Jump to content
I Forge Iron

A more specific glove question


Recommended Posts

I know a lot of people wear gloves to avoid cuts and abrasions..............even blisters. (in the case of a surgeon I read about)  I've got so many scars on my hands from such that they look like a Hong Kong street map! :D  I'm all the time sticking my hands up against a knife blade, sanding belt, band-saw blade, motorcycle exhaust or most any other thing that could possibly leave a mark.  But when it comes to forging, I want a glove on my tong hand that gives me extra protection if it takes me too long to get hold of something in the forge.  I presently use a welders glove.  (I don't wear anything on my hammer hand)  But it's beginning to get "toasted" and stiff from those "it took me too long to get a good hold on the danged piece in the forge" situations.  And I've had to crawl out of the glove in haste  (à la hâte ........ironic the French word for haste sounds like hot!) too many times because of the heat.  (I'm a real pansy when it comes to heat) :rolleyes:  So I'm looking for a good heat resistant glove that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and part of the farm.

I was working at a friend's forge the other day and he casually mentioned hot mill gloves.  We didn't talk about them because we were busy doing other things, but the title stuck in my head.  In searching "hot mill gloves", I find a huge number of choices, but no real definition that means anything without being able to actually try them on.  They come in many ply variations and go from about 300 degree F (1-ply) to 700 degree F (3-ply) resistance.  My first thought is the 700 degree is a 3-ply construction and I wonder what the flexibility of the glove would be when it comes to holding/manipulating a pair of tongs.   ???  A good friend (we all know her) here on the forum told me in a PM last night I way over-think things and probably take too much time making decisions.......................and she's right.  But at the same time, I don't want to lay out hard earned money for something that doesn't work for my needs and have to turn around and replace it later. 

Anyone on the forum use hot mill gloves who might share some input about them?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mill gloves are probably the heavy duty gloves you see guys wearing in steel mills and such, they don't do anything as delicate as hold a pair of our size tongs. If you're spending too much time reaching into the forge then use pick up tongs to make a fast grab and change tongs farther from the dragon's breath.

This is just another dance step. Place the hammer you're going to use on the anvil so the handle and face are oriented so you don't need to fumble around to use it. Then using the long handled pick up tongs in your hammer hand, pick up the piece and quickly transfer it to the working tongs in your left hand. I like thin pointy side bits, they don't interfere with transferring to end bit tongs. My pick up tongs don't hold work well enough and the reins are too long to use on the anvil, that's not what they're for. They're to make quick grabs/places while keeping my hands out of the dragon's breath. Once a piece is on the forge porch I can approach from the side with the forging tongs. 

I wear a leather work glove on my left hand so I can get within chisel, punch, etc. distance without toasting it.  The only time I wear heavy welding gloves with the aluminized heat shield is doing torch work.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tell students that it's quite ok to use one pair of tongs to manipulate their workpiece to where a second set of tongs can grab it easier. If done in the forge then little heat is lost!  (Usually we drag the workpiece that's been inserted in the deeps of the gasser to heat evenly for a twist to the door area where the shorter lighter tongs can grab it for the quick transfer to the postvise.)

I also have a set of thin pointed bit tongs that are good for getting under stock in the forge; but not so good for holding it while hammering. Use it a lot for sheetmetal when making flowers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a pair of long, thin pickup tongs that hangs on the forge stand. They are much too light for forging work, as Frosty notes above, but great for transferring from the forge to the working tongs.

One time I was working with Latticino and got to use some Kevlar gloves he has. Very nice heat resistance and -- unlike leather -- not prone to shrinkage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tong tips much appreciated.............but that's what I'm presently doing.............trying to make some pickup tongs to help with the problem.  I don't have any flame blowing out of the opening, but it's darned hot up there and one can't fiddle around too long.  Like I said, my welder's glove is starting to look like burnt toast.  I've got a pair of "Ove-Gloves" I use for casting lead bullets, but even they are limited when it comes to the mouth of my forge.

I've never seen anyone use the aluminum backed gloves and wouldn't really want a pair myself.  I'm just talking the hot mill canvas gloves like Magid makes.  Like I said, my friend uses them at his forge.  Guess I'll ask him next time I'm there.   But you're right, Frosty, I still need to be able to articulate tongs with them, which is why I'm asking if anyone has any experience with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How long are the reigns of your tongs, maybe think about extending them some. I have one pair of tongs with short reigns and can't use them with the gas forge. The rest of the tongs have long enough reigns that unless I take way too long getting the stock my hand just gets warm but not uncomfortable. The best solution would be to build an air curtain for the forge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The tongs I'm working on now have a lot longer reins, so I'm ahead of you there, IFC.  Seriously considering an air curtain, but this forge is already too danged "compilated" as far as I'm concerned!  ;)  And I ended up doing what everyone was warning me about and burned up my tong bits.  It takes me so many trips back to the forge to beat down 3/4" sq bar, it's ridiculous.  Now I know why so many smiths have power hammers.  Really didn't think I had my forge set to burn that hot.  Oh well, live and learn.  So that's two days down the tubes.  Oh, and the handle on a commercial hammer broke today.  Just hasn't been my day, I guess. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Funny as I work on getting a power hammer running in my shop I have started making sure I have tongs for some of the heavier stock I have accumulated.  I did a set of 3/4" round for the sucker rod I have and will be working on a pair of 3/4" square when I get another pair of matching lug wrenches.  (Ran across a short length of scrapped railing with 3/4" solid uprights and 1"x5" flat railing top???????)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

The best solution would be to build an air curtain for the forge.

Having just added one to my forge, I definitely agree. I did discover that the one disadvantage of an air curtain is that because it keeps heat from travelling up your stock (or at least slows it down), it creates a pretty sudden -- and invisible -- cutoff between "cool enough to hold" and "black heat will burn your fingers".

25 minutes ago, Chris C said:

this forge is already too danged "compilated" as far as I'm concerned! 

Learn to set your sights higher!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't think I'll be pounding any 1x5 anytime in the near future, for sure, Thomas.  Those "young buck" days are over, I think.  Some kind of power hammer would really be nice.  I'd really love to have a press, though.  Heck, I'm a tool junkie..................I'll take "one of everything".  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I learned that a long time ago, Thomas.  Wood working.  Photography. Wood Carving.  Reloading for firearms.  Numbers/types of firearms.  There's no one "do-all" tool.  I told Jennifer yesterday I wanted to make a pair of heavy wolf jaw tongs because they were so versatile.  She just laughed at me and basically said "yes, they'll do a little bit of everything.............just not well."  She had a point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, JHCC said:

Latticino and got to use some Kevlar gloves he has

The Kevlar gloves I use are similar to the ones sold by Blacksmith Depot as Men's Jersey Kevlar Gloves (at $16 for  a left hand only glove).  They are a little less secure holding tongs, but definitely help with grabbing stock from the forge and are a real treat for bladesmithing with longer stock.  They wear out over time, but I keep a couple in the shop and use them pretty regularly on my tong hand.

OdooProductImage_7_106.jpg 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

i dont know about others but i just use you normal cowhide welding gloves from Watson gloves these are comfortable and have a Kevlar stitch. i don't usually use tongs as all i have is a pair of short reined farriers tongs but weld a 2-3 foot piece of mild steel on as a handle 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't use gloves and don't recommend them. They tend to shrink when hot and can be hard to remove. A water quench accents the problem.

 

That aside a few decades ago hot mill gloves became the focus for gloves particularly in the Anvils Ring. For that reason, and with no experience, I recommend them for blacksmith use.

Instead of gloves, here's what I suggest. Make your hot work tools ~14" long. Use a "localized quench" on your tong/tool hand if you feel the heat. This means dunk your hand in your slack tub to get it wet. Unless you are dealing with a large piece, this should suffice. The other thing it does is allows you to harden your hand so it handles more heat without feeling it. And lastly, it's just one more thing you don't need cluttering up your workspace.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where I use a glove is when a work piece is of a medium length and gets too hot to hold with a bare hand.  If the work piece is small the use of tongs or vice grips to hold it is obviously necessary.  If it is long the end not being worked is cool enough to hold.  This is when working with a coal or coke fire.  With a gas forge the problem is made worse by the dragon's breath or radiant heat coming off the forge.  This may mean having to use tongs on a piece that you wouldn't have to in a coal forge.  I find that awkward and is one of the disadvantages of a gas forge but that has nothing to do with gloves.

Another glove point: IMO, a glove should fit loosely so that if you get something hot into it or it catches fire (yes, that does happen) you can snap your wrist to get it off quickly.  This means not having a knit cuff which will help keep the glove on your hand.  The other side of that coin is not having a wide cuff which can catch hot things.

Some years ago I was able to get terry cloth like gloves which gave good insulation.  These may be the hot mill gloves previously referenced. 

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Other things you can do instead of gloves. If you have a "handling" length(hand held), and it gets hot, pick it up with tongs and quench where you hold it.

Often, and especially when I have multiple irons in the fire, I will use the sprinkler mode on my water can and sprinkle everything between the near edge of the fire and the near edge of the forge. This is fire control plus keeping the heat from running up too close to you.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...