewhat larger coil springs, drop by a shop that specializes in off-road mods, lifts, etc.  They often have take-offs from new vehicles that the owner wanted modded (new word, there...).  I I picked up a bunch of coils, torsion bars, other suspension parts out of their scrap for free.  Most were 1/2" up to 1" springs.

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