Talk: Make Green-Wood Tongs

Purpose

Discussion for improving the tongs article (wood selection breadth, hinge sizing, and lifespan expectations in hot work).

Open questions

• Should the heat-assisted bend be the primary instruction rather than optional, to reduce snap failures for beginners?
• Is an egg-sized stone the right standard grip test, or should it scale with intended use (pot vs prill)?

Proposed improvements

• Add a variant with a carved wooden spacer instead of a cordage stop-band (no cordage dependency).
• Cross-link from future crucible/casting articles.

Decisions

• Tongs are Level 1 (need a stone flake to shave the hinge); treated as a consumable tool that is remade rather than maintained.