joesph Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hi guys, I'm kinda new here. What kind of material do you guys use for tong rivets? The tongs I have made in the past have 16 penny nails upset on each end. Thanks for all the info, this is a great sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I use mild steel. Nothing special. I have read in one of my blacksmithing books that the author uses small coil spring steel. The kind you get from a garage spring it looked like to me in the pictures. The class I took last year we were taught to use mild. So, there is a wide variety of opinions on this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 However most of the rivets on my tongs are a whole lot larger than a 16 penny nail! If you do force over area calculations you can see that if you use *small* rivets you may want to use stronger steels! Many of my tongs have 3/8 to 1/2" dia rivets which seem to have lasted some for over 100 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joesph Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Thanks guys, good advice. I do have some garage springs that i will try, and I like the idea of larger rivets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silkhopesmith Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I have used mild steel for many years without any problems. sometimes after 15 or 20 years they loosen a little, but easy to tighten them again. I like being able to make my own with soft material and simple tooling. You can make a mild steel header and just drill a hole for the size rivet you're making. I usually make 5/16 or 3/8 dia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hey Joseph, Good question. I use mild steel. When I first started making tongs I used whatever I could find. I found that old bolts worked for me because one end was already upset so to speak. As I progressed I began making mine out of mild steel 3/8ths round stock. Practice, practice, practice. Good luck and have fun. Mark<>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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