Wendelspanswick
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I posted this initially on the end of a different post but I thought it deserved a post of its own.
The blacksmith has the capability to make his own tongs quickly, it's one of the first things I learnt to make as an apprentice, this enables you to make a set of tongs for whatever you happen to be holding in the forge.
I have about 50 pairs of tongs in all shapes and sizes, most I've made myself and a few choice ones that were left to me by the master blacksmith that taught me.
If you think of all the sizes of steel that a blacksmith uses and for a secure hold that the tongs need the jaws to be parallel when gripping the steel. You can adjust the width of the jaws by heating them in the forge but they need to be fairly close to the width required to start with.
You need tongs for:
Flats
Rivet holding
Scroll forming
Holding round bar by the end and the side
Holding square bar so the angle sits upright on the anvil, holding it by the end and the side
Holding crucibles...
The list is endless.
As an aside if you have a pair of tongs that have seized through rust get them dull red in the forge then plunge them into water while opening and closing them.
The blacksmith has the capability to make his own tongs quickly, it's one of the first things I learnt to make as an apprentice, this enables you to make a set of tongs for whatever you happen to be holding in the forge.
I have about 50 pairs of tongs in all shapes and sizes, most I've made myself and a few choice ones that were left to me by the master blacksmith that taught me.
If you think of all the sizes of steel that a blacksmith uses and for a secure hold that the tongs need the jaws to be parallel when gripping the steel. You can adjust the width of the jaws by heating them in the forge but they need to be fairly close to the width required to start with.
You need tongs for:
Flats
Rivet holding
Scroll forming
Holding round bar by the end and the side
Holding square bar so the angle sits upright on the anvil, holding it by the end and the side
Holding crucibles...
The list is endless.
As an aside if you have a pair of tongs that have seized through rust get them dull red in the forge then plunge them into water while opening and closing them.