I used the style from Sam S's tong tutorial for these, no power hammer though, ouch.. They work great though, now I can forge out some old ball peins into other tools.

Those look pretty nice. When comparred to Brians' hammer tongs though the angles are a little different. Having not used yours but having used Brian's hammer tongs I am inclined to think that an easy modification to your tools could make your job easier. The first angle near the pivot is about 70 degrees and the final angle about 90 degrees going into the rolled end.

But I must say that your set looks much better than mine. I used 5160 steel about 9/16. Someone came into the shop and needed them for another project...and well...you know how that story goes.

Congrats

and

Carry on

good job ya not having a power hammer is a challenge but you will gain lots of hammer control that way. use the horn of your anvil to help divide and conquer when hammering out the reins. or make a tool to go in your harder hole like a 1" piece of round stock make aggressive dents then blend them together. work smarter not harder.

That's some really impressive work! I dread drawing out long sections because I don't have a power hammer. It might be good for my health, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!! :D

Good looking tongs. I am going to have to make a piar with that angular look to them I made mine years ago with rounded areas when those have angles and they work well, but those are cool looking and would be easy to spot on the tong rack.

nice tongs i need to make a pair myself :)

Daniel, nice work.

David, does the steeper angle serve to increase leverage?

Daniel, nice work.

David, does the steeper angle serve to increase leverage?

Thanks,

and yes I think increasing leverage is the idea, mine hold very tight though still and with the little reign clip I made to hold them I dont have to even squeeze with my tong hand, just holding them.

!!!WARNING!!! for this tong design.....

I am going to scroll the ends of the jaw back further so that they grip inside the eye of the hammer more like brian b's hammer tongs, the original amount of slope provides an "ok" grip but when hitting the stock with force it tends to slide back towards the pivot point/rivet of the tongs and once it even popped out of the tongs with enough force to fly above my head and to the right about 5ft, red hot hammer to the face coulda ruined the day....

Scrolling the jaws back so that the tip of the jaws go inside the hammer eye will prevent it from sliding backwards and out of the grip of the tongs.

I will add pictures when I adjust them.

thats good to know because im in the process of making a pair myself
thank you for the warning

Do you think the weak angle of the jaws contributed to the poor hold? I can see allowing the tips to sink deeper into the eye, but I can't help but wonder if the leverage applied to the piece might be increased if you brought the work piece in closer to the pivot point by sharpening the angle departure where the jaw leaves the bolster area. Just a thought.....

Yes I think increasing the angle will help as well.

One other thing to consider after you have changed your angle is to be sure to leave enough room to have a longer hammer head that does not contack the joint. The spring action of the longer tongs will also correct for some errors in striking by flexing. If they are too stiff they have no give or flex.

Good point, MO. Best to reshape the jaws so they just clear a 32oz ball-peen.