Part #2 of Learning to Blacksmith is about my experiences forging my first pair of tongs. It took me four or five forging sessions and some creativity, but I got it done. And, they’re amazing!
My Forging Experience So Far
Up until now, I have tried forging a few things, like a simple drive hook and heavy-duty curtain rod brackets for my dog Tank.
I tried (emphasis on tried) and quit trying to make a Hardy cut-off tool. I was heating and beating an old metal wedge that I found at the flea market.
The wedge went flying off the anvil and onto the floor almost as many times as I hit it and in the end, I barely moved any material. The plan was to draw out the fat end and forge a slightly tapered square section that would insert nicely into the hardy hole in the anvil.
From this failure, I learned that I needed two things.
- To work on beginner level projects that teach fundamentals and
- A better pair of tongs.
Forging a pair of Bolt Tongs
For my first tong project, I decided to forge Bolt Tongs. There are a few different styles out there, but basically, the jaws are V-shaped and the tongs sweep out and away from the jaws to allow clearance.
When forging railroad spikes, bolt tongs are one solution to grasping the spike while avoiding the odd-shape head. A friend gave me a bucket full of old railroad spikes, so having a pair of these tongs will be a huge advantage.
Material Used
All of the metal I have has been salvaged, bought cheaply second hand, or has been given to me. I don’t know what most of the metal is, whether it’s mild steel or the carbon level, but for me, it’s a big pile of opportunities. As long as I have fuel and time I can practice blacksmithing.
For my next pair of tongs, I will use mild steel, but I used 5/8th inch rebar for these.
Forging Sessions
The rebar was pretty big stock for the job. After a couple of forging sessions, I was able to hammer in the raised ridges and started to form the jaws. After a couple more sessions I had the basic shape that I wanted.
As for the hinge point, I thought about taking the easy way out by drilling holes and securing the tongs with a nut and bolt. Instead, I decided to do it like the pros and rivet the hinge on the anvil.
This complicated matters because I didn’t have punch or drift. (or rivet material for that matter)
To solve this I used an old cold chisel with an already narrow profile and forged a punch. I did this by feel and the process went smoothly. After I forged the punch, I went ahead and punched holes in the tongs.
This left the rivet. It’s always amazing what one can find laying around a garage and mine is no different. In the bottom of a toolbox I seldom use, I found a 10-inch nail with the perfect diameter.
The nail head worked as one side of the rivet so all I needed to do was cut it to length, get it hot and hammer the tongs together. This was the easiest part of the whole project.
What followed was some minor adjustments to size the tongs to a railroad spike and then hot-brushing the metal and sealing with boiled linseed oil. Et voila!
Lessons Learned
I learned several lessons during the process not least among them to take my time and think things through before getting the metal hot.
My hands were a limiting factor with respect to how long and how often I could forge. As I pointed out in my last post, my grip strength needs improvement.
The rebar I used was big and the metal was hard to move. One, I don’t think that I was getting it hot enough and two, mild steel would probably be a better metal.
While my design works, there are a few points of failure. Down the road, I won’t be surprised if they break around the hinge point. Between the jaws and the hinge, the material is square and not particularly thick.
Since forging the tongs, I visited the website I Forge Iron and read some good advice on tong construction. One of these days, I’ll do research and sketch out a plan before I forge.
All the same, winging it is fun too.
