Pliers & Similar Tools
Healey Journal
Pliers- Another indispensible requirement for every toolbox. Useful for grasping all sorts of things more firmly than my Casper Milquetoast physique generally allows. Also useful for holding hot things, cold things, wet things, oddly shaped things, slippery things and .... stuff. Every tool box should have small, medium and large ones and usually does eventually. A pair with insulated handles is particularly useful for electrical work, as are needle nosed pliers for small items or applications with limited clearance.
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Standard Pliers. Well, sort of.... The ones shown on the left (I've always heard them called just "pliers" or, at most, slip-joint pliers) are "standard" in the USA, widely available and present in every tool kit (and kitchen) for all the little jobs that always need you to get a grip. But these ones on the right are BRITISH standard pliers. They do the same sorts of things, in the same way (more-or-less) but are just not quite as adjustable as is the American version. Oddly enough, the American version seems to be completely unknown (outside of Snap-On, and as an American company they don't really count) in the UK. I've no idea why this international discrepancy in tool design exists. I've not really encountered anything like it with any of the other tools used... I wonder why.
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Adjustable pliers. In the USA these are called Channel-Lock (a brand name), while in the UK these are generally called Water Pump Pliers. The great advantage of these is their ability to grip a larger diameter nut, bolt or shaft with jaws having a moveable pivot point. Even then, their attraction is further increased by their longer handles that alow a much strong grip to be exerted on said nut, bolt, shaft or other victim. Another, more minor attraction is that the pliers head is offset slightly from straight-on so that it may fit in some tight places where the standard and needle nose pliers don't have the direct access they require- not that this happens that often but on the rare occasions it does its nice to be able to cope.
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Another virtually essential tool ideal for holding nuts, bolts, screws and virtually everything else that you'd use regular pliers on except it fits places the others are too large or too short to reach. Its easy to justify having four- a small, light duty pair suitable for electrical work, a standard pair and a heavy duty pair used for larger nuts and bolts (and one of those should have a wire cutting capability for functionality) and then an extra long pair. The ones with a built in wire sutting capability are very useful BUT that is located close to the "pivot" where the grip on the item held would be strongest- so that feature compromises the ability to grip things firmly.
Wire Cutters & Strippers
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Not really pliers but closely related. Wire cutters. These could be cleaned up a bit, but they work well and cut wire as needed. Larger ones for thicker wire. Of course using these for cutting other things does rather reduce their effectiveness when next used as intended. Every tool box should have one, or two. Also related (just) are wire strippers and crimping pliers for electrical connectors. The ones shown are all much the same. They can cut wire and offer a variety of differntly sized holes to allow insulation to be cut and pulled off leaving the wire beneath untouched, in theory. These can be used on the differently sized connectors to crimp them tightly to the wire. There is some controversy about whether crimped connectors or soldered ones are best, but it seems the general consensus is that crimping is less likely to cause heat-hardening and later breaks to the wires as they flex. At the top of the picture to the right is a specialist wire stripping tool. Neat, but hardly essential. In fact, with due care a pair of wire cutters can adequately do all these jobs.
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An essential tool (Vise-Grip too is a brand name) useful for all those jobs for which a superhuman grip is required of we ninety-eight pound weaklings. Also very useful for holding things together while welding, letting glue set, playing with other components or just general laziness.... One of the more robust tools built-obviously meant to be abused.... Both regular and long-nosed versions are shown, and similar tools used in welding are shown in that section. Several sizes are available. Its a good idea to lightly oil the tightening screw threads every year or so....
Circlip Pliers
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These are very useful tools for installing and removing the circlips used to retain various gears, bearings and other components on shafts. Both of the circlip pliers shown are useful for installing and removing inner and outer circlips. They both have moveable pivots that allow them to be set up one way so that squeezing them opens outer circlips, and may then be changed to allow inner circlips to similarly easily be dealt with. The top one is the more complex, with a cross-bar that holds the handle straight one way for inner circlips, and that may then be loosened and attached to the other handle to alter the pivot point to allow outer circlips to be manipulated. This is a bit fiddly and complex, and the tool feels a little less reliable and strong. The lower one shown is a more effective and much simpler design. With it, the plier's head is quite broad, having two holes for the pivot. In the first the jaws move towards one another when the handle is squeezed, in the other the jaws swap sides, so a squeeze then moves them apart. A neat and simple solution, faster and easier than the other. Of course, rather than using the right tool or making these adjustments, the pliers could be pulled apart rather than squeezed together to achieve the desired effect.....
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Advertized as a wonder tool, with multi-functionality that would eliminate any need for other tools in my welding activities. Or so it purported ... this was rather a disappointment, primarily because I found that the wire cutting capability wasn't very good. Otherwise it worked OK, but the more frequent need to clip MIG wire made that function most important and these pliers simply weren't very effective for that. I use some standard wire cutters and leave these in the tool box until I need to change a shroud or whatever, once in a while... I'd say not to bother with it....
Copyright© 2005 James M. Wilson All rights reserved.