Snap ring pliers?

[ak645]

I guess I'm in the right forum.Looking for suggestions for snap ring (Internal circlip?) pliers for flashlight use.Loosen-tighten clickies and suchlike.Thank You!

Andy

 

[Burgess]

I bought a pair of Channel-Locks, about a year ago.


They are GREAT ! Very Heavy-Duty !


Made in U.S.A. too, if that matters to ya'.


I'm sure they are widely available On-Line.


Hope this is helpful.


:cool:
_

 

[precisionworks]

Four hours without a response :huh: ???

The tool trucks always have best quality snap ring pliers but the price is stellar. EBay sometimes will list a Snap-On, Mac, Cornwell, etc. set.

Knipex (made by Knipex-Werk in Germany) makes awesome tools, and their snap ring tools are as good as you can find. Less expensive than Snap-On and just as well made. Started in 1882 and makes nothing but pliers. http://www.knipex.com/en/home/

Imperial has made pliers for over 100 years, now under the Milbar name: http://stridetool.com/tools/retaining_pliers/tippliers_refguides.html

The tips on all pliers are highly stressed, even more so when they are tiny. Cheap pliers are a frustrating waste of money.

I bought a pair of Channel-Locks, about a year ago.

+1

I have at least two (probably three) pair of Channel-Lock ring pliers. Seems like $25-$30 per pair, and each pair came with a number of different tips. Very nice, and they now offer a three plier set (RT-3) that I'd like to look at. Catalog (10 mb pdf) here (look on page 27 and page 43): http://www.channellock.com/Themes/ChannelLock/downloads/CL-Catalog-2010.pdf

 

[darkzero]

Round nose pliers would work better for removing retaining rings. Snap Ring pliers may work fine & offer a wider range of sizes if you get an interchangeable tip type but they are still designed to be used as pliers & not a "wrench". For very tight retaining rings I wouldn't even think of using a snap ring plier.

I agree on Knipex. Most of my pliers are Knipex which is my preferred choice to buy when working at the shop. The tool trucks often sell rebranded Knipex anyway. My Cobras from Matco just have a Matco logo on them. Now a days Knipex can also be found at Sears & the large DIY centers.

 

[gadget_lover]

For loosening and tightening the retainer in clickies a pair of thin needle-nose pliers often work.

If I have to do the same style over and over I'll often make a custom tool that fits the body and has the two teeth needed to fit the holes in the retainer in question. I've made them on my lathe as well as hand filing them from a piece of copper water pipe. The advantage is that they don't slip and you can apply a lot of torque.

Daniel

 

[BIGLOU]

I know there are expensive brands out there which are great if you are working on some space shuttle or race car, but if it to tighten/loosen the retaining rings on tailcaps the Harbor Freight one will do fine. I got mine for $2.99. I also used this to take apart my SF Z59 clicky and sandwich Moddoos SS clip in between.

 

[PEU]

+1 for knipex, at least here they are 2x 3x cheap chinese pliers, they are worth every extra 1x :)


Pablo

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Harbor Freight has them. I've used them for removing and reinstalling retaining rings in flashlights.

 

[precisionworks]

expensive brands out there which are great if you are working on some space shuttle or race car

That's most of what I do. Really gonna miss the space shuttle work when that program ends next year ... probably will have to do more on race cars :twothumbs

I worked on an electric motor last week, single phase, cap start, C-face mount to a centrifugal pump. One of the oddest motors I've ever seen, out of hundreds I've done. Two snap rings had to be moved to pull the front bearing, two more to do the rear bearing. Out of the dozen or more pliers in the drawer, none would get to one of the rings. Went to Ace Hardware in desperation, spent $10 on a 4-in-1 set that looked like it was made by children in Bangladesh ... and one of the interchangeable tips did the job.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CMFJKW/?tag=cpf0b6-20

I retract everything I've said about cheap tools - those kids may never learn to read or write, but they can save the day when a decent tool can't be found :nana:

 

[ak645]

Those Knipex look nice.Would this one be a good choice for a casual user like myself?

Andy


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UHUD70/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[precisionworks]

It's really difficult for one plier to do it all, unless you buy one with interchangeable tips like the Channellock. With one plier, there are many times the tip will be either too big or too small, and a few times that the tip diameter is correct.

The Channellocks do both internal & external rings & come with tips that are as small as .023 or as large as .120, both in straight & 90° .

The more you work with snap rings, the more pliers you'll have in the tool chest.

 

[ak645]

Ahhh ok will check out the channellocks.Thanks!

 

[darkzero]

Channel Lock also makes various different types of snap ring pliers but I wouldn't recommend the 907s. Mine didn't last too long because of the switching mechanism. The nose is also blunt so it doesn't fit very well in recessed areas as others do. I replaced them with the more common push pin mechanism type & never had a problem with those.

 

[CamoNinja]

Channel locks

 

[precisionworks]

All the interchangeable tip pliers (Channellocks and similar) will do lots of different rings ... but as Darkzero said, they aren't the tool for every job. A photo of my ring plier drawer would show a great assortment, except there are so many in there that it would be confusing :nana:

Like so many tools, if you buy the specific plier needed for a certain job, the tool will function perfectly. No scratched or scarred work is the biggest benefit to having the correct tool for the job. In a few months (sometimes a few days) a different sized plier will be needed & that one is purchased specifically for the next job. After a while, there are enough in the tool chest so no more have to be purchased ... and the purchase price is spread out over weeks, months or years so there is little pain when each one is bought.

Probably no one reading this has only one screwdriver, and ring pliers are similar to screwdrivers. Buy the best you can afford, and buy them to fit.

 

[ak645]

Well.This is more complicated then I thought.I thought all retaining ring holes were the same size.Apparently they are not.That rules out Knipex.While they are very well made I can not justify buying a variety of them for my infrequent,light duty use.The Channrllocks also look good but the jaws are just too thick to reach all the retaining rings I need to reach.The same goes for all interchangable tip snap ring pliers I saw.

So keeping in mind I am not doing rocket surgery or using them for business,just occaisional flashlight surgery I found this set.The lone review seems to indicate it would suit my needs pretty well.Unless someone has a reason not to buy these then I will buy them.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014DKIK4/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Thank You All for taking the time to educate me..

Andy

 

[precisionworks]

Andy, that set is the Chinese (perhaps Тоҷикистон or গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ) version of those sold by Mac, Snap-On, etc. Biggest difference is the short life of the tips, as they are made of non hardenable mild steel (which is easily stamped & formed in remote parts of the world). They will certainly work once or twice, maybe a few times, until the tips wear & a nice SureFire light is ruined :shakehead At that price point, Harbor Freight no doubt has a similar set of equally bad quality :nana:

As some have already said in this thread, the HF pliers are as good as the high dollar pliers :poof:

 

[StrikerDown]

That's most of what I do. Really gonna miss the space shuttle work when that program ends next year ...

So that's where you got all your O-Ring knowledge! :poof:

 

[ak645]

I did a little research on the astro pnuematic pliers.Astro makes a huge variety of tools for the auto industry and are widely distributed including by snap-on according to their website astrotools.com .As far as I can tell they have a decent reputation.Although they do not explicitly state hardened for the snap ring set they do state heat treated.I think that's the same thing?

Allthough cerainly made in China not everything from there is total crap.I have lights from Fenix,ZL and Deree that are of good quality.I think the Astro's slot somewhere between harbor freight and snap-on for quality.I am hoping closer to the latter! :)

Went ahead and took a flyer on them.Will post back next week with my early impressions.

Andy