Found a trick for fixing bent tongs at a hammer-in in Ohio

I was at a hammer-in near Columbus last spring and watched an old timer fix a badly bent pair of tongs in about 2 minutes. He heated the bend area to a dull red, then tapped it straight on the anvil horn while the metal was still hot. I tried it myself on a pair I had been struggling with for weeks, and it worked way better than trying to cold hammer them. Has anyone else used this method for realigning tongs?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren6521mo ago

Whoa there, slow down. Is fixing bent tongs really that big of a deal? I mean yeah, I get that they're annoying when they're tweaked, but struggling with a pair for weeks sounds like a lot. I've got a couple pairs that are a little bit off and I just kinda live with it. They still grab stuff, they just don't look pretty. The hot tap method is solid for sure, don't get me wrong, I've done it on spring fullers before. But for tongs that are just a little banana shaped, I don't know. Seems like you could just use them a bit more and they'd straighten out on their own from the heat and hammering. But hey, if you're the type that needs your tongs to be laser straight, then yeah, this trick works good.

spencer6641mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, I get what you're saying @wren652, but honestly even a slight banana bend can mess with your grip on heavier stock after a while, and the heat from use won't always fix it if the steel's already set. I've had pairs that just got worse over time, so a quick tap while hot saves me the headache.