Making EZ Tongs from 3/8″ Round

On Saturday, 8/13, we will meet at ABNC for our usual 2nd Saturday skills building session. At that session we will be making some tongs. They will be patterned after instructions supplied by Sean Conner (AKA Whitesmith of Blackstone Forge). But we will have a slight change in our approach.

Sean starts with two 20″ pieces of 1/4″ by 3/4″ flat stock. We will be using 3/8″ round stock instead. With the flat stock there is no real forging involved beyond the twisting of the stock. To make the tong work when using the round stock you will need to flatten out the portion that will make the jaws and the hinges of the tongs.

Below is a video of how to do it. This post will be the narrative to go with the video supplying you with details that are not covered or apparent in the video.

Start by making a mark on each of the 20″ pieces 4″ from one end. I used a file to create a score that can be found after the piece is hot.

Once heated to a good forging temperature – I like to get the mild steel to an  orange-yellow color or even yellow – place the mark in line with the near side of the anvil and make a half-faced blow to give you a shoulder that transitions from round to flat. (A half-faced blow is when the hammer head strikes the metal in such a way that half of the head is over the anvil.) Then flatten it from there to the end.

The 3/8″ round stock does not give you enough mass to make a flat piece that is 3/4″ x 1/4″ as used by Sean. Instead we end up with section that is about 1/2″ x 3/16″. This will work quite acceptably for a pair of light tongs suitable for stock that is under 3/8″ inches (you can adjust the jaws to accept different sizes by heating them and then forging them to fit whatever size you want).

When flattening the 4″ section, two things need to be kept in mind. First, the process is going to make them grow longer by about 1″. This is not a problem. You just want to make sure you grow them by the same amount on each of the 2 pieces. Second, you want to make one of the flat sides to stay aligned with one side of the round stock with the other side of the flat portion lining up with center of the round portion. This is easy to observe in the video.

After flattening we make a hole 3″ from the flat end on each of the pieces that will allow a 1/4″ rivet or round stock to be inserted. In the video I did this with a 1/4″ punch which created a hole that I had to file out off-screen in order to make it fit well. At ABNC we will employ a 9/32″ drill on a drill press to make the hole.

Now you are ready to put the twist in. Heat the of both pieces up for at least 2 1/2″ to a good orange or better. Quickly slide some 1/4″ stock in the holes to hold them together and place the jaw end in the vice. You will then use a twisting wrench to put a 90 degree twist in the stock. The key to getting the twist in the right place is to position your twisting wrench under the 1/4″ stock and leave enough room between the wrench and the jaws of the vice to allow for the twist. This can be clearly seen in the video.

The next step is to rivet the two pieces together. I used a pre-made 1/4″ rivet that started as 1 1/2″ long. I cut it off to expose only about 1 1/2 the width of the rivet as the length that would extend beyond the stock being joined. This means about 3/8″. I then used the hammer to flatten it out while it is cold, which worked quite nicely.

After riveting, the tongs are too tight to open. This is taken care of by heating the rivet area up to a nice orange and then opening and closing the tongs. With that done, the tongs are ready for sizing.

I sized them for 1/4″ round stock by heating the jaws and then inserting a piece of 1/4″ round stock in the jaws and striking the jaws with aggressive blows. This formed an indentation in the jaws along the center length that would hold the round stock securely. It also formed the jaws at the hinge area so that when all the way closed there was still about a 1/4″ gap.

The next step was done off camera where I put the jaws with the 1/4″ stock in the vice and spread the reigns of the tongs apart so that when the jaws are clamped all the way down on the stock there is still a gap between the reigns so that you hold on to them and apply pressure at needed to keep the stock under control.

Enjoy the video and please login to make comments or ask questions.

 

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