Jonah k Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 Finished my 11 th set of tongs tonight and thought I would share the progression from bad to useful. The tongs are listed in order from top to bottom in the order I made them. Like most misinformed beginners I made tongs as my first projects and pretty much failed miserably for quite a while . There was 3 sets of tongs that I made before the ones shown here but they were either scrapped or repurposed. I wish I kept them for reference. Well here they are tell me what you think. 1) first tongs that I still have flat bit for 3/8" made from 1/2" round never use these anymore 2) these tongs are for 3/8 round still use them but they are pretty crappy made from 1/2" round 3) box jaw I use these for holding leaf key chains they work ok but are pretty weak 4) bolt tongs for 1/2" to rr spike these are the first good tongs I ever made kind of turned a corner here. Made from 3/8x 1" flat bar. 5) small needle nose tongs use these for light bending and holding leaves and other delicates. Work well. Made from 1/2" round 6) flat bit for 1/2" ish. Work well. Made from 5/8 square stock 7) round bit tongs for 1/2 to 5/8 round ish stock these tongs have scarf welded reigns thought it would be quicker, not really with a gas forge but was a good learning experience. Made from 3" of 5/8 square stock forge welded to 1/2" round 8) flat bit tongs for 1/8" stock. Work well. Made from 5/8 square stock 9) hawk or axe head tongs. Originally started as large stock bolt tongs but didn't work out but changed gears and this worked well. Work very well. Made from 1/2 x 1 1/4" flat bar 10) bolt tongs for large bar stock. Work well. Made from 3/8x 1" flat bar 11) and finally scrolling tongs I finished tonight. Haven't used them yet but I think they turned out ok. Made from 5/8" square stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 awesome progression! Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 On the flat bar, did you draw out the reins by hand or with a powerhammer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 They all look pretty good, you have though gotten much better. I have made tongs out of half inch round, but always make the boss area to thin- yours seem nice and thickish. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 you can see the development of doing it over and over again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 This series of pics is a tutorial in itself. A perfect example of what practice will do for you. Thank you for posting. Well done. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan the blacksmith Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 great tongs! good structure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestarter Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 This thread gives me hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah k Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Thanks for all the feedback guys. 5 hours ago, Ridgewayforge said: On the flat bar, did you draw out the reins by hand or with a powerhammer? No regrettably I do not have a power hammer yet. I have collected almost all of the materials and will start construction soon. 5 hours ago, littleblacksmith said: They all look pretty good, you have though gotten much better. I have made tongs out of half inch round, but always make the boss area to thin- yours seem nice and thickish. Littleblacksmith I have found that 1/2" round works alright for light use tongs for delicate work but doesn't have enough material for general use tongs, like you said boss ends up to thin. I have seen some guys on you tube that have made upsetting jigs, that looks like it works well but takes forever without a jig to hold it straight. One thing you can do to conserve boss material is to punch a slot and drift the rivit hole round. Makes a wider boss. That's my take anyways 51 minutes ago, Firestarter said: This thread gives me hope. Keep at it, as long as your out in the shop working on it even if your not happy with the end product it's all good practice. You will only get better. Again thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 6 hours ago, littleblacksmith said: They all look pretty good, you have though gotten much better. I have made tongs out of half inch round, but always make the boss area to thin- yours seem nice and thickish. Littleblacksmith Good Morning Little, Simple cure, upset the area "FIRST" that you are going to make the pivot. If the material is there, you can use it. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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