ForgeNub Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 So here's my first pair of tongs (handle broke so I welded it back together), never had any classes or anything kinda just winging it, but I already know the boss area needs major improvement in my technique (as well as everything else) Made from 36" x 1/2" Mild round bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 As long as it works, your good. I'm sure you learned a lot. Brian Brazeal has an excellent video on making tongs via youtube if you haven't seen it. I hope your wearing proper shoes as well when forging. I learned the hard way not to wear sandals around my forge. Keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 IFI member VaughnT posted the following on your "My first anvil" thread, but I think he meant to put it here. Every word is true: "Don't try making tongs as an entry-level task. "Tongs are a safety item in the shop, and good tongs should grip the material properly while being light, well-balanced and comfortable to hold. If you have no forging experience, making tongs isn't the way to learn. You can practice the fundamentals by making scrolls, hooks, bottle openers, etc. "For the time, material and fuel you've burned up trying to make a pair of tongs, only to end up with something that looks like a drunk chimpanzee was let loose, you could have bought two or three sets of top-shelf tongs. Think about that. "V-bit bolt tongs hold round and square stock securely. They also generally do well holding one size down -- a pair marked 1/2" will hold 3/8" or 7/16" stock with reasonable security. What that means is that you don't have to buy a ton of tongs to get a lot of work done. "For flat stock, I prefer box-jaw tongs rather than duck bill or flat bit designs because they wrap around the metal in much the same way v-bit tongs do. Again, it doesn't take a huge collection to get you started. "90% of your work will be with a small range of sizes while you're learning. 1/4" round stock is a staple. 1/2" round and square will make a few thousand different things. 3/8" round and square certainly comes in handy. Anything larger than that is probably exceeding your ability right now. Maybe not in a month or three, but for the here and now..... "Same goes with flat stock. "As you're learning by making s-hooks and scrolls, you'll see what you need to move up. Three or four pairs of good tongs will make your forging experience more pleasurable and rewarding because you're not fighting the tongs." Original comment at: https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/50209-my-first-anvil/?do=findComment&comment=528263 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForgeNub Posted March 15, 2017 Author Share Posted March 15, 2017 6 hours ago, Mudman said: As long as it works, your good. I'm sure you learned a lot. Brian Brazeal has an excellent video on making tongs via youtube if you haven't seen it. I hope your wearing proper shoes as well when forging. I learned the hard way not to wear sandals around my forge. Keep it up. Oh my wife took the pictures for me, I always wear my steel toe boots when I'm working @ work or at home forging. =), Have been learning alot for sure, Had ultimately like 5 failures working towards those, but have begun to understand the process on how to really draw out a bar quickly, as well as figuring out some angles, its been a fun and frustrating experience since I am/have been self teaching. Kind of a blind dive into the world of smithing, took me a couple months but within 2 months built my forge, picked an anvil and started hammering! Thanks for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 There are many excellent how to's on the subject.. As pointed out there are lots of things you can make without the use of tongs, but more power to you in making them.. My first pair of tongs was made from 3/4" stock and it took me foreva and a day.. The jaw cracked because of a cold shut.. But it was a step in the right direction.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwistedCustoms Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hey ForgeNub. Blacksmiths can be easily broken into two groups. Those who think tongs are a good beginner project and those who don't. I believe tongs are the perfect beginner project. The forging of tongs involves isolating material, drawing out, piercing, forming rivet heads and file work. The end result, after the first second or third attempt will result in something useful and by the time you get to double didgits you should be making tongs that are useful and attractive. As it involves some of the most fundamental aspects of smithing it is a great way to learn hammer control while practicing fire management and other basic skills in a real forging environment. A lot of guys will tell you to stick to S hooks but let's be honest, you can take short sections of 1/4" mild and bend them into S shapes all day without lighting a fire. That's not going to help anyone advance but making tongs will move you along to more advanced projects. Kudos for taking on a challenge and for sharing the results. Read the posts found on IFI about making tongs, watch tutorials and keep forging. After you make pair number 10 or 12 post some side by side photos of that pair with pair #1. You will be amazed at how much more advanced your work will be. That's a good first go! Keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmangeler Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 I agree with Twistedcustoms you made an item that looks to me like it should work, that is blacksmithing. As you make more the quality will likely improve, expecting to make really nice tongs with out making tongs is not likely a reality. There are of course some really skilled smiths who do not make their tongs, they feel their time is better spent working on projects they make more money on they might be wright or wrong, I expect some are each. Good job going in and getting a pair done, the next pair will likely be easier. Oh an improvement could be to ease the corner or use a less sharp corner in making the transition from jaw to boss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForgeNub Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Love the feedback guys, I was getting all ticked because they were breaking and my boss is like, SUPER elongated and ugly but they do work in holding smaller stock and I can continue practicing, they took about 6 hours to make and felt like a failure but they were the best looking attempt and finalized product even with the welded rein. Thanks for the votes of confidence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Martin Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Have you tried using modeling clay to "forge" a tong blank? I did lots of that when I was learning to make tongs. Repeat the process 5 or 6 times (yes, I am serious), you will be very surprised at how much you learn in the 30 minutes it takes to do that instead of the 4+ hours it would take you to do it once in steel. It would be good idea to take notes between tries. Also, have you looked at tong making videos on Youtube? I learned quite a bit from watching Technicus Joe's tong making videos. If you forge a modeling clay pair of tongs straight away after watching those, you can practice the getting all the details down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForgeNub Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 9 minutes ago, Andrew Martin said: Have you tried using modeling clay to "forge" a tong blank? I did lots of that when I was learning to make tongs. Repeat the process 5 or 6 times (yes, I am serious), you will be very surprised at how much you learn in the 30 minutes it takes to do that instead of the 4+ hours it would take you to do it once in steel. It would be good idea to take notes between tries. Also, have you looked at tong making videos on Youtube? I learned quite a bit from watching Technicus Joe's tong making videos. If you forge a modeling clay pair of tongs straight away after watching those, you can practice the getting all the details down. I haven't but one of the books I got before I started this endeavor actually said to practice with chilled clay because it has almost the same consistency as hot steel. I've been watching videos for ages just getting started and what not, I mean I am such a rookie I don't even understand how to use all the parts of my anvil properly yet, but I did find a way to use the radius edges at the heel to make better transitions between areas. Am going to keep on practicing (need the exercise anyways) and all my metal is free because I work at an auto shop so I get tons of steel, first day I brought home about 80 pounds worth of truck leaf spring U Bolts to start practicing with! I will hit up the ceramics place by my work about some clay, thanks for bringing that back to my attention and letting me know how helpful it is!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Modeling clay (plasticine) is better than potter's clay: you can mush it down and start over, whereas potter's clay will eventually dry out. Here's a neat little trick: if you make a plasticine model of something you want to forge, you can then mush it down into a solid bar, which will then give you the volume of steel that you need to start with. Just make sure to allow a bit extra for loss to scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Mr. Forge-Nub, Using plasticine is probably less work to use, as it does not dry out over time. But if you can get clay for free or much cheaper try this tip for keeping it from hardening. Make a mental note of the consistency of the clay when you first bought it. Keep your clay at that consistency as you use it. Add a little water to it as it starts to dry to return the clay to the same feel as when you first got it. That exercise requires a little care to avoid having the clay not become too soft. The water should be thoroughly mixed into the clay. Now store the clay in a double plastic bag to retain its moisture. Better yet store that plastic wrapped clay in the original container. Store it all, in a cool place in the inside, and out of the sun. The hammer man's tip about mushing the clay down in order to determine the volume + (scale-loss) allowance is very clever. I never thought of that idea. Thank you Hammer/Grammar Fellow. As always, SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 There's also volume measurement by liquid displacement, but that's tomorrow's lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForgeNub Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Amazon here I come to get some modeling clay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Hobby stores carry modelling clay. That is where I bought mine. If you can do that you save on shipping. The shipping is, most likely quite, expensive. Check out a list of such stores and it may cost a lot less. Mr. Bezos can survive without your order. Regards, SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Martin Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 On 3/16/2017 at 1:47 PM, JHCC said: Modeling clay (plasticine) is better than potter's clay: you can mush it down and start over, whereas potter's clay will eventually dry out. Thanks, I forgot to mention that! Any hobby/craft store will have plasticine or something just like it, I can get it for around $6/pound usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 A while ago I bought a ten pound box of modelling clay for about $20. (at a large hobby store). I suggest that you phone around for the best price. Good luck, SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 If you know the density of the plasticine you can weigh it to get the volume then multiply by density of steel. To get the density of plasticine, use water displacement or make a good cube and weigh that. Steel density you can google. For tongs I would not bother. I start with stock that is long enough to hold comfortably with the hand. When drawing out the reins I stop and cut off and that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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