[TheForge] tools

[Jerry Frost]

Didn't I say I didn't think I needed to describe 
drilling a hole, nuts and bolts, etc.? How are the new 
guys going to figure these things out themselves if we 
give them ALL the answers?

Besides getting things hot and hitting them with 
hammers is the whole point. <grin>

Okay, if we're not insisting on "purist" BS, I got a 
pair of tongs at an estate sale some years back that're 
even easier. Somebody welded some 1/2" rod to the 
handles of a pair of slip joint plliers. They work 
pretty well too.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/

From: "Bruce Freeman" <FREEMAB at pt.fdah.com>


> Frosty,
> Good description of twist tongs.  But they can get 
> even simpler than
> that if we don't insist on blacksmith purism.
>
> Start with stock that's at least half-inch, and 
> perhaps 3/4" wide.
> Instead of punching a hole (difficult for a beginner 
> without
> instruction), drill a 1/4" (or less) hole for the 
> pivot.  Then use a
> grade 5 or better bolt or screw for the pivot, 
> instead of a rivet, and
> either use two nuts jammed together instead of 
> heading over a rivet.
> The key here is to use a tough bolt (grade 5 or 
> better) of a fairly
> small diameter (1/4" maximum, preferably less, like 
> #10), which enables
> use of a smaller pivot.
>
> If the stock is soft enough, the twist can even be 
> done cold.  (Use a
> solid vise and a large monkey wrench, separated by 
> about twice the stock
> width.)
>
> Is it elegant?  No.  But for a first pair of tongs it 
> will serve.
> Get's your hands further away from the heat so you 
> can make a better
> pair on your second try.
>
> Bruce
> NJ
>