This is the tong method shown to us by Richard "Poz" Pozniak.

There should be enough detail in the drawing that you can follow. Remember not to split the jaws until after doing all the bending. Punch or drill and assemble.

It really helps to see it done once. You DO need to isolate the heat for each bend so it doesn't bend further down.

You can click on the picture to enlarge.

Nice simple set of instructions.

Thanks,

Ted

Here's a couple variations that can be useful. Both start with a long bar that allows much of the working to be done without the use of tongs.

The first substitutes cutting for drawing, real handy if you have a bandsaw. The second one allows you to do all the work without needing a tong for the work. You just draw both reins first and cut apart in the middle and work the rest.

cool grant - i reckon i can even do those..... thanks:)

I'm going to give this a try at some point in the near future. Thanks for sharing.

Phil

This is the method I use to make almost any pair of tongs now. Simple and fast.

Grant whenever the the whole blueprint issue is sorted out, I hope you post all of these helpful instructions. It sure would be nice to have them all in one place.

Hi Grant.

What do you think of:

The Best of "Theforge" - Vol. 1 of 3

I tried making a set, and I believe that the fullers should be on opposite sides of the bar. It seems to make the tongs hang better. Does this sound reasonable?

none of that made any sence to me

???

i just take 2 peices of whatever size stock i have at the moment thats about 18-20ins long i forge out my jaws refine the hinge areas and bolt or rivet together
the larger pair of tong i made that way i think with 58 stock i had

Edited December 14, 200916 yr by bigcity

Works great!!
Thanks
Peter

blast from the past

Well, now I've got a new project added to the pile if it ever stops raining. Thanks for the link in that other post, Glenn!!!

Since the original image was lost in the great software "upgrade" a few years back, here it is again:

 

The look nice tongs. 

Wait, are the jaws and reins on the same side of the boss on these tongs? Shouldn't they be opposite to each other?

~Jobtiel

They look that way in the drawing, but the drawing doesn't accurately represent what's really going on. In fact, that bump on the outside is really adding mass to the area around the boss.

This screenshot from Black Bear Forge’s video series about Poz tongs shows things somewhat better (with apologies for the photo quality):

The far left and right center pieces show the blank before bending. The left center piece shows the blank after the first bend (between the jaw and the boss) and the far right piece shows the blank after the second bend (between the boss and the rein).

I wish I had seen the above post before I started but I tried a pair based on the drawing. 5/16 x 1 x 8”

Would do it differently next time and may forge down the fat part behind the boss a bit. The three inch dimension is to much. All in all it was lots of fun and I will get a usable set of tongs. My first real successful pair. 

 

Nice tongs Rojo! 

Nice

Thanks Gents.

I decided to forge down the big boss and flip the reins. I am super happy with how they turned out. 


I cut the rivet too short. Again. Works but barely.

I made these to hold small tapers and it works a treat. Super fun and I will make more of this style.

That's a really nice looking pair of tongs. Nicely done, and thank you for the in-progress photos!

Thanks John. Tongs have always made me nervous. It is good to know that I can now move the metal where I want to and look forward to making more. 

Rojo, thanks for posting the series of photos for the tongs.  Those should help anyone successfully make a set.  Nice work.

20 hours ago, Rojo Pedro said:

I decided to forge down the big boss

"Forge Down the Big Boss" sounds like a movie of Bruce Lee blacksmithing. Or a darn good classic rock album.