Autonopedia

A

To forge a pair of tongs, cut off a piece 12" long from a ^7/8" square bar.

Take a LIGHT WELDING heat and, with the end over the rounded edge of the anvil like this, forge a shoulder, leaving the end ^3/8" thick x 1^3/4" long x 1" wide.

B

There should be a good radius at the base of the shoulder and the end should look like this -

C

Take another LIGHT WELDING heat and from the position shown in A above.

Give the bar a quarter turn to the left and place it over the rounded edge of the far side of the anvil.

Move the left hand slightly to the left and forge a second shoulder to form a boss.

D

The end should now look like this-

E

Take another LIGHT WELDING heat and, from the position shown in C,

give the bar another quarter turn to the left and, again using the far edge of the anvil, forge a third shoulder.

The bar behind the boss is reduced to a ^5/8" square section.

The completed jaw is shown here -

F

The second jaw is made on the other end of the bar in exactly the same way.

Remember to turn the bar to the left each time. The two finished jaws are alike, not opposites.

G

Cut the jaws apart and scarf the cut ends of the reduced square sections.

Weld a piece of ^7/16" round to each jaw to form the reins.

H

To retain the maximum strength in the boss the rivet holes should be punched, not drilled.

Start to punch as shown with the shoulder downwards over the edge of the anvil.

Turn over on to the flat side and complete punching over the anvil hole.

J

The method of making a rivet for a pair of tongs is described below.

The tong jaws and the rivet are put together cold and all made hot together before riveting up.

K

After the rivet is clenched and while the jaws are still hot, they should be set to the size of material it is intended to hold.

The spacing of the reins should be adjusted at the same time, so that they are comfortable to grip.

L

Dip the tongs in the water trough, opening and closing them as they cool to ease them.

M

Rivet for Tongs
The rivet is made from &" round metal, the shank being reduced between top and bottom swages like this -

N

Cut off as shown, allowing sufficient length of the full-size section to form the head.

O

The head is then formed by setting the piece down in bolster, thus -

and is worked up either on the anvil face or by using a rivet snap.