[TheForge] "Universal" tongs and tools.

[Ries Niemi]

I use a lot of Grants (Off Center) tongs.
And I find the most "universal" is not the one you linked to, but instead, his standard V bits.
You can easily grip round bar, square bar, and most flats with them. They arent the best for flat bar, but for sizes up to maybe 3/8" x 1 1/2", a 1/2" or 3/4" V bit works just fine.
I tend to go to other tongs, or just vice grips, when working stuff like 1/2" x 3" flat bar, but 90% of the time, the standard V bits from kayne will do the job. 
I have a 3/8", a 1/2" and a 3/4" that do the vast majority of my work.

I miss Grant. The man was very smart, and, to my mind, brought blacksmith tooling into the 21st Century.

ries


On Sep 24, 2013, at 8:24 AM, Albin Drzewianowski wrote:

> To go back to Bruce's original idea concerning "universal" tongs.  IMHO,
> "universal" anything does many things poorly nothing well.  The idea of a
> "universal" tong is almost antithetical to blacksmithing.  We make the
> tools, so make and use the exact right tool. 
> 
> However,  I see that BLACKSMITH DEPOT is selling an Off-Center Universal
> V-Bit Tong that looks very interesting. 
> 
> http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/products/tongs-pliers/off-center-tongs-usa/o
> c-universal-v-bit.html
> 
> It has a wolfjaw v-bit one side and a tapered round rod on the other.  this
> looks like it might be a good candidate for the demonstrator's toolbox where
> we have to compromise and are not able to bring the entire shop inventory of
> tongs along with us. 
> 
> When I go to demonstrate, I bring a pair of  300mm wolfjaw tongs and a pair
> of Poz-style/bolthead-style tongs.  I like to make horseshoe hearts when
> demonstrating and in those cases, I bring a pair of farrier tongs.  If I
> know I am going to be working with railroad spikes, I bring a pair of tongs
> that will span around the rr spike head.   In other words, the exact tongs I
> bring will depend on the particular projects I will be doing while
> demonstrating; but the wolfjaw and Poz tongs I bring regardless. 
> 
> Regards,
> Albin
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:theforge-
>> bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bruce .
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 9:03 AM
>> To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
>> Subject: [TheForge] "Universal" tongs and tools.
>> 
>> We ran into a problem last night at the open forge meeting.  A relative
> beginner
>> couldn't find tongs to hold his piece tightly.  Ultimately, I modified an
> existing pair of
>> ordinary flat-jaw tongs.  The modification I made was to widen the jaw-gap
>> somewhat near the pivot, then to curve one of the jaws outward (so it
> bowed
>> toward the other jaw), adjusting the reins appropriately.  (Like this, but
> without the
>> teeth:
>> http://www.stromsholm.co.uk/nordic-forge-clench-tongs-hc12-1350-p.asp )
> This
>> modification gives the tongs line-contact with the workpiece on one jaw
> and face
>> contact on the other jaw, and allows the tongs to hold tightly a
> moderately wide
>> range of thicknesses.
>> 
>> This exercise brought my mind back to the ephemeral ideal of a "universal
> tongs" --
>> a tongs that can hold any piece of metal -- or at least a very wide range
> of shapes
>> and sizes.  How many types of tongs hold a claim to approaching that
> ideal?  It
>> would be nice to have a small selection of such very adaptable tongs in
> tool kits
>> one takes to demonstrations.  I hate wasting time at demos searching for
> the right
>> tongs or modifying existing ones.
>> 
>> More generally, what are the "most nearly universal" tools we could take
> to a
>> demonstration, to minimize the weight we need to carry around with us?
>> 
>> Consider:
>> 
>> Double angle-pein hammers (
>> http://www.caffreyknives.net/angle_peen_hammers.html ) have the advantages
> of
>> both straight-pein and cross pein, and is arguably more convenient than
> either.
>> 
>> Rounding hammer (
>> http://www.mactalisironworks.com/plogger/?level=picture&id=54 ) has one
> flat face
>> for ordinary forging, and one rounded face which excels for sinking sheet
> or curving
>> bars, and can be used like a ball-pein, without leaving deep marks.
>> 
>> Butcher hardy  (
>> http://www.cjpatterns.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=CF&Screen=CTGY&
>> Category_Code=HRDYTLS)
>> good for most of what a cut-off hardy can be used for, but can also
> produce a
>> straight cut and/or a sharply-angled cut.
>> 
>> --
>> Bruce
>> NJ
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