This video must be the most informative and detailed video I've seen yet on forging tongs. Thank you so much for taking the time to put together and share this. One of these days I'll make my own set 🙌
THANK YOU! for taking the time to thoroughly break down the steps of making tongs. I appreciated your explanation of the process. I never felt rushed or felt like I was missing something. The tongs were BEAUTIFUL!
I like how you convert the measurements from metric to standard. That is very informative for new and young blacksmiths. Very professional and instructive. Nice video and good advice. Thank you.
Thanks Brian, it is actually teaching me at the same time. In school it was CM, after school and in work was MM, college it was MM and INCHES, now i am trying to do both but much prefer MM if i had to choose.
If you enjoy these vids, gis a Thumbs up, If you dont enjoy this style of vid, gis a thumbs down, i need Your Feedback to make these vids better, cheers!
I for one really like the new style! Only small criticism I have is that your sit-down intros and exits are very quiet compared to the rest of the video, which means I have to turn it way up to hear, then get blasted out when the first hammer blows fall. Perhaps a clip on microphone would help during those scenes? Other than that, love the new style! I hope you continue with it! Cheers!
I need to work on that, the mic is the reason, as it automatically records louder on the forging as it blocks out the roar of the gas forge so when thats not on, it lowers the recording level. Thanks for pointing that out to me. Next one wont have that issue. Cheers!
The reason i didnt lower it in editing is i have a lot of mature audiences that are hard of hearing so i give the option of turning down the volume rather than having it too quiet and not being loud enough for those guys to hear it properly.
Your tutorial on finishing the boss [~18:30 on] was excellent; by far the best explanation of detailing the structure of the hinge/boss that I'll take to the anvil to make these scrolling tongs. I considered them well done @ the point your started the offset of the reins. Thank you!
Great video! Great to see a full, in depth process. I also really appreciate you showing the spring test "failure". Many times more can be learned from the Misses than the Hits. Thanks for posting and I look forward to more to come.
One of the best tong making vids I have seen, and I have seen many. The devils in the details with tongs I believe and thats where most tutorials lack. First time I ever seen that chalk trick and that is keen!
+sdcb27 Thank you, im with you there, they are a devil to make, but satisfying when they are finished. Glad i can teach a new trick for you, first time i seen it, i was surprised id not learned that before, as it is incredibly helpful for blind holes. Cheers for watching my friend
When I first noticed the length of the video I didn't think I would watch the whole thing. However, the further along in the video I got the more I wanted to see the rest. Your video has to be one of the better one I've seen with very good details on what you were doing throughout. I've tagged this as a watch later so I can return to it if needed. I'm only in the process of setting up my forge, and anvil. Haven't taken a swing at any hot metal yet but it's not far off. Thanks again and you certainly have a new viewer! Keep up the awsome videos.
WOW RC thats so great to hear! Hopefully its not long now until you are hitting the hot stuff! Please let me know how you get on. Will be doing a few more videos soon, but struggling to find the time at the mo. Stay tuned though as im just getting started
As I watched this, I kept thinking that this work can't be as easy as you make it look. If I'm honest, I was a bit relieved to see even a skilled person have some trouble along the way. Thanks for this, and please keep making more.
Appreciate your descriptions of the relative heats for different processes like drawing, planishing etc. This has to be one of the most thorough descriptions I've watched as a running commentary especially to do with hand forming tongs. Have hot formed metal for a long time now but can always learn more......why I watch those who provide detail without running on at the mouth. Liked of course and thanks.
thats great to hear, thank you. hope i can teach at least one new thing each vid. it may be quiet around here for a month or 2 but after next weekend im going full time content creation so will be doing a lot more of this soon. thanks for coming along for the journey!
+sean.the.shoer There will be plenty more of that im sure, Thank you for letting me know. Just thinking out loud, i cut the swearing parts just incase the younguns are watching. Thanks again Sean
+workingwithiron I'm trying. Since last winter i've made 4 full tang knives with no power tools, just some sand paper , files and metal saw. If i get more skills i will try to forge a knife or some other tool from old leaf spring. I like that kind of work but i don't have much time ( family and Job ). I'm doing my best. Greetings from Poland
Thanks so much for making these videos! I'm in the process of refurbishing some blacksmithing equipment I inherited from my father's estate...it's been in my family for generations, belonging to my great-grandfather. It's in pretty rough shape, and missing some parts, but I think I can get it up and running fairly easily. I really enjoy your videos on making the tooling, as my first projects are going to be making much of what I need.
Awesome vid, thanks! So often these types of vids go for about 15 minutes, and cut so much out. I was impressed that yours was a 'warts and all' video covering everything, even what went a little sideways. My son really wants to do blacksmithing, so we watched this together and he really enjoyed it too.. :)
Thats awesome you both sat down to watch it, Hope he didnt get too bored with how long it is. Its a great craft to learn and a very rewarding one at that! Maybe you can both learn it together?
Last year I too learn the golf ball handle, Working for the second year. Really like seeing your file and clean up work, Also the whole video Thank you Sir for teaching me how to do it
This is an awesome, very informative video. Clearly explained steps and good camera shots of work being done allow viewers to follow along with each step. Great job on the vid and the tongs! They are superb. Thanks for posting, keep them coming! Cheers from Canada
Hi Nathan, just thought on the spring for these. quite often on other tools I've seen, they only fix the spring on one handle, so the other side kinda slides to relieve some of the strain on the spring.
+Lord Skitch When i get the new forge built i will do some vids on proper scrolls the traditional way, need to make another set first though. I have a scrolling video up but thats just using a hammer and anvil, which are a lot easier than using tongs or pliers. Stay tuned and i will note down the idea and put it on the list of things to film. Cheers dude!
Im just getting started and there is a wealth of knowledge that you guys are (thank you thank you!) passing on. It would be nice for me if you through in a table of contents in the description with videos times like on that hour long lewis knives build out. I gotta keep coming back to the long videos to grab one piece of info and its difficult to find that spot in a long video. When reading its so much easier to find info, i beeilieve its beause we can see where the info might be and visualize how the info is organized. Anyhow. Great video. Thank you Kindly!! And its cool to see this communitybeing excited to share knowledge. I rock on everybody!
+Full Sun Noted! i shall get onto that this week sometime. ive not seen that video you talk about but will have a look later and see what you mean. Very good idea! Thank you!
thanks Nathan for adding that you're using low carbon steel. I sometime get confused about carbon content and or whether the piece should or should not be hardened...nice that you mentioned it.
+Brady McPhail With tongs, id always use mild steel or titanium as i quench them so often and with anything higher in carbon they would break and be no use to me so always go with a quenchable steel type, or titanium as they just dont move and dont hold the heat very long.
Love this Nathan, been following your video's, just made a hot cut chisel today following your technique, really like it, thanks mate for all the great info and instruction.
Hey. Keep these vids coming. I'm just starting out and I'm a Devon boy. Love the details and your description of what you are thinking and doing. Excellent.
I did! Turned out better than I expected for a first try. Started with some .156in (4mm) flat bar Damasteel, rounded it off and put a hole in the center and thickened it up to just over 5mm on the anvil. Then milled it down to size before a finish grind/polish with a Dremel and dipping in acid to etch. I did end up cracking it, but was able to polish it up so you don't even notice. Turns out stainless is some tough stuff to work with! I used a little paint can forge with propane heat, so my guess is I was not able to get it hot enough to ease up some of the cold working. Really, really enjoyed working over an anvil though... more projects are certainly to follow.
Very good. I always end up fiddling with the reins just as much as any other part. It's not as easy as one might think, to get everything fully in line and straight. I always find that the dog-leg offset to bring the reins in line the tricky bit. Do you not use those knotted-wire cup wheels that screw straight onto the angle grinder spindle? They are an aggressive tool and clean up very efficiently, at black heat or even cold, which prevents bending and distortion when everything is true and scale cleaning is all that's left. Having said that they are potentially dangerous. Tips are: Grip the grinder like you mean it; wear a welders gauntlet on the non-trigger hand; wear a full clear face shield. Good video anyway, very patiently explained.
+Finarfin they are troublesome, something i need to work on. I do use a knotted wire cup brush for cleaning but after the forging is finished. as i use gas forge the scale is extremely difficult to get off with them compared to a solid fuel forge finish, hence the final clean done as hot as i can to get most of the scale off, plus it works out cheaper as less time needed with the wire cup. They dont half kick when they want, most dangerous tool in my shop, in 8 years ive been bitten once with it. glad i had loose clothing on as it wrapped enough around the spindle to stop it before it hit my skin. Thanks for the comment my friend!
+workingwithiron Thanks for the reply. I need to make some offset dies for the smithing magician and use those to create the offset in the reins. That's another job on the list. I didn't know that about the difference in scale from a gas forge as opposed to a coal forge. Now I do. Thanks for explaining that. Yes, the wire cups are a vicious tool. effective with scale and polish-up, just as effective at removing skin. Touch wood I've not had a mishap with one. a friend of mine did though. It kicked as you say and ran across his thigh and knee. It removed the denim of his jeans in a trice and left an horrendous graze on his leg. Painful just to look at it. Thanks again.
After you put on chalk & hit w/a center punch you check to see if it is in the right spot. How can you tell where the punch is? It's covered up by the 1 that has a hole. You checked it 2 times & made an adjustment both times, I don't understand how you can tell if it needs to be moved. Thank You for your time & your video's. I'm building a coal forge & eager to hit the hot stuff in about a week, GOD willing. Your video's are well made, you do a great job of explaining how & why. I'm learning a lot from you & like many others I also appreciate what you've created.
Look through the hole and you can see the dot. If it's not in the centre you can adjust it. It's why I punch one at a time rather than both as I always have a point of reference i.e the hole. Does that make sense?
Good Job, scroll tongs are a bit tricky to make compared to flat bits, or even bolt tongs. You can of course scale them up or down in size depending on your needs. I have lined up the reins before I riveted and I think your way is much easier.
Thank you for showing up in my recommended list because i really needed a set of tong all i have been using is a pair of channel locks i bought at a flea market for $3 and so i am going to try making a set of flatbit and a modified set of the flatbits and another set of bolt tongs kinda like u have used when making the hot cut hardie tool any ways i have only been forging for a year now and all i have been doing is rail road spike knifes i got the coal forge off of a good friend and the anvil off of another friend for $50 anyways thanks again for this video because i really needed some tongs.
+workingwithiron Brilliant work man! As seen, there's mixed reviews but as for me, I'd much prefer you favor length and thoroughness over short and sweet. For folks wanting to jump right into blacksmithing, short videos can be misleading by convincing them that a baker's dozen hammer blows over 8 minutes will transform a railroad spike into a knife as an example...sort of how it was for me anyhow. Blacksmithing is most assuredly an art of patience. I certainly look forward to seeing more new videos - I understand it can be a lot of work - might I make a suggestion? a video on bolt head tongs - there are a few out there but I like to have multiple sources to fill in the gaps - I have successfully botched five attempts at bolt head tongs now - though my most recent shot came close. Lastly, my sincerest thanks for making this channel - your fire poker video was a genuine work of art that got me hooked on blacksmithing a couple years back! Keep up the fine work Nathan! - James
+Vernon James Thanks a lot mate, means a lot with the great feedback and kind words, much appreciated! i completely understand what you mean about shorter vids being misleading. I have bolt tongs on the list and will be working my way through the different tongs over the coming months. so will bump them to the top of the tong list. in the meantime i will be doing a few small projects ive been asked to show from suggestions on the workingwithiron facebook page, which are new to me so could will be a learning curve and explanation of how i would approach such forging projects. So if you have any suggestions other than tongs please do let me know what you would like to see. That was one of my favourite videos to make, the fire poker and im honoured that it got you hooked on blacksmithing,. I will do a few more of that style with the forging with the music as i enjoy watching them myself... it teaches me how to become better at forging watching my own work. Again thank you very much for the awesome comment. Have a great day James! Nathan
A tong set in an hour, my best timeframe would be several days of hard slog and tearing hair out and still end with a tool that will be tossed into a corner somewhere marked as an attempt too far! Very nice work though, I hope to one day be talented enough to achieve the skill needed to get this far!
Another good and instructional video, thank you. Coincidentally I am making a pair of scroll tongs at Pete Smith's evening classes at Bluefoot Forge at the moment, I should, hopefully, finish them this Thursday.
+Nightschool Blacksmith Thank you sir! Pete is awesome, and one of the best teachers ive had, i really enjoy the way he teaches and the work he produces, such a great guy. Here is a fun fact about Pete. The anvil that you see me using in my videos is Peters old anvil. Good luck with the tongs, im sure they will turn out great!
Thanks for your reply, Pete told me you had to be able to lift the anvil into your car in order to have it - that sounds like fun too!! - Perhaps it's a magic anvil, and will only allow worthy people to lift it?
+Nightschool Blacksmith yes that wa the deal, luckily it was only a small little un but was a challenge to say the least. How did you get on making them?
Well done you for lifting it!! I know I couldn't have done it (I've ruptured a disc in my neck a few times, and do not want to ever do it again....) I didn't quite manage to finish the scrolling tongs - only riveting them to go, which I will do and also adjust them this Thursday.
Hi Nath, I finished my scroll tongs! Nowhere near as good as yours, of course, but they work, and they're mine!! Pics on my blog; www.nightschoolblacksmith.co.uk/2016/05/27/i-finshed-my-scroll-tongs/ Now making a centre punch out of EN9, gawd, you have to hit that stuff hard.... :-(
Awesome! Thanks for the thumbs up, Yes still making videos and will be quite regular from now on, will be an update soon for the channel to explain whats going on!
Don't know if you've solved this yet, but a suggestion I have is putting the spring a bit farther back from the pivot point, that way you arent crushing your spring which leads to it breaking.
those tongs look nice!they can be a bit of a chore cant they?i made one pair with forged bits and bossed with reins i welded on with my arc welder.finally i forged a complete pair of flat nib tongs with 15 inch reins a few months ago.that last straightening stage was tricky but i got it!still theyre way rough compared to your work.
1.this is the first long video that gave us tips and information all along the way. 2.u might consider giving us an a bullet point time index for each step in the text explanation like creamhorses showed that finishing the boss started at 18:30. if we could click that number and go to the step we need more help to do, i feel that your long videos would also be short videos that generate more views. Excellent video as is --just thinking of what I'd like. . 3. As far as the spring goes, try putting the u at the bottom, about half way of the 100mm below the boss. make max distance between the top and bottom reins at that 50 mm point to allow the u to be larger. 3a maybe a two hacksaw blade u, or 3b two blades, one collared at 0mm and 100mm on each rein so that the two arches meet at the 50 mm point . that puts only half as much compression on each blade arch and allows you to set how far apart the nibs are at rest 4. were you going to collar the spring onto the reins? that might make replacing broken springs possible I'd use a short -10 mm --cross section of 13mm inside diameter steel tubing , slide it down the reins and peen it tight .
I really like how you discuss sectioning up the bar with measurements on the anvil. Is there a good rule of thumb for how to size the locations for the different set-downs for a given size of bar stock? Great video.
They just need to be in proportion is all. the boss should be thick, nibs strong but the most important bit is behind the boss to the reigns, that should be half the parent bar thickness as that is where they will want to bend, and also rectangular in section as that is the strongest.
That's so great to hear! Its such a good journey to go on. I'm planning on getting more done soon but struggling with time at the moment but there will be one soon.
Brilliant,i subbed and gave you a thumb up!! Just finished my brake drum forge,and need tongs,and up came your vid. You did mention you have made a vid of flat tongs,so i will be searching that as my first project. Is that a west country accent?
Would if i could Rob but im busy at the moment and skint so no can do for a while, Unless people wanna start paying me to then that would be great lol, cheers man means a lot!
Hello Mate. Thanks for a great video. I don't normally watch longer videos bit you did a good job keeping it interesting and informitive. My question: What kind of wire brush do you use and where can I buy one? I've got a few normal ones but I need a stiffer bristled wooden bodied brush like yours. Thanks for your input..
Hiya mate, thanks for the kind words. They go by the name, Butchers Block Brush. Sold for scraping meat off of bones. Look for the highest number of rows of bristles and the denser packed bristles. Farrier supplies usually sell them or food industry, look to pay around £20 gbp plus for a good one. Do not cheap out on this tool. And when you find a good supply buy more as they seem to come in waves of good ones. Hope that helps.
I liked the spring idea, too bad it didn't work at that point. Do you think it was tempered too hard or too soft? Also what kind of spring steel was it? I have wondered if skid banding might work. Thanks for the great information.
+workingwithiron Beginner here. Appreciate the vids. They really help me get the concept down before I ruin my first 5 tries. Question though - I brush my products up, but they still look like crap. I'm not sure if I'm burning the iron, or just not doing enough brushing? How do you make the tongs look like that?
2 primary issues normally. 1.) Burning the steel slightly. Oftentimes beginning blacksmiths get the steel white hot and sparking. Burnt steel is burnt, the texture is bad, the structure is bad, and oftentimes it has hard chunks that won't even grind down easily. 2.) Forge finish. When you are forging the hammer blows should overlap and they should leave a smooth finish. If it doesn't you might be hitting too hard, too erratically, or your hammer isn't dressed properly for your skill level. Watch the results as you forge, adjust as you are working to get the finish you want. Planishing, the process of smoothing the material with light hammer blows at a dull or low heat helps to get things looking nice. You can also clean the scale off the anvil, and brush the piece before hitting it. You get more texture if you forge the scale into the piece, then it falls out and leaves a cavity. Sweep the anvil on the way back to the fire, Not after you pull the piece out of the fire. When the iron is hot, you want to brush the worst of the chunky scale off Quickly, and get on to real work! Strike while the iron is hot... So fire/heat control, hammer control, and clean habits should give you a better finish. Hope that helps, and I hope you are still smithing...
Enjoyed your video, I admire your patience - beautiful tongs - more complex to forge than I thought
This video must be the most informative and detailed video I've seen yet on forging tongs. Thank you so much for taking the time to put together and share this. One of these days I'll make my own set 🙌
hi i love your work as you go through step by step and your work is wonderful an old Smith of 72 yrs
THANK YOU! for taking the time to thoroughly break down the steps of making tongs. I appreciated your explanation of the process. I never felt rushed or felt like I was missing something. The tongs were BEAUTIFUL!
Thank you Kent! Glad you enjoyed it.
I like how you convert the measurements from metric to standard. That is very informative for new and young blacksmiths. Very professional and instructive. Nice video and good advice. Thank you.
Thanks Brian, it is actually teaching me at the same time. In school it was CM, after school and in work was MM, college it was MM and INCHES, now i am trying to do both but much prefer MM if i had to choose.
If you enjoy these vids, gis a Thumbs up, If you dont enjoy this style of vid, gis a thumbs down, i need Your Feedback to make these vids better, cheers!
I for one really like the new style! Only small criticism I have is that your sit-down intros and exits are very quiet compared to the rest of the video, which means I have to turn it way up to hear, then get blasted out when the first hammer blows fall. Perhaps a clip on microphone would help during those scenes? Other than that, love the new style! I hope you continue with it! Cheers!
Nice video, though you should lower the volume of the hammering scene in post.
I need to work on that, the mic is the reason, as it automatically records louder on the forging as it blocks out the roar of the gas forge so when thats not on, it lowers the recording level. Thanks for pointing that out to me. Next one wont have that issue.
Cheers!
The reason i didnt lower it in editing is i have a lot of mature audiences that are hard of hearing so i give the option of turning down the volume rather than having it too quiet and not being loud enough for those guys to hear it properly.
***** Thats reasonable, for the talking parts, but I can't imagine anyone will really miss the loud banging much. Kudos for being considerate though.
Nice... your commentary is most helpful. Description, tips, & suggestions are really easy to follow.
Thanks Nathan another great video.
Nathan, great video. I really appreciate your comments while you are working.
Thank you Nathan, I appreciate your comments while making the tongs. Very help full for some one just beginning
Well done ! I wanted to reach into the monitor a couple times to take over the tongs, but there was this piece of glass in the way. Big thumbs up !
A pair of tongs for the generations, well done and I loved watching this video.
They certainly are, hopefully many generations, if not they know how to make them now :) Thanks for the kind words!
Your tutorial on finishing the boss [~18:30 on] was excellent; by far the best explanation of detailing the structure of the hinge/boss that I'll take to the anvil to make these scrolling tongs. I considered them well done @ the point your started the offset of the reins. Thank you!
Great video! Great to see a full, in depth process. I also really appreciate you showing the spring test "failure". Many times more can be learned from the Misses than the Hits. Thanks for posting and I look forward to more to come.
Thank you Kevin, thats great feedback. Im busy at the mo but when i get chance to do some filming i will get a few more vids done and uploaded.
One of the best tong making vids I have seen, and I have seen many. The devils in the details with tongs I believe and thats where most tutorials lack. First time I ever seen that chalk trick and that is keen!
+sdcb27 Thank you, im with you there, they are a devil to make, but satisfying when they are finished. Glad i can teach a new trick for you, first time i seen it, i was surprised id not learned that before, as it is incredibly helpful for blind holes. Cheers for watching my friend
what an awesome video. Love how you walk us through what you are doing at each step.
When I first noticed the length of the video I didn't think I would watch the whole thing. However, the further along in the video I got the more I wanted to see the rest. Your video has to be one of the better one I've seen with very good details on what you were doing throughout. I've tagged this as a watch later so I can return to it if needed. I'm only in the process of setting up my forge, and anvil. Haven't taken a swing at any hot metal yet but it's not far off. Thanks again and you certainly have a new viewer! Keep up the awsome videos.
WOW RC thats so great to hear! Hopefully its not long now until you are hitting the hot stuff! Please let me know how you get on.
Will be doing a few more videos soon, but struggling to find the time at the mo. Stay tuned though as im just getting started
As I watched this, I kept thinking that this work can't be as easy as you make it look.
If I'm honest, I was a bit relieved to see even a skilled person have some trouble along the way.
Thanks for this, and please keep making more.
Every day is a day for learning!!
Appreciate your descriptions of the relative heats for different processes like drawing, planishing etc. This has to be one of the most thorough descriptions I've watched as a running commentary especially to do with hand forming tongs. Have hot formed metal for a long time now but can always learn more......why I watch those who provide detail without running on at the mouth. Liked of course and thanks.
Well done. Good clear instructions, great photography and a good instruction pace.
+Bill Schultz Thanks a lot Bill, Great feedback!
Been doing this 2 years since retiring.... best instructor level vids I have seen yet subbed and thumbed
thats great to hear, thank you. hope i can teach at least one new thing each vid. it may be quiet around here for a month or 2 but after next weekend im going full time content creation so will be doing a lot more of this soon. thanks for coming along for the journey!
This is the absolute best tong making video on RUclips! Thanks for this!
You are too kind! Thank you!
Really nice finish, good video, nicely explained, I like the fact you didn't edit out the spring, it's nice to learn from the errors also, well done.
Great video... It's nice to see someone else be self critical and admit when things aren't going smoothly.
+sean.the.shoer There will be plenty more of that im sure, Thank you for letting me know. Just thinking out loud, i cut the swearing parts just incase the younguns are watching. Thanks again Sean
+workingwithiron f#ck the naysayers if they can't handle a little color in the dialogue. I look forward to more stuff!
love the way you can make this tongs! and nice edit to , not cutting out the mistakes ! huge thumbs up !
+Bert Mintiens Thanks a lot Bert, Huge thumbs up to you for an awesome comment. Glad i can help out!
Cheers!
I did over thin my first tongs, So I check the thickness better
Thanks again
It's a common thing with making tongs, but we learn which is what I love about the craft... Always improving one heat at a time
This was so good of a video I had to watch it twice. I used a coil spring. Not in compression but using the ends so the coil would twist.
My grandfather was a blacksmith. He also have made these by himself. Good work
Thats awesome, are you going to carry on the tradition?
+workingwithiron I'm trying. Since last winter i've made 4 full tang knives with no power tools, just some sand paper , files and metal saw. If i get more skills i will try to forge a knife or some other tool from old leaf spring. I like that kind of work but i don't have much time ( family and Job ). I'm doing my best. Greetings from Poland
Excellent tut Nathan, I'm going to try making a pair of these myself using your vid. I will certainly be wanting to view more of them in the future.
Thanks for all your videos. I am gearing up to start making a lot of the tools you are showing how to make. Can't wait to get started.
Thanks so much for making these videos! I'm in the process of refurbishing some blacksmithing equipment I inherited from my father's estate...it's been in my family for generations, belonging to my great-grandfather. It's in pretty rough shape, and missing some parts, but I think I can get it up and running fairly easily. I really enjoy your videos on making the tooling, as my first projects are going to be making much of what I need.
After 2 years, those tongs are still beautiful.
Awesome vid, thanks!
So often these types of vids go for about 15 minutes, and cut so much out.
I was impressed that yours was a 'warts and all' video covering everything, even what went a little sideways.
My son really wants to do blacksmithing, so we watched this together and he really enjoyed it too.. :)
Thats awesome you both sat down to watch it, Hope he didnt get too bored with how long it is. Its a great craft to learn and a very rewarding one at that! Maybe you can both learn it together?
really liked the running commentary, helped to put things into context, thanks, keep up the good work.
Thanks a lot Kiksforge!
I know this video is a little older, but I loved it! Great work! Watching more. Learning the trade.
Last year I too learn the golf ball handle, Working for the second year.
Really like seeing your file and clean up work, Also the whole video
Thank you Sir for teaching me how to do it
Thanks a lot! Means a lot that I can show something new.
Have not seen the chalk trick before, very simple and clever!
This is an awesome, very informative video. Clearly explained steps and good camera shots of work being done allow viewers to follow along with each step. Great job on the vid and the tongs! They are superb. Thanks for posting, keep them coming! Cheers from Canada
Thank you Joe!
Very nice set of tongs. I enjoyed your video thanks for sharing your talent.
You are welcome Chuck!
Beautiful tongs and very well explained.
Thanks mate. Tremendous help for us beginners. Great skills. Appreciate the detail.
wow, great craftsmenship. I appreciate your faffing with it to make it perfect. thanks for making and sharing.
Hi Nathan, just thought on the spring for these. quite often on other tools I've seen, they only fix the spring on one handle, so the other side kinda slides to relieve some of the strain on the spring.
Looks great! I look forward to seeing you make some scrolls with them.
+Lord Skitch When i get the new forge built i will do some vids on proper scrolls the traditional way, need to make another set first though. I have a scrolling video up but thats just using a hammer and anvil, which are a lot easier than using tongs or pliers. Stay tuned and i will note down the idea and put it on the list of things to film.
Cheers dude!
nice pair of scroll tongs. very in depth narrative. thanks for the vid.
You are welcome, Thank you!
Im just getting started and there is a wealth of knowledge that you guys are (thank you thank you!) passing on. It would be nice for me if you through in a table of contents in the description with videos times like on that hour long lewis knives build out. I gotta keep coming back to the long videos to grab one piece of info and its difficult to find that spot in a long video. When reading its so much easier to find info, i beeilieve its beause we can see where the info might be and visualize how the info is organized. Anyhow. Great video. Thank you Kindly!!
And its cool to see this communitybeing excited to share knowledge. I rock on everybody!
+Full Sun Noted! i shall get onto that this week sometime. ive not seen that video you talk about but will have a look later and see what you mean. Very good idea! Thank you!
cool video i like your attention to detail when you are working the steel keep up the good work
+Brendan Davey Thank you i will keep them going for everyone!
Beautiful work man, thanks for sharing I'm learning a lot
Great vid! Finishing up mine today. Thx for taking the time!
Awesome video, I enjoyed the instructions, and appreciated the honesty throughout the video, well done, subscribed
thanks Nathan for adding that you're using low carbon steel. I sometime get confused about carbon content and or whether the piece should or should not be hardened...nice that you mentioned it.
+Brady McPhail With tongs, id always use mild steel or titanium as i quench them so often and with anything higher in carbon they would break and be no use to me so always go with a quenchable steel type, or titanium as they just dont move and dont hold the heat very long.
Love this Nathan, been following your video's, just made a hot cut chisel today following your technique, really like it, thanks mate for all the great info and instruction.
Sir, Excellent presentation, stellar.
Great vid mate. Good detail and description . Really enjoyed it. 👍
Great video! I use golf balls for file handles too. Thank you!
Excellent work, love it and the explanation through it was great, learnt a lot here.
Hey. Keep these vids coming. I'm just starting out and I'm a Devon boy. Love the details and your description of what you are thinking and doing. Excellent.
Thanks a lot Rob, What part of Devon you from?
+workingwithiron Torquay. Got my own little fabrication company.
excellent work there nathan thanks for showing us ,i must have a go at this .Ant from Wales.
Great vid mate! Cheers! Love it with the talk overs, you give so many top tips and nuggets of wisdom! Cheers man!
Thanks for the great vids, man! Inspired me to do some light forging for the first time to make my own wedding band.
No worries, and thank you! How did you get on, did you finish the wedding band?
I did! Turned out better than I expected for a first try. Started with some .156in (4mm) flat bar Damasteel, rounded it off and put a hole in the center and thickened it up to just over 5mm on the anvil. Then milled it down to size before a finish grind/polish with a Dremel and dipping in acid to etch.
I did end up cracking it, but was able to polish it up so you don't even notice. Turns out stainless is some tough stuff to work with! I used a little paint can forge with propane heat, so my guess is I was not able to get it hot enough to ease up some of the cold working. Really, really enjoyed working over an anvil though... more projects are certainly to follow.
Very tidy mate. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the video 🍺
Nice tidy pair of scrolling tongs!
+gnewsch Thanks again my friend
Thanks for the tip to use chalk to mark the location of the second rivet hole!
Very good. I always end up fiddling with the reins just as much as any other part. It's not as easy as one might think, to get everything fully in line and straight. I always find that the dog-leg offset to bring the reins in line the tricky bit.
Do you not use those knotted-wire cup wheels that screw straight onto the angle grinder spindle? They are an aggressive tool and clean up very efficiently, at black heat or even cold, which prevents bending and distortion when everything is true and scale cleaning is all that's left. Having said that they are potentially dangerous. Tips are: Grip the grinder like you mean it; wear a welders gauntlet on the non-trigger hand; wear a full clear face shield.
Good video anyway, very patiently explained.
+Finarfin they are troublesome, something i need to work on.
I do use a knotted wire cup brush for cleaning but after the forging is finished. as i use gas forge the scale is extremely difficult to get off with them compared to a solid fuel forge finish, hence the final clean done as hot as i can to get most of the scale off, plus it works out cheaper as less time needed with the wire cup. They dont half kick when they want, most dangerous tool in my shop, in 8 years ive been bitten once with it. glad i had loose clothing on as it wrapped enough around the spindle to stop it before it hit my skin.
Thanks for the comment my friend!
+workingwithiron Thanks for the reply.
I need to make some offset dies for the smithing magician and use those to create the offset in the reins. That's another job on the list.
I didn't know that about the difference in scale from a gas forge as opposed to a coal forge. Now I do. Thanks for explaining that.
Yes, the wire cups are a vicious tool. effective with scale and polish-up, just as effective at removing skin. Touch wood I've not had a mishap with one. a friend of mine did though. It kicked as you say and ran across his thigh and knee. It removed the denim of his jeans in a trice and left an horrendous graze on his leg. Painful just to look at it.
Thanks again.
After you put on chalk & hit w/a center punch you check to see if it is in the right spot. How can you tell where the punch is? It's covered up by the 1 that has a hole. You checked it 2 times & made an adjustment both times, I don't understand how you can tell if it needs to be moved. Thank You for your time & your video's. I'm building a coal forge & eager to hit the hot stuff in about a week, GOD willing. Your video's are well made, you do a great job of explaining how & why. I'm learning a lot from you & like many others I also appreciate what you've created.
Look through the hole and you can see the dot. If it's not in the centre you can adjust it. It's why I punch one at a time rather than both as I always have a point of reference i.e the hole. Does that make sense?
Great job! Loved the lesson!
Love your work mate nice clean finish. You make it look easy😊
+Greg Smith Cheers Mate, it all comes down to practice is all.
Good Job, scroll tongs are a bit tricky to make compared to flat bits, or even bolt tongs. You can of course scale them up or down in size depending on your needs. I have lined up the reins before I riveted and I think your way is much easier.
Thanks Spear!
Keep them coming Nathan...your slacking mate...more top quality educational videos required ASAP :-)
Hahaha i am, I am indeed!! Hope all is well with you mate.
All is good thanks, and hope with you also. Looking forward to your next great video...
Great video. Making a pair this week
Thank you for showing up in my recommended list because i really needed a set of tong all i have been using is a pair of channel locks i bought at a flea market for $3 and so i am going to try making a set of flatbit and a modified set of the flatbits and another set of bolt tongs kinda like u have used when making the hot cut hardie tool any ways i have only been forging for a year now and all i have been doing is rail road spike knifes i got the coal forge off of a good friend and the anvil off of another friend for $50 anyways thanks again for this video because i really needed some tongs.
After 1 year, reviewing this video lesson, I learned even more. I'll try to repeat this tongs, let's see what happens...
+workingwithiron Brilliant work man! As seen, there's mixed reviews but as for me, I'd much prefer you favor length and thoroughness over short and sweet. For folks wanting to jump right into blacksmithing, short videos can be misleading by convincing them that a baker's dozen hammer blows over 8 minutes will transform a railroad spike into a knife as an example...sort of how it was for me anyhow. Blacksmithing is most assuredly an art of patience.
I certainly look forward to seeing more new videos - I understand it can be a lot of work - might I make a suggestion? a video on bolt head tongs - there are a few out there but I like to have multiple sources to fill in the gaps - I have successfully botched five attempts at bolt head tongs now - though my most recent shot came close.
Lastly, my sincerest thanks for making this channel - your fire poker video was a genuine work of art that got me hooked on blacksmithing a couple years back! Keep up the fine work Nathan!
- James
+Vernon James Thanks a lot mate, means a lot with the great feedback and kind words, much appreciated!
i completely understand what you mean about shorter vids being misleading.
I have bolt tongs on the list and will be working my way through the different tongs over the coming months. so will bump them to the top of the tong list. in the meantime i will be doing a few small projects ive been asked to show from suggestions on the workingwithiron facebook page, which are new to me so could will be a learning curve and explanation of how i would approach such forging projects. So if you have any suggestions other than tongs please do let me know what you would like to see.
That was one of my favourite videos to make, the fire poker and im honoured that it got you hooked on blacksmithing,. I will do a few more of that style with the forging with the music as i enjoy watching them myself... it teaches me how to become better at forging watching my own work.
Again thank you very much for the awesome comment.
Have a great day James!
Nathan
A tong set in an hour, my best timeframe would be several days of hard slog and tearing hair out and still end with a tool that will be tossed into a corner somewhere marked as an attempt too far! Very nice work though, I hope to one day be talented enough to achieve the skill needed to get this far!
Useful stuff. subscribed. please make more. Your instructions are good.
very nicely done , thanks for the how to.
Another good and instructional video, thank you. Coincidentally I am making a pair of scroll tongs at Pete Smith's evening classes at Bluefoot Forge at the moment, I should, hopefully, finish them this Thursday.
+Nightschool Blacksmith Thank you sir! Pete is awesome, and one of the best teachers ive had, i really enjoy the way he teaches and the work he produces, such a great guy. Here is a fun fact about Pete. The anvil that you see me using in my videos is Peters old anvil. Good luck with the tongs, im sure they will turn out great!
Thanks for your reply, Pete told me you had to be able to lift the anvil into your car in order to have it - that sounds like fun too!! - Perhaps it's a magic anvil, and will only allow worthy people to lift it?
+Nightschool Blacksmith yes that wa the deal, luckily it was only a small little un but was a challenge to say the least. How did you get on making them?
Well done you for lifting it!! I know I couldn't have done it (I've ruptured a disc in my neck a few times, and do not want to ever do it again....) I didn't quite manage to finish the scrolling tongs - only riveting them to go, which I will do and also adjust them this Thursday.
Hi Nath, I finished my scroll tongs! Nowhere near as good as yours, of course, but they work, and they're mine!! Pics on my blog; www.nightschoolblacksmith.co.uk/2016/05/27/i-finshed-my-scroll-tongs/ Now making a centre punch out of EN9, gawd, you have to hit that stuff hard.... :-(
''This week 'e'll mostly be bashin hot metal wiv a 'ammer",
Fab video 👍👍
Really excellent. Keep it going. I am not a neophyte at this business.
Thank you!
Thank you for this video you take you time to show us what to do
You are welcome Shaun!
Thumbs up here!! You explain the process as good as anyone else on here, are you still making videos?
Awesome! Thanks for the thumbs up, Yes still making videos and will be quite regular from now on, will be an update soon for the channel to explain whats going on!
Don't know if you've solved this yet, but a suggestion I have is putting the spring a bit farther back from the pivot point, that way you arent crushing your spring which leads to it breaking.
those tongs look nice!they can be a bit of a chore cant they?i made one pair with forged bits and bossed with reins i welded on with my arc welder.finally i forged a complete pair of flat nib tongs with 15 inch reins a few months ago.that last straightening stage was tricky but i got it!still theyre way rough compared to your work.
Wery educationally video. Wery good skills and the tong turned up wery nice. Beautifull work indeed. Vidar from Norway
Thank you Vidar from Norway, lovely country!
1.this is the first long video that gave us tips and information all along the way.
2.u might consider giving us an a bullet point time index for each step in the text explanation
like creamhorses showed that finishing the boss started at 18:30. if we could click that number and go to the step we need more help to do, i feel that your long videos would also be short videos that generate more views. Excellent video as is --just thinking of what I'd like. .
3. As far as the spring goes, try putting the u at the bottom, about half way of the 100mm below the boss. make max distance between the top and bottom reins at that 50 mm point to allow the u to be larger.
3a maybe a two hacksaw blade u,
or
3b two blades, one collared at 0mm and 100mm on each rein so that the two arches meet at the 50 mm point . that puts only half as much compression on each blade arch and allows you to set how far apart the nibs are at rest
4. were you going to collar the spring onto the reins? that might make replacing broken springs possible I'd use a short -10 mm --cross section of 13mm inside diameter steel tubing , slide it down the reins and peen it tight .
I really like how you discuss sectioning up the bar with measurements on the anvil. Is there a good rule of thumb for how to size the locations for the different set-downs for a given size of bar stock? Great video.
They just need to be in proportion is all. the boss should be thick, nibs strong but the most important bit is behind the boss to the reigns, that should be half the parent bar thickness as that is where they will want to bend, and also rectangular in section as that is the strongest.
Sir, you inspired me to get into blacksmithing, please! will you make more videos??
That's so great to hear! Its such a good journey to go on. I'm planning on getting more done soon but struggling with time at the moment but there will be one soon.
awesome! that's inspiring, I'll start to make stuff in a month or so, and will absolutely send you a pic of my first project, btw, any suggestion?
Brilliant,i subbed and gave you a thumb up!!
Just finished my brake drum forge,and need tongs,and up came your vid.
You did mention you have made a vid of flat tongs,so i will be searching that as my first project.
Is that a west country accent?
Another great video. These seem to be quite a lot more technical than the other tongs you made. Gonna be a while before I can make these. 😀
Talent! Really good video. Thanks🤘
Do some more videos . Love you're work
Would if i could Rob but im busy at the moment and skint so no can do for a while, Unless people wanna start paying me to then that would be great lol, cheers man means a lot!
Well explained, my new year challenge. Thanks again an Healthy Happy 2024
Hello Mate.
Thanks for a great video.
I don't normally watch longer videos bit you did a good job keeping it interesting and informitive.
My question: What kind of wire brush do you use and where can I buy one?
I've got a few normal ones but I need a stiffer bristled wooden bodied brush like yours.
Thanks for your input..
Hiya mate, thanks for the kind words. They go by the name, Butchers Block Brush. Sold for scraping meat off of bones. Look for the highest number of rows of bristles and the denser packed bristles. Farrier supplies usually sell them or food industry, look to pay around £20 gbp plus for a good one. Do not cheap out on this tool. And when you find a good supply buy more as they seem to come in waves of good ones. Hope that helps.
Great job. Good advices!
Loved it! The whole thing.
Thanks Dave! Not too long for you?
i hate the ten minute limit youtube wants u to keep. I like the content
I liked the spring idea, too bad it didn't work at that point. Do you think it was tempered too hard or too soft? Also what kind of spring steel was it? I have wondered if skid banding might work.
Thanks for the great information.
+workingwithiron Beginner here. Appreciate the vids. They really help me get the concept down before I ruin my first 5 tries. Question though - I brush my products up, but they still look like crap. I'm not sure if I'm burning the iron, or just not doing enough brushing? How do you make the tongs look like that?
2 primary issues normally. 1.) Burning the steel slightly. Oftentimes beginning blacksmiths get the steel white hot and sparking. Burnt steel is burnt, the texture is bad, the structure is bad, and oftentimes it has hard chunks that won't even grind down easily.
2.) Forge finish. When you are forging the hammer blows should overlap and they should leave a smooth finish. If it doesn't you might be hitting too hard, too erratically, or your hammer isn't dressed properly for your skill level. Watch the results as you forge, adjust as you are working to get the finish you want. Planishing, the process of smoothing the material with light hammer blows at a dull or low heat helps to get things looking nice. You can also clean the scale off the anvil, and brush the piece before hitting it. You get more texture if you forge the scale into the piece, then it falls out and leaves a cavity. Sweep the anvil on the way back to the fire, Not after you pull the piece out of the fire. When the iron is hot, you want to brush the worst of the chunky scale off Quickly, and get on to real work! Strike while the iron is hot...
So fire/heat control, hammer control, and clean habits should give you a better finish. Hope that helps, and I hope you are still smithing...
Picked up so many tips. Thank You for doing this!
thank you. cleaner work then other tong vids
Excelente video , saludos cordiales de Bs. As. Argentina !!!
good explinations..... lacking on many other channels.
Means a lot Scott, Thank you!
They look great!