What are the best locking pliers?
Types of Locking Pliers
- Straight jaw locking plier. With straight jaw pliers, you can grip flat surfaces with ease. ...
- Curved jaw locking plier. Curved jaw pliers, unsurprisingly, have curved jaws with serrated teeth and are ideal for gripping onto cylindrical objects that can otherwise be quite hard to grip.
- Needle nose locking plier. ...
- C-Clamp jaw locking plier. ...
What are the advantages of locking pliers?
The Best Locking Pliers (Review & Buying Guide) in 2020
- Benefits of Using Locking Pliers. There are several benefits to using locking pliers over traditional pliers. ...
- Jaw Functionality Of Locking Pliers. The jaws are the part of the locking pliers that actually hold on to the item that you want to hold in position.
- Best Locking Pliers FAQ: Q: What are locking pliers? ...
Do it best locking pliers?
The best locking pliers allow for single-hand operation, freeing up one hand to deal with other important aspects of a task. The pliers can be easily adjusted and released with one hand, which also frees up space in the given work area. Using locking pliers is safer than other options.
How to maximize your locking pliers?
To effectively use your vise grip locking pliers all you need to do is follow these steps:
- The first step is to open the pliers. ...
- Now place the jaws of the pliers around the object you want to turn, move, or hold.
- Squeeze the handles tightly together so that the jaws close tightly around the object. ...
What is another common name for adjustable locking pliers?
Locking Pliers These adjustable pliers are designed to be used as a hand-held vice or clamp that locks firmly onto a workpiece. Also called plier wrenches, lever-wrench pliers, and by the proprietary name Vicegrips, they have a double-lever action.
Is locking a type of pliers?
Locking pliers can be used for a variety of jobs, from the smallest pinch of a hose to larger projects that require an extra pair of grippers. Locking pliers come in many sizes, so you can choose the right one for your needs. Toolbox essential.
What are vise grip pliers used for?
Vise-grip pliers have a myriad of uses beyond removing broken screws and loosening frozen nuts. You can use them to clamp small things in place, to remove stripped or broken screws and even to open a zipper when the pull breaks off.
Why are mole grips so called?
In 1947, Thomas Coughtrie went to work for the Birmingham engineering company, M K Mole and Son, and, after the death of the joint managing directors and Mole brothers, became the managing director. In the 1950s Thomas Coughtrie patented his own version of the locking pliers and called them 'Mole grips'.
What are the common types of pliers are?
Types of PliersWater-Pump Pliers (Tongue-and-Groove Pliers) Water-pump pliers (also known as tongue-and-groove pliers) operate on the same principles as the slip joints. ... Locking Pliers. ... Linesman's Pliers. ... Cutting Pliers. ... Wire Strippers. ... Fencing Pliers.
What are cutting pliers called?
Diagonal pliers (or wire cutters or diagonal cutting pliers or diagonal cutters or side cutters or dikes or Nippy cutter) are pliers intended for the cutting of wire (they are generally not used to grab or turn anything).
What is another name for vice grips?
Locking pliersLocking pliers (also called Vise-Grips, a vice grip, or a Mole wrench) are pliers that can be locked into position, using an "over-center" cam action.
Are channel locks pliers?
Channel lock pliers, named after the American company that produces them – Channellock -- are used for grabbing and pinching things. They're made from sturdy materials such as high-carbon steel, and their gripping jaws provide a strong grip on an object.
What is the difference between vice grip and wrench?
Like: a vise grip uses the principle of the lever and the principle of wedging and the pipe wrench uses the principle of a squashing rhombus, with sharp bitey teeth and levering and wedging to grab a pipe in one direction and release in the other.
What are Mole grips called?
Mole grips, also known as 'locking pliers', are a hand tool with adjustable jaws which can be locked into place around an object to hold it firmly. It is the locking feature that makes Mole grips different from ordinary pliers, which have to be held closed by the user.
What does vice grips look like?
Common vice grips look like a heavy-duty set of pliers. Sometimes called mole grips, or locking pliers; a set of different sizes and types of this tool is a valuable addition to anyone's toolbox.
How do robo grip pliers work?
0:111:24The Robo grip pliers are self adjusting pliers you can use one-handed. The design ingeniously hugsMoreThe Robo grip pliers are self adjusting pliers you can use one-handed. The design ingeniously hugs the thing you're grabbing. So that pressure is better distributed all around.
What is the mechanism of locking pliers?
The principal mechanism of locking pliers is the over-centre clamp. When the pliers are closed on an object, the mechanism passes through a point of tightest clamping and as the handle levers are closed further, the jaws release slightly. The inherent flexibility of the pliers maintains a spring pressure on the jaws such that the handle needs to be pulled open to release the clamping pressure. Thus the pliers will safely remain clamped on the object without requiring continuous pressure on the handle levers.
What is a locking plier?
Locking pliers being used as a substitute knob on an espresso machine. The bolt is used to set the jaws to a size slightly smaller than what is to be gripped. The jaws are then closed on the gripped object. Because of the lever action the jaws move only slightly but with much force. Locking pliers have four advantages:
What is the purpose of a lever on a locking plier?
One side of the handle of locking pliers includes a bolt that is used to adjust the spacing of the jaws, while the other side (especially in larger models) often includes a lever to push the two sides of the handles apart to unlock the pliers. "Mole" and "Vise-Grip" are trade names of different brands of locking pliers, yet mechanics and do-it-yourself hobbyists and craftspeople generically refer to locking pliers as "Vise-Grips" in the US, and "Mole grips" in the UK. In Ireland the tool is known as a "vice grip".
When were locking pliers invented?
The first locking pliers, named Vise-Grips, were invented by William S. Petersen in De Witt, Nebraska in 1924. In 1955 "Mole wrenches" were developed by Thomas Coughtrie (1917–2008), who was at that time managing director of M. K. Mole and Son.
Where were Mole wrenches made?
K. Mole and Son. The wrenches were manufactured in Newport, Wales, just off the M4, near to the Brynglas Tunnels; travelling west on the motorway, the Mole sign was visible immediately before entering the tunnels.
What is a plier in Ireland?
In Ireland the tool is known as a "vice grip". Locking pliers are available in many different configurations, such as needle-nose locking pliers, locking wrenches, locking clamps and various shapes to fix metal parts for welding. They also come in many sizes.
Do pliers need to be pulled open?
The inherent flexibility of the pliers maintains a spring pressure on the jaws such that the handle needs to be pulled open to release the clamping pressure. Thus the pliers will safely remain clamped on the object without requiring continuous pressure on the handle levers.
What is an eyelet plier?
The eyelets plier enables the cloth to be embellished with laces and drawstrings. A ring and a lengthy hub should be removed from these holes. It’s used in tailoring, cobbling, and other textile-related businesses. Even though some merely feature a wheel on the top surface or upper jaw with different dye tips, new eyelet pliers are made of changeable dies to be there for both spasms and piercing.
What is a hose clamp plier?
Hose clamp pliers are designed to squeeze the hose and spring clamp, ensuring that the joint is secure. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. It also is known as radiator hose pliers and spring clamp pliers. Every jaw of this plier seems to have a peg-shaped tooth that pinches the clamp. Some models used the hose directly.
What is a piler used for?
For cutting reasons, one side of the jaw is sharp. These pilers can be used for a variety of tasks, including cutting cables, turning nails, and other tiny tasks. Insulated handles are used on electrical piling. A pair of pliers should never be used to cut an extremely hard metal since the edge will be ruined. Parallel slots are constructed on the inside of the door for a solid grasp of jobs.
What is tongue and groove pliers?
Tongue and groove pliers are a form of movable pliers with a jagged groove and an upper handle that allows the lower jaw to be locked in a variety of settings. This tool’s jaws make it ideal for twisting nuts and bolts. Channel locks is another name for it.
What is a crimping plier?
Crimping pliers are used as nutcrackers and have a fulcrum at the end. The wires are usually fed into the jaw jack first, followed by the connector. Crimping tools is another name for it. When you press the handle, the plastic coating is damaged and deformed, causing them to cling together and allow data to travel through. In networking and telecommunications, they’re widely used.
What are the jaws of pliers?
The jaws of these pliers are designed to lock in position, making them useful for snatching screws and bolts. This tool comes in a number of jaw sizes, allowing you to select the design that best meets your needs. Vise-Grips is another name for them.
What is a diagonal plier?
The angled edge on the jaws of diagonal pliers is designed to cut through the thick wire. They’re quite durable and can even be used to trim nails. As a result, they’re helpful in carpentry and electrical operations. Wire cutter, the side-cutting plier, flush cut plier, and diagonal cutting plier is some of the other names for it.
What is the best needle nose vise grip?
Rated the best needle nose vise grips on Amazon, these Irwin vise-grip locking pliers are perfect for jobs that require accuracy in narrow, hard-to-reach areas. The 1.5-inch long nose is made of steel, has a jaw capacity of 1 5/8-inch, and the hardened teeth ensure a powerful grip, even on the smallest materials.
What is a locking plier made of?
Key features to watch for when on the hunt for locking pliers are making sure the tool, and its jaws in particular, is made from good quality and durable materials such as high-grade steel, or chrome vanadium steel, or are at least nickel-plated to protect against rust and corrosion.
What is a straight jaw plier?
These pliers are good for handling items that you can’t touch with your bare hands, such as hot metal, or a greasy tool that only serrated jaws will be able to clamp onto.
How much do locking pliers cost?
Other considerations are whether you'd like to find one perfect set of locking pliers, or if a 5- or 3-piece locking pliers set would be best to have around in case you need them. Budget could also be of concern but good locking pliers shouldn't set you back more than $20-$30, and, in fact, there's a great pair on our list for just $10.
What is a mole grip?
Also known as a mole grip or a vise grip (the first-ever trademarked Vise-Grips tools were invented in 1924 in Nebraska), these tools’ serrated jaws can clamp down on an object and grip it securely with pressure, thus staying in place for you to perform any necessary task, such as holding metal materials together during welding, hands-free.
What are needle nose pliers good for?
The thin jaws on these needle nose pliers also make them good for gripping smaller metal items like staples and nails and also getting into tight spaces.
What is an Astro pneumatic plier?
For bigger jobs, this durable Astro pneumatic locking plier is a must for professional use. It features serrated, hardened teeth that deliver a vise grip on any material, and the almost foot-long slide hammer provides enough pull to remove even the toughest screws. The slide hammer on this grip tool can also be removed for use as regular vise grip locking pliers.
How do slip joint pliers work?
Like most pliers, they are operated by opening and closing the handles, which produces an opening and closing action of the jaws. But slip-joint pliers have the added advantage of an adjustable pivot point, which allows the two parts of the jaws to be shifted with respect to one another.
Why do electricians use jaws?
An electrician relies upon the jaws for twisting together wires into a cone-shaped knot that is then protected by a plastic insulator called a wire nut. Immediately behind the jaws are a pair of side cutters, designed for cutting wire. Using them to cut nails will dull them quickly.
What is compound lever action?
The compound lever action of the tool means that the jaws can apply tremendous force. Advertisement. Locking pliers are manufactured in several different configurations and sizes ( view example on Amazon ). Most have serrated, straight jaws, and are found in lengths ranging from four to twelve inches.
What is a small scale electrician's plier?
Smaller in scale than linesman’s pliers, the needle-nose pliers are particularly well suited to working with wire in confined spaces like electrical boxes, though they are also useful for bending and holding metal fittings. Their jaws taper to a point, and at the nose have serrations on the gripping surface. At the throat of the tool near the pivot there is a side cutter.
What is an adjustable plier?
These adjustable pliers are designed to be used as a hand-held vice or clamp that locks firmly onto a workpiece. Also called plier wrenches, lever-wrench pliers, and by the proprietary name Vicegrips, they have a double-lever action. Their jaws are closed like those on other pliers by squeezing the handles together.
What are the different types of pliers?
Learn about five types of pliers: slip-joint, water-pump, linesman, locking and needle-nose.
What is a slip joint plier?
The slip-joint pliers were the tool that I first learned to call pliers. Only later did I discover that there were more kinds of pliers than there were kids in my neighborhood.
How do locking pliers work?
If you’ve never used a pair of locking pliers before, they all operate on the same basic principle: a screw at the back of the tool is used to adjust the spacing of the jaws, and it usually takes a few seconds of trial and error to achieve the required setting for whatever object you want the pliers to grip.
Why use locking pliers?
Because they clamp down on objects with considerable force, locking pliers can be used to extract stubborn nails and other fasteners where many standard pliers would struggle to provide sufficient hold under pressure. They are especially useful for extracting broken fasteners where there is no head to facilitate levering with a pry bar or claw hammer.
What is a heavy duty locking plier?
The heavy duty metal construction of locking pliers means they are especially favoured amongst welders, and it is common to find specialized locking pliers intended for the metalworking industry.
What is a locking vice grip?
The locking vice grip that is characteristic of these tools makes them a go-to solution for many clamping applications; some locking pliers are designed exclusively for clamping purposes, but all variants are suitable for this job. The heavy duty metal construction of locking pliers means they are especially favoured amongst welders, and it is common to find specialized locking pliers intended for the metalworking industry. Locking pliers are also useful for firmly clamping jigs and components in woodworking applications, but bear in mind they can easily damage bare wood if clamped directly onto it.
What is a locking jaw?
The locking jaws do the gripping for you, enabling you to put more energy into twisting, levering and prying. Smaller long nose types are ideal for gripping material in awkward spaces, while larger models enable greater force to be applied for more heavy duty work.
What is the function of a locking plier?
Though it is not a universal design feature, a great deal of locking pliers are built with an additional function built into the rear section of the jaws: an integrated wire cutter, which makes them a practical tool for snipping wire as well as bending, shaping and holding it.
When were locking pliers invented?
The first locking pliers as we know them today were invented in 1924 by a blacksmith called William Petersen. He christened them Vise-Grips, and the range continues to be manufactured to this day as part of the Irwin brand. Given the high levels of clamping force afforded by these compact hand tools, Petersen’s choice of name was apt, and has endured as a generic term for all brands of locking pliers. Since they were originally introduced, a huge number of design variations have appeared on the market from just about every hand tool manufacturer on the planet, and they are widely regarded as some of the most useful and versatile hand tools available. In this article we will look at some everyday practical uses for locking pliers which have resulted in them becoming an essential component in the household and professional tool kit alike.
What Are Locking Pliers?
One distinguishing feature is the mechanism by which the pliers lock in place. Some locking pliers rely on a screw to tighten the grip of the pliers. This type is the most similar to Petersen’s original design, which eventually came to be known as the Vise-Grip wrench.
What is a second type of locking pliers?
A second type of locking pliers relies in part on a spring to automatically lock the pliers in place. Learning how to use this type of locking pliers is even simpler, and often designed to work one-handed.
What is a straight jaw plier?
Straight Jaw Pliers. Available as long-nose or flat-nose (and sometimes round-nose), straight jaw pliers can also have smooth or serrated inner jaws. But unlike curved-jaw pliers, they’re designed to close over flat surfaces.
What is a C-shaped plier?
As its name suggests, this type of pliers closes its jaws into a C-shape. They’re often used to hold wood or metal pieces together and are common in carpentry or welding.
How to tighten a screw without budging?
The screw is properly tightened when you can pull at the pliers without them budging. With auto-lock pliers, simply position the pliers in place and squeeze the handles together . On this type of locking pliers, there is usually a lever release at the bottom of one of the handles to unlock the grip.
What did Petersen do when he realized his job would be easier?
Petersen, a failed farmer, was having a go at being a blacksmith when he realized that his job would be easier if he had a tool that held the pieces he was working with in place. And at that moment, a new tool was born.
Do pliers lock?
There are a couple of different mechanisms that enable locking pliers to lock. The original design requires a screw at the bottom of one handle to lock the handles in place. This is typically the type of tool people are referring to when they say Vise-Grip pliers.
Overview
Locking pliers (also called Vise-Grips, a vice grip, or a Mole wrench) are pliers that can be locked into position, using an "over-center" cam action. Locking pliers are available with many different jaw styles, such as needle-nose pliers, wrenches, clamps and various shapes to fix metal parts for welding. They also come in many sizes.
History
The first locking pliers, with the trade name Vise-Grip, were invented by William S. Petersen in De Witt, Nebraska, United States in 1924.
Later, in 1955, in the United Kingdom, M K Mole and Son, a hand tool manufacturing company, under the managing direction of Thomas Coughtrie, began making nearly identical pliers.
Etymology
In the United States, the brand name "Vise Grips" is close to a generic name for this type of pliers. The same is true in the United Kingdom of the brand name "Mole Wrench".
The spelling "vise" is mentioned in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary. This spelling is orthodox in the United States.
The spelling "vice" can be traced back to 1584, for the clamping sense of the word. This is the cu…
Mechanism
Locking pliers remain clamped to an object without requiring continuous pressure on the handles based on the "over-center" principle. After being properly adjusted using a threaded screw, the pliers are brought to bear by cam action. In the process of being closed on an object the mechanism passes through a point of maximum tightest clamping and as the handle levers are closed further, the jaws release slightly. This means that to open the jaws have to be tightened, t…
Operation
The bolt is used to set the jaws to a size slightly smaller than what is to be gripped. The jaws are then closed on the gripped object.
Because of the lever action the jaws move only slightly but with much force. Locking pliers have four advantages:
• Their lever action is stronger than that of ordinary pliers, so they can apply mu…
External links
• History of the Vise-Grip
• "New Tool Is Both Pliers and Wrench" Popular Science, December 1935, page 42
• "Wrench with Vise Like Grip Keeps Work from Slipping", Popular Mechanics, September 1935, page 326