Greetings all,
I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd update everyone with my tongs restoration project. When last we spoke, my friend and I had inherited a pile of rusty old tongs. In turns out, in that pile were a grand total of 40 pairs of tongs !!! Five of them were damaged and need some kind of repair (still have to work on those). The immediate problem was that most of them were completely seized up with rust. Most people recommended a reconditioning regimen of HEAT and BEAT. Worked like a charm. Usually I just needed to heat but some needed some "gentle" persuasion with a hammer. All of them now move freely. So far I've reconditioned 13 pairs. A lot of the ones I haven't done yet are huge or a weird configuration but my friend and I are planning on reshaping them eventually.
Thanks for all the help folks.
Sam

I love your HEAT AND BEAT approach. I have couple of seized tongs and will do the same. Great result!

What a great acquisition, as you say any tongs that are a configuration not suited to you can be reshaped to suit. They look like they are in good condition and you're doing a great job cleaning them up.


Ian Ross

If the joints were very rusty , some of the metal of the pin and the surrounding holes will have vanished. It would be a good idea to replace the rivets before trusting them for serious work.

What's the pair 4th from the R on pic 5 for?

What's the pair 4th from the R on pic 5 for?

Good question

If anyone could answer that one, I'd love to know. We could make it a game ... Name Those Tongs!.

My guess is that it's used to hook something and pull it from the heat. Maybe a casting crucible?

I'm interested to see how this pans out ... I've got some other tongs that have got me a bit baffled. Maybe I'll post their pictures too.

Sam

I'm guessing that 4th from the right 5th pic is for a repeatable hook forged back over the thicker jaw of the tongs

That was my guess Mick.....

That set looks kinda like hammer eye tongs to me.

I agree with Matt those look like hammer eye tongs .