Like any tool, tongs take a fair share of abuse from repeated daily use.
From red-hot forge to quench bucket, your tongs are asked to withstand a lot of stress. One simple way to decrease the stress on your tongs is how you store them while at the anvil.
Many farriers often rest them on the horn of the anvil (Figure 1). This can cause the heat from the horn and subsequent rubbing when working on a shoe to prematurely wear the spacing between the jaws, loosening their grip. Furthermore, the tongs can have a tendency to bounce off the horn and fall on the ground due to the concussion of the anvil while working.
Admittedly, I used to have this happen often, until I learned from my good friend Mike Poe, CJF, AWCF, a method to store my tongs at the anvil for easy access while working shoes.
You will need the following (Figure 2):
- A length of 2-inch steel pipe (whatever length will allow for your tong reins to stick out for you to reach)
- A scrap piece of bar stock
- A welder
- And a welding helmet.
Typical storage while working on shoes.
Supplies needed.
Weld the scrap piece of steel to one end of the pipe to serve as a stop for the tongs to rest on while stored (Figure 3).
Weld the pipe to your anvil stand at a place that’s convenient and allows you to still use the horn of your anvil (Figure 4).
Welding the stop.
Improved storage method.
Enjoy a new simple and efficient method to store tongs at the anvil.
