Finally forged my first decent pair of tongs after 8 months of awful ones
I started smithing last spring in my garage in Boise with a cheap rivet forge and a chunk of railroad track. Every pair of tongs I made before this week either had jaws that wouldn't grip or reins so short I could barely hold hot steel. Last month I switched to a proper set of bolt tongs and started drawing the reins out first instead of last, which sounds backwards but it worked. Yesterday I pulled a pair out of the quench that actually close flat and hold a 1 inch square bar tight. My neighbor who welds came over and said they looked store bought, which honestly made my whole week. Now I just need to get the boss the right shape so they don't slip sideways when I twist. How many pairs did it take you all before the jaws lined up right?