I love my handy needle nose pliers.
Long Reach 90º Needle Nose Pliers
Straight And Angle Needle Nose Pliers
I bought some long reach needle nose pliers several years ago. Those needle nose pliers with a long reach were needed to get at some clamps that were way back against the engine firewall for a hose replacement project on my car. I bought both the straight nose and the angled nose type thinking that you never know when you might need them and since the price was very right it would save another trip to the tool store.
Another added benefit for these pliers over standard length pliers was that the closing force was multiplied due to the placement of the hinge relative to the overall length. Conclusion: They get a tight grip on anything your working on. I landed up using the straight pair of pliers to finish my project. After that project, they sat in my toolbox practically ignored.
These new style spring clamps can be problematic
3 Tab Spring Type Hose Clamp
Screw Type Hose Clamp
I had a problem with the radiator on the car recently and it needed to be replaced. It was while I was trying to remove the hose clamp that it came to me to use the pliers in a totally new way to accomplish the task.
Let me explain the problem. Today’s cars come with hose clamps that are not the old screw clamp style. They have a three-point spring type clamp that must be squeezed in parallel on all three tabs to remove the hose clamp. Therein lies the problem, most pliers are meant to work on a surface width of a half inch or less. If you try to use slip-joint pliers the jaws do not move in parallel they basically hinge at one point with the other end of the pliers moving in an arc.
Slip Joint Pliers
Spring clamp tabs
The spring clamp tabs have a tendency to slip off the plier’s jaws due to the hinge point and arc movement. Also with today’s smaller cars, room to maneuver the pliers can be at a premium.
For the current project, it was the same old problem with a hose clamp not wanting to cooperate in its removal. I had gone to my slip joint pliers and I was still having trouble with this particular clamp.
I was thinking that I may need to break down and purchase a special purpose hose clamp pliers. It pained me to think about buying such a tool. First, this tool is a special purpose tool, it is used for only one purpose, and because it is a special purpose tool it tends to be expensive.
Now don’t get me wrong if you’re a person who could use this tool often then it would be a good investment in time savings. But for me, a homeowner this tool would not be a good investment. I would use it once then it would sit in my toolbox for a very long time.
Do I buy a new set of pliers?
Bright Idea
I cringed at the thought of having a top dollar set of pliers sitting in my toolbox and not being able to use them but for a single purpose. This did not sit well with me.
It got me to thinking. How could I come up with a set of pliers that would work on the spring type hose clamps? I already knew from experience that the pliers would need to have jaws that moved in parallel to keep them from slipping off the hose clamp, kind of like a pair of flat jaw welding pliers.
The search
I went to my toolbox and looked at what I had on hand. All of the pliers had a hinge side and the jaws moved in an arcing motion, not good for the job at hand. As I spotted the long reach needle nosed pliers with the 90° angle I had a Eureka moment. There it was, a set of pliers with the same old hinge point. But because the end of the jaws are bent at 90° to the hinge point they had a parallel movement. I slipped them on the reluctant hose clamp and they executed the release of the clamp to perfection.
The best part of this “discovery” was that I already owned them. Compared to the high dollar specialized pliers these had only cost me a few dollars. I love these 90° long reach needle nose pliers they are so handy.
Related Article: The Best Stud Removal Tool
Another Article: The Strap Wrench
(Mybusyretiredlife.com All Rights Reserved)
(Mybusyretiredlife.com All rights reserved)
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