#4 - Cut and weld tongs

 

Cut And Weld Tongs 

The Next set of tongs  is a big more complicated, but you only need 2 things new.
I really like them, becasue you can make a set of jaw out of angle iron, and have a great set for holdtin round and square stock (you need one pair for each diameter of stock).

For this set you need a Welder (or access to a buddy who welds) and a way to cut metal...

Personally for a  new guys starting on the cheap...i like  4" or 4.5" grinder at Harbor Freight, plus a pack of assorted disks (including cutting disks) can be had on sale for around $25. that's a hard price to beat. The 4" grinders used to be the cheapest, but lately it's the 4.5" ones.. just pick one size and stick with it... I have 3 of the same size,  one with a grinding disk, one with a sanding flap wheel and one with a cutting disk so I don't have to change them out while working.

Grinder:
4.5 in grinder

and the pack of assorted disks

Asst. Disk set

On sale all of that can be had for under $25.

But you can totally so this with a Hand Hacksaw, and a Drill (plus access to a welder)

Next, you need to cut two parallelograms out of bar stock, drill a hole in the center for the rivet.. this is the "joint" of your tongs.(See pic below)


 Next weld on reigns( handles)  on onside, at the corner sticking out,
and Jaws (the part that holds the metal). on the opposite site. You make the two identical... when you flip and rivet everything works out even though it feels weird to make 2 of the same thing the first time....... (See pic below)

Remember you make two identical, the rotation and flip handles the symmetry.

The jaws can be made any shape you want flat, pipe, angle iron... super easy if you have a welder

If you make the flat jaws in the diagram below, it's super easy to heat them up, put the new flat stock you want in the jaws and hammer it till it fits tightly...they look odd all bent together then flat, but they work ok.. the heavier the stuff you want to forge, the heavier the tongs you need.Make a couple light ones (1/8 stock for joint & jaws) to get you started. then make what you need, start practicing the forged ones too.. but this gets you started.

Ignore all the text below, it didn't' scale, it's basically what i said here.

 Here are several style the guy on ebay used to make...to hold different stock...

  Including V-bit (though I just welded my angle iron directly to the parallelogram)

Once you've made the ez twist tongs in my previous post, try these...

Make a set of jaws as before using the twist method previously mentioned or by forging them...., and weld on some more comfortable round reigns (handles)

Another twist is to cut pieces off flat barstock, and weld on whatever jaws you want, and rivet them up.

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