Tubbe Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 Hi, Forged my first small pair of tongs today, from 16mm (5/8") round stock. They ended up pretty nice I think, for being my first pair. The jaws are flat at this moment, but I probably add a groove later on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTBlacksmith Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 Those look great. Keep in mind that when you add a grove or notches to the jaws they tend to leave marks on your piece. I like to keep at least one pair of flat jaw tongs without any marks on the jaws for handling fine work or if i'm hot forging some copper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archiphile Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Those look great. I would just make a second pair w/ grooves and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Farrar Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 They look great! Better than my first 4 pairs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Hi, Forged my first small pair of tongs today, from 16mm (5/8") round stock. They ended up pretty nice I think, for being my first pair. The jaws are flat at this moment, but I probably add a groove later on... Great first pair! They are alot better than my first pair, and many pairs after that. It was a long time until I understood the structure of a tong. You forged the structure of a tong, not just what people percieve to be the shape of a tong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaylan veater Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Very nice I wish my 10th one looked that nice. Keep up the good work and thanks for the pictures. Gaylan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Excellent! yep, better than my first 3 so far. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted October 28, 2010 Share Posted October 28, 2010 Impressive effort to make your first set of tongs like that. Well done! I agree with the others. Keep those as they are and make some others with grooves, the collection never ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 Nice tongs! Suddenly I feel so inadaquate . Oh well. It gives me something to shoot for. Nice job! Mark<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubbe Posted October 29, 2010 Author Share Posted October 29, 2010 Thanks all! Beginners luck... I'll keep them as they are. For the next pair I'll have to look for some heavier stock I think. Something around 20mm or slightly larger. What is your basic tong stock? Will be a tough thing to draw out though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted October 29, 2010 Share Posted October 29, 2010 Thanks all! Beginners luck... I'll keep them as they are. For the next pair I'll have to look for some heavier stock I think. Something around 20mm or slightly larger. What is your basic tong stock? Will be a tough thing to draw out though... How big of material are you wanting to work with? If you isolate more material for the jaw before forming the hinge (pivot) you can have more options on what to do, such as goose neck or bolt tongs, using the same 5/8 material. Now looking into using a medium carbon steel such as 1045 (or coil spring) can allow you to make a light tong that is able to handle much larger items, but you then cannot quench the tongs, and need to be careful about cooling too. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubbe Posted December 11, 2010 Author Share Posted December 11, 2010 Second pair of tongs done! I wanted to make a pair of more versatile tongs to hold stock around 1/2"... so I aimed for a bolt head design with v-shaped jaws, and this is what I came up with using the same 5/8" material. I actually necked down the hinge area the same way as with my first pair but realized that's not quite necessary for this design. It even made my reins a bit too thin near the hinge, so I'll see how long they will hold up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddog Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 That is NOT beginner's luck! That's nice forging. Standard stock for tongs is 3/4" round or square. Square for large tongs since it had more material. It is some work to draw the reins out of 3/4" so the reins are often smaller stock forge/arc/gas welded onto the jaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubbe Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 Well, sorry for reviving this old tread... but I just completed my fourth pair of tongs. For some time now, I have realized the need for a proper scroll/bending tong. This is what I came up with yesterday. I'm not quite sure about the actual design of the jaws, but time will tell. Forged from 5/8" square stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silkhopesmith Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 These look very nice. As many have said already, much better than my first few pairs! These tongs have very well made reins- thickest near the joint and tapering to the tips. This makes for very comfortable tongs and less tiring too. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Very well done! Shapely too, almost sexy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I agree with Grant, very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tagkver Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 you have inspired me to work on my tongs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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