I like dividers, you can make them super ornate or plain and simple but as long as you get the legs equal lengths and the points come together with a reasonably stiff rivet youre good to go. Theyre also a a good build up to making tongs, A lot of people dive straight into making tongs when these would be a better option. Its daft that you do really need a pair of tongs to make the calipers thanks for sharing
I absolutely dove into making tongs long before I did this project, and you're spot on. These would get the fundamentals of tong-making down with way less effort involved. 👌
I don’t want to sound like that “I know better” kind of guy but uh…. There’s ways to “cheat” your way through. If you know where to get 12 foot bars of good steel, cutting it to about 3 foot pieces is a perfect way to not need tongs until you have about a foot left on each piece. And by then most of that 12 foot bar could have been tongs. And no, you don’t have to buy 12 foot bars but it can be a lot cheaper. What you’re looking for are places like Hudson tool steel, Jant’s, pops knife supply…just to help people out. 😊😊 oh and if you can’t find it there, try getting your hands on a McMaster carr catalog. What don’t they have….
Just like tongs, the material beside/below the joint should transition cleanly and thickly. Here you’ve created a thin cross section below the joint resulting in a weak / bending point.
I'm a very novice smith and maybe I'm looking at this too simplicticly. It seems like your making a set of tongs with out the grabbing end and with a tighter fit.
That's pretty much it! A previous commenter mentioned that dividers would make a great prelude to making a set of tongs to get a grasp on the fundamentals.
Yep, pretty much. I've heard it said traditional tong making is as much about practicing techniques for various jobs as it is about making a tool. PLUS I own over what WOULD have been a 1,000$ worth of tongs except I made them myself for less than 200$ including forge fuel. 100s of $$ in chisels punches hot cuts fullers hardy tools etc. from old car parts (hardenable pieces) for the price off coal and my time. Only been doing this since about 2020. Oh, and a few of my tongs are custom made for specific work only. I do, you can't buy them. You'll want custom tongs as soon as you try to hold something odd or small
You continue to show your ability to forge items. Very interesting. Good job!!
Thank you! That means a lot!
Nice job
Thanks!
Awesome. I'm gonna have to make myself a pair
Thanks for watching!
I like dividers, you can make them super ornate or plain and simple but as long as you get the legs equal lengths and the points come together with a reasonably stiff rivet youre good to go. Theyre also a a good build up to making tongs, A lot of people dive straight into making tongs when these would be a better option.
Its daft that you do really need a pair of tongs to make the calipers
thanks for sharing
I absolutely dove into making tongs long before I did this project, and you're spot on. These would get the fundamentals of tong-making down with way less effort involved. 👌
I don’t want to sound like that “I know better” kind of guy but uh…. There’s ways to “cheat” your way through. If you know where to get 12 foot bars of good steel, cutting it to about 3 foot pieces is a perfect way to not need tongs until you have about a foot left on each piece. And by then most of that 12 foot bar could have been tongs. And no, you don’t have to buy 12 foot bars but it can be a lot cheaper. What you’re looking for are places like Hudson tool steel, Jant’s, pops knife supply…just to help people out. 😊😊 oh and if you can’t find it there, try getting your hands on a McMaster carr catalog. What don’t they have….
Just like tongs, the material beside/below the joint should transition cleanly and thickly. Here you’ve created a thin cross section below the joint resulting in a weak / bending point.
@deathsromath yeah, I didn't think that far ahead on this one. Once the friction was loosened up on the rivet, it works great.
I'm a very novice smith and maybe I'm looking at this too simplicticly. It seems like your making a set of tongs with out the grabbing end and with a tighter fit.
That's pretty much it! A previous commenter mentioned that dividers would make a great prelude to making a set of tongs to get a grasp on the fundamentals.
Yep, pretty much. I've heard it said traditional tong making is as much about practicing techniques for various jobs as it is about making a tool. PLUS I own over what WOULD have been a 1,000$ worth of tongs except I made them myself for less than 200$ including forge fuel. 100s of $$ in chisels punches hot cuts fullers hardy tools etc. from old car parts (hardenable pieces) for the price off coal and my time. Only been doing this since about 2020. Oh, and a few of my tongs are custom made for specific work only. I do, you can't buy them. You'll want custom tongs as soon as you try to hold something odd or small
Your not Derek, that guy over there is Derrick.