How to Make Log Tongs
Even with all the convenience of gas, heating oil and electrical heaters, some activities call for a wood fire. Whether cooking, camping or enjoying an old-fashioned fire at home, proper handling of wood can help keep your activity safe. Log tongs can help with lifting logs to assemble fires, add to fires or adjust logs while the fire burns. With some basic materials and metalworking techniques you can make your own log tongs suitable for a variety of applications.
Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses
- 6-foot 1-inch-by-1/4-inch flat aluminum bar
- Chop saw
- Variable speed router
- Carbide router bit
- Drill press
- Carbide drill bit
- Bolt
- Wing nut
Instructions
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1
Put on safety glasses.
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2
Cut a 6-foot 1/4-inch-by-1-inch flat aluminum bar in half with a chop saw.
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3
Cut a "V" shape starting 1 inch from the ends of both aluminum bars with a variable speed router and carbide bit. Cut 1/2 inch into the bars at approximately 45 degrees, forming one of the "legs" of the "V" shapes. Then cut a line starting 3 inches down the bar ending at the end point of the first "leg" of the "V" shape.
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4
Drill a hole 1 foot from the cut ends of both aluminum bars using a drill press and carbide bit approximately the size of the bolt you wish to use.
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5
Stack the bars on top of one another so the ends with the "V" shapes sit on top of one another and the open end of the "V" shapes point outward.
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6
Align the holes in each bar and pass the nut through.
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7
Screw the wing nut onto the bolt from the opposite side of the bars. Tighten the nut securely enough to keep the bars together but still allow the tongs to open and close.
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References
- Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Lifesize/Getty Images
