July 31, 20169 yr After a couple of frustrating months of not being able to fit smithing time into my schedule, I was finally able to get into the forge and finish up a pair of tongs I'd started a while back. There's a LOT about these that I'm not happy with: some parts are too thin, they don't open and close smoothly, there are all lot of asymmetries and irregularities, and there's one significant possible weak spot right where they grip. All in all, though, this was a great learning experience, and at least I have some tongs that should last long enough for making the next pair! N.B.: The reins are different lengths because one of them burned and broke off. But I did get to try out my touchmark: (And learn that I need to hit it harder!)
July 31, 20169 yr what were they made out of? over all those are really nice first pair, or even second, or third! Littleblacksmith
July 31, 20169 yr Author 10 minutes ago, littleblacksmith said: what were they made out of? Railroad spikes.
July 31, 20169 yr Make another pair while its fresh in your mind if you have time. Good job on making them out of spikes.
July 31, 20169 yr Those look a lot better than my first few pair and I was working with direct help from a guy who's known for making tongs. RR spikes aren't the easiest stock to make tongs from but works well. I'm liking coil spring you can make them lighter for the springiness, recently we've come into a source for potato chain. Potato chain is made up of 3/8" dia medium carbon steel that links together in a belt like chain. It carries the potatoes to the bin while letting most of the dirt pass.If you have a good source 4140 is maybe the best I know of. Bear in mind I'm not good at making tongs so my opinion might be a stinky one. Frosty The Lucky.
July 31, 20169 yr Frosty, I've heard either way on higher carbon steel for tongs vs. mild steel. I think the only think to keep in mind with higher carbon tongs is not to quench them if they get hot.
July 31, 20169 yr 1 minute ago, Daswulf said: Frosty, I've heard either way on higher carbon steel for tongs vs. mild steel. I think the only think to keep in mind with higher carbon tongs is not to quench them if they get hot. CorrectOmundo Das but if a person doesn't mind using tongs that weight 2 or 3 x as much it's on them. Remembering to keep your tools cool takes anybody some time to get onto the reflex status. Don't let your tongs get red hot makes sense no matter what they're made of, red hot tongs are softer and can lose their grip. I'm not talking about tongs intended to be heated, say soldering or brazing tongs, different breed of zebra. Frosty The Lucky.
August 2, 20169 yr Author Would cooling spring steel tong handles in the slack tub be an issue if they were at black heat (i.e., below critical temperature/Curie point)? And the tongs work nicely. Will definitely be making more.
August 2, 20169 yr No, not a problem at all. If the reins seem to be getting too stiff bring them to critical and toss them on the floor to normalize and you're golden. Sometimes a student will get distracted and leave a pair of tongs in the forge and those get tossed on the floor to cool. Frosty The Lucky.
August 2, 20169 yr Don't be scared to take a file or grinder to the connecting surfaces as well if you can't forge a smooth transition. Smiths regularly filed their work as needed back in the day, so there's nothing wrong with you doing the same.
August 2, 20169 yr Author 3 hours ago, DSW said: Don't be scared to take a file or grinder to the connecting surfaces as well if you can't forge a smooth transition. Smiths regularly filed their work as needed back in the day, so there's nothing wrong with you doing the same. I've thought of that, and also considered drilling out the pivot holes: one of the issues with this pair is that the punch didn't go straight through. So, this is the trade-off: improve my punching skills and have better tongs later, or drill and have better tongs right away? Decisions, decisions....
August 2, 20169 yr Since my punching is not the best, I drill all my rivet holes. Just need to practice punching a lot more.
August 2, 20169 yr Author 1 minute ago, arkie said: Since my punching is not the best, I drill all my rivet holes. Just need to practice punching a lot more. I studied martial arts for several years, but I still can't punch very well.
August 2, 20169 yr 6 minutes ago, JHCC said: I studied martial arts for several years, but I still can't punch very well. Me, too...and me, too.
August 6, 20169 yr Author On July 31, 2016 at 0:56 PM, Daswulf said: Make another pair while its fresh in your mind if you have time. Good job on making them out of spikes. And here's my second pair, also from railroad spikes. For these, I decided to use the heads of the spikes for the jaws, sized to fit the torsion bar stock I've been using for other toolmaking.
August 6, 20169 yr Author The jaws would probably have been somewhat more symmetrical, but I burned one of the pieces halfway through and had to make that one over again. And here are the two pairs side-by-side. I think I'm making progress.
August 7, 20169 yr Author 34 minutes ago, Daswulf said: I'd say you made progress. good work. Thanks, Daswulf. Particularly happy with the improvement in the bosses and the riveting.
August 7, 20169 yr when I make bolt jaw tongs, I prefer to make the jaws v-bit, so they a can hold square AND round stock AND some flat bar. Although if you never work with square stock of that size than no big deal. Littleblacksmith
August 7, 20169 yr Author 23 minutes ago, littleblacksmith said: when I make bolt jaw tongs, I prefer to make the jaws v-bit, so they a can hold square AND round stock AND some flat bar. Although if you never work with square stock of that size than no big deal. Littleblacksmith I don't have a lot of big square stock, but I've got a LOT of torsion bar!
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