A guy at the Tacoma hammer-in said my tong reins were too thin

He pointed out that my 1/4 inch reins on my wolf jaw tongs were flexing too much when I was drawing out a big piece of 1.5 inch round stock. I switched to making them from 3/8 inch stock and the control is way better now. Has anyone else had a tool fail because a part was just a bit too skinny?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_hill705d agoMost Upvoted

That's a classic lesson right there. Been there myself with a set of scrolling tongs. You don't realize how much that little bit of flex is working against you until you beef it up. It's never the main part that fails, it's always the part you thought was strong enough. Good on you for fixing it.

anthony_lane555d ago

Wait, hold on. That flex isn't just working against you. It's actually dangerous. A thin rein can snap back if it bends too far, or just let the stock twist right out of the jaws. It's not about control, it's about safety. That extra 1/8 inch makes all the difference before something gives way and sends hot steel flying. Glad you fixed it.