Can we talk about how long it takes to hand forge a simple set of tongs?

I spent like 4 hours yesterday trying to forge a basic pair of bolt tongs from 3/8 inch round stock. It was supposed to be a quick project but I kept messing up the rivet hole alignment and had to reheat like 6 times. Found out when I looked it up later that a lot of old timers on the IFI forum say beginners should expect to ruin 3 or 4 pairs before they get one right. That made me feel a bit better honestly. Anyone else have a simple project that kicked their butt way harder than expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_kelly14d ago

Yeah the rivet alignment got me too. I switched to drilling them.

emma_murray4913d ago

Drilling them just makes it so much faster though right?