=91. Tongs.=—As tongs are among the most important tools and quite difficult to make, they will be taken up in this chapter on tool making.
The weakest places in a pair of tongs are where the shoulders or offsets are formed for the jaws and handles. These places should be reënforced by fillets as large as the usefulness and appearance of the tongs will permit; they should never be made sharp and square, unless their construction demands it.
All tongs for general blacksmithing can be forged properly with the hand hammer and the use of such tools as the top fuller, the swages, and the round-edged set hammer. Some assistance with a light sledge will be necessary. The use of such tools as a square-edged set or the file for forming shoulders or fillets is very objectionable, especially in the hands of unskilled workmen. If the two parts do not seem to fit as they should, due to the fillets which are present, they will generally adjust themselves when they are riveted together, heated, and worked freely.
=92. Heavy Flat Tongs.=—Fig. 74. Fullering, forging, swaging, punching, and riveting. Material: 15 inches of 7/8-inch square mild steel.
Mark the center of the 15-inch length with a hardy or cold chisel. Form two depressions 3/8 inch deep, with a top fuller, one 2 inches from the end at _a_, the other 3 inches from the same end but on the opposite side. Form a third depression to the same depth, but at an angle of 45 degrees, starting from the bottom of the first one, and on the side indicated by the broken line, as at _b_. Draw the 2-inch end to 1 × 1/2 inch from _a_, tapering to 1 × 3/8 inch at the end. This portion forms one jaw, as shown at _c_. Now flatten out about 2 inches of the metal from the beveled depression _b_ toward the center mark, to 9/16 inch thick, allowing the metal to spread as wide as possible. This should then be forged and formed into shape for the joint _d_, and the fuller again placed in the second depression to make the dimension there 5/8 inch, as shown at _d_.
[Illustration: FIG. 74.—STEPS IN MAKING HEAVY FLAT TONGS.]
Forge the other end in the same manner, exerting due care to have all dimensions correspond; cut the stock in two at the center. Draw out the heavy ends for the handles with the power hammer or with some assistance from a sledge. They should be roughly forged at first with an allowance for finishing as follows: Beginning at the joint, use the top and bottom swages on the outer edges through the greatest width, and swage to 5/8 × 1/2 inch. This swaging should be continued toward the end to form the handle. By using the flatter during the swaging, the sides may be kept straight, smooth, and slightly tapering to a round section. Make the end 3/8 inch in diameter for a length of 3 inches. Sketch _F_ shows one side of a pair of tongs drawn and swaged.