Gundog48 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I have to make a confession, I never use tongs. They just aren't sturdy enough for me, I end up putting most of my effort into gripping the product or holding it steady than the hammer work. So when I can't weld a bit of rebar onto it to hold it solid, I use mole grips. I absolutely love them, they give a great grip and I have so much control over the piece, although the downside is pretty obvious, my hand gets hot! Because they are short, they heat up quickly and are difficult to remove and reattach while the piece is in the forge, so they just end up getting hot. Not to mention my hand's proximity to the piece itself! What I really need are mole grips with a nice long handle that I can detach and reattach without getting too close to the fire and being able to have my hand at a good distance from the forge. I've thought about modifying a pair by welding longer handles, but are there special types you could buy for this kind of application? I've heard of proper blacksmith's tongs that have a locking grip as well. Any input on this? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maillemaker Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Look up "tong clips" or "tong rings". http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/1584-tong-rings/page__p__12010#entry12010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Most any set of tongs can be fitted with a lock ring... personally I find them more trouble than they are worth but they'd be better than what you are using. Good tongs grip well with minimal effort. Quality tongs are plenty sturdy! I would suggest that you acquire at least one set of the best sort of tongs and try them again... there are a lot of poorly made tongs around. Tongs with powerful jaws and long springy reins work best as the flex in the reins mostly prevents loosening of the grip. I used vise grips to start out with... very slow, poor grip, badly marred the work... I cannot think of any way in which I might prefer them to good tongs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I have a number of tong rings that are made from short pieces of stock, cut chain links or other odd scraps. I have other tong rings that are cut from thin plate and have several positions to hold in.http://www.iforgeiron.com/page/index.html/_/blueprints/uri-hofi-series/bp1006-hofi-tong-clips-r187https://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/page.php?theLocation=/Resources/Product/Forging_Tools_misc/Tong_Rings.xml/ Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Be careful as some of the nice modern tongs can be made from a higher carbon steel and so can cause problems if quenched when overly hot. An older set of real wrought iron or real mild steel used with a tong clip that you can let overheat with impunity may be what you need. Set it up and just leave them on even when the piece is in the fire. Also look at tong designs that "trap" your work within it so it can't shift side to side. (I have some neat old tongs with odd bits that were made way back when just to grab a certain shape and hold it like a bulldog!) Had my Daughter working on her first knife at the forge last night using tong clips so she didn't have to squeeze the tongs while working with them---taught her about keeping them cool too---don't let them glow, keep them cooled off by quenching after every heat and if they do start to glow let them sit to cool and don't quench!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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