Made some logging tongs

[Sisu]

I just renovated an old sugarshack into a blacksmith shop. I was able to find some time to fire up the forge. My Saturday project was a set of logging tongs. They work pretty good, but I am going to make another set that will handle larger logs.

Any other metal beaters here?

 

[rustynut]

now thats a fun looking shed !
rn

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Sort of... I don't have enough experience to do much, but I play around a bit with it.

The tongs look great!

Matt

 

[sedanman]

I do more of the cut and weld type fabrication myself. Very nice job on the tongs.

 

[Jags]

Is "sugarshack" some kind of code word for "love shack" :cheese: anyways......

Nice work on the tongs. Does it seem to get plenty of pressure with your pivot points laid so close?? Just wondering, because most I see have longer bars making up the scissor portion. Maybe thats to extend the open/close size...dunno. Again - nice work.

 

[Sisu]

Is "sugarshack" some kind of code word for "love shack" :cheese: anyways......

Nice work on the tongs. Does it seem to get plenty of pressure with your pivot points laid so close?? Just wondering, because most I see have longer bars making up the scissor portion. Maybe thats to extend the open/close size...dunno. Again - nice work.

Thanks for the compliment! The only loving going on in this shack is between the raccoons looking for a spot to winter!

Like you said, the length of the pivot points determines the width of how open the tongs will get (along with the actual length of the tongs themselves). The teeth are angled upwards to facilitate the bite into the log. The weight of the log, along with force applied via the handle determine the pressure. Heavier the log, the more pressure is applied.

In this set-up, there is more than enough pressure applied to hand carry a log. Once the teeth bite, the log isn't getting out.

This was the first set I have made. I am in the process of making a larger set that will handle larger logs, applying the techniques I learned forging this set. However, I am a weekend warrior at this and there never seems to be enough time!

 

[Dune]

Hey Sisu, Welcome to the forum! I am a full time smith in Mass down in U.S. Is that a Finnish name? I am Norge.

I also post at iforgeiron.com under the name Arftist. Hope to see you there.

 

[Sisu]

Hey Sisu, Welcome to the forum! I am a full time smith in Mass down in U.S. Is that a Finnish name? I am Norge.

I also post at iforgeiron.com under the name Arftist. Hope to see you there.

Nice to meet you Dune. Sisu is my handle, but yes it is Finnish and I am a Finlander from both my parents. I have posted on Don Fogg's bladesmith forum but I will have to check out iforgeiron.com!

I am a weekend warrior and strictly amateur. You being a full time smith have a wealth of knowledge that I would love to tap into. On these tongs, I didn't anneal the works, and harden and temper. Would you recommend that it be done to remove any stresses etc?

 

[Dune]

Depends. What did you make them out of? If they are mild steel or A-36, they should be fine if they are sized properly and not overstressed by a load. If tool steel, again it depends on just what steel. Many modern steels are strong and tough "as forged", others may be accidentaly overhardened in air or by quenching while forging. I would be more concerned about having too much hardness and breaking them. If they are too soft and bend, you can always fix the bend and then harden and temper. I would temper to a spring hardness, keep them from bending or breaking that way. If you can figure out the carbon content of the steel, either by knowing what the metal was designed for originaly or from manufacturers specs or by spark testing, then I can tell you a temper color to try.

As far as anealing, anealing is done to soften steel that is in a hardened state so that it can be machined by methods other than abrasives such as drilling and sawing. Generaly anealing steel before forging is not required, as it will surpass anealing temp (critical temperature) in the forge anyway, and be worked in a plastic state. Normalizing to remove forged stresses may be required of some of the higher alloy steels.
Normalizing is similar to anealing and may be what you are refering to.

 

[Sisu]

Depends. What did you make them out of? If they are mild steel or A-36, they should be fine if they are sized properly and not overstressed by a load. If tool steel, again it depends on just what steel. Many modern steels are strong and tough "as forged", others may be accidentaly overhardened in air or by quenching while forging. I would be more concerned about having too much hardness and breaking them. If they are too soft and bend, you can always fix the bend and then harden and temper. I would temper to a spring hardness, keep them from bending or breaking that way. If you can figure out the carbon content of the steel, either by knowing what the metal was designed for originaly or from manufacturers specs or by spark testing, then I can tell you a temper color to try.

As far as anealing, anealing is done to soften steel that is in a hardened state so that it can be machined by methods other than abrasives such as drilling and sawing. Generaly anealing steel before forging is not required, as it will surpass anealing temp (critical temperature) in the forge anyway, and be worked in a plastic state. Normalizing to remove forged stresses may be required of some of the higher alloy steels.
Normalizing is similar to anealing and may be what you are refering to.

They were made from SPS which I believe is a tool steel. Yeah I meant "normalizing". See what I mean about being an amateur!

I was just wondering if the same principals apply as with knife blades (ie. normalizing, hardening, and then tempering). They seem to be fine as is, for hand pulling. If I were to make some to be used with mechanical power, then I would probably explore that route. Have you made many logging tools?

 

[Dune]

No, no logging done around here. I live on a sand bar. (see screen name) I am an artist-blacksmith, so when I make tools they are for my own use at the forge. Now and then I make a tool for a truck mechanic or another blacksmith, but most of my work is architectural or sculpture. As a hobby, I build machines, mostly metal working, but I just finnished an electric logsplitter and my next bucket list project that finaly got to the top of the list is a portable bandsaw-sawmill. It has been on the list for almost thirty years, I have been collecting parts for almost that long, and now my son is interested and capable of helping.

As to your metal question, yes the procedure is the same for tools as for knives, only the bladesmith has a much harder job, due to the shape and thickness of the blade. Very seldom do I even bother normalizing, most of the tools I make don't need it. In fact, most forge tools (and many other tools) can be hardened and tempered in the same heat. Take a chisel for example. Stone, metal cutting or wood chisels all want a hard tip and a soft struck end. Therefore the tip is quenched in whatever medium is apropriate, quickly shined, and then the temper color desired is allowed to run down fron the still hot handle. Come over to iforgeiron.com. Some of the best metalsmiths in the world post there. Grant Sarver, Mark Aspery, Brian Braseal, Jerry Frost, to name just a very few. Also, there is a huge bladesmith forum there.