Bladesmith tongs from Harbor Freight Oil Filter Wrench

I made a set of tongs out of a Harbor Freight Oil Filter Wrench and some scrap steel angle iron and flat bar. First, I filled in the slip joint with a TIG welder. Now it functions more like simple pliers. Then I heated up the ends of the tongs to bent them to further close the gap, leaving enough room to grab a ¼" x 2" farrier's rasp file. I use these worn out rusted files as tool steel to repurpose and forge them into knives and other cutting tools.

Then I welded to pieces of 1" angle iron together to form a U-shaped channel that was just wide enough to accept a 2" rasp. Next I cut piece of the channel and welded it to the end of the modified oil filter wrench. Next,I cut a 1" length of 2" flat stock and welded it to the opposing end of the modified wrench. Once done, I checked the fit and grasping angle. Although it can grab a wide array of thicknesses...it is best suited for ¼"x2" farrier files.


Attachment 6274Attachment 6275Attachment 6276

Thanks DocChuck! We've added your Bladesmith's Tongs to our Forging and Casting and Knife Making categories, as well as to your builder page: DocChuck's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-bladesmith-s-tongs"><img src="https://www.homemadetools.net/uploads/236712/homemade-bladesmith-s-tongs.jpeg" /></a></div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-bladesmith-s-tongs">Bladesmith's Tongs</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/DocChuck">DocChuck</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/tongs">tongs</a></div> </div> </div> </div>