what i learned about locking c clamp pliers

[cornchip]

i like fabricating small stuff at home for my vehicles, motorcycles etc. well ive been needing some large throat c clamp pliers (like the photo above) for a long time and finally decided to search around the internet and buy some.
right away i ran into the popular irwin brand but almost immediatly i discovered their pliers are from china. no thanks ill keep searching.
i then stumbled on exactly what i was looking for by a brand called strong hand tools. they offer a bunch of cool magnetic holding gadgets as well. with a california adress i figured they must have a nice manufacturing facility there where they make all their great tools so i decided to give them a call. it didnt take long before the fellow on the phone had disappointed me when he said the pliers are from china. i then asked if any of the cool magnetic holders are made in california. nope they all from china he said. thats a shame and have a good day is what i said while hanging up the phone.
browsing the internet further i found a compny i never heard of but offer the exact pliers i wanted. grip-on made in spain. hmm maybe these are high qaulity but i couldnt find any american distributor.
so i keep searching for more companies offering the pliers i want and stumbled into proto. looking at the images theyre identical to grip-on and after a phone call to proto they confirmed their pliers are made in spain . so my hunch is grip-on is making pliers for proto and stamping the proto name. they were kinda pricey but i ordered two pair with 10" throat. should be here in couple days and ill report what i think

[WTXBTUMOVER]

I found this seller on Google.
I have no experience with them though.

https://chadstoolbox.com/grip-on-locking-pliers/

They aren't out yet, but Malco bought the old Vice Grip plant to manufacture their own line of pliers. Hopefully they will launch soon.

https://www.malcoproducts.com/news/m...witt-nebraska/

Zach

[davec]

Well Malco makes a lot of good stuff for construction tools, so hopefully they will come through. Tough to pay for the really good stuff for just occasional hobby use.

[Lis2323]

I buy older Made in USA Visegrip style C clamp pliers whenever I can.




Strong Hand are made in China but are probably the most decent quality you can buy for the dollar. If you can’t find reasonably priced used then buy this style now and thank me later





JMHO of course......


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[cornchip]

I found this seller on Google.
I have no experience with them though.

https://chadstoolbox.com/grip-on-locking-pliers/

They aren't out yet, but Malco bought the old Vice Grip plant to manufacture their own line of pliers. Hopefully they will launch soon.

https://www.malcoproducts.com/news/m...witt-nebraska/

Zach

hopefully they ramp up production soon. as it is right now,i dont think theres a single locking plier made in usa unless you can find vintage stuff on ebay. sometime you need a tool asap from a local store and dont want any of the china stuff they have

[cornchip]

I buy older Made in USA Visegrip style C clamp pliers whenever I can.




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ive got a vintage pair of sears chanelocks and theyre from japan. also got vintage husky socket from usa. but those days are long gone. not long ago i found out some williams tools are taiwan branded. its crazy how many american companies have followed suit. i think craftsman is nearly all china and taiwan now

[Welder Dave]

If the patents are expired and Malco makes the original style Vice Grips, they should become popular. I think corporate greed plays a big role in moving production to China. If they're saving all this money on production how come they never passed the savings on to the customer? The Chinese product is OK but not as good as the original. I don't know how Irwin can put "original" on the packaging. Back in the day the US built Vice Grip were the only ones to buy. Strong Hand or Grip On aren't bad but not as good as the original US built Vice Grips.

[Continuum]

Yes, most if not all are made in China. I tried a cheap route once and found bearing down on the lock bent them. These are from BB Home Depot.



I’ve gotten excellent performance out of them so I’d highly recommend them.



Of course snagging a set of vintage Peterson Dewitt pliers is the best as pointed out by Lis.

Here are vintage Peterson Dewitt pliers where I modified the jaws, also welding speed cranks. I do this for all my pliers. This particular set is probably 50 years old. They were so worn they weren’t locking so that’s the reason for the sacrificial mod.

[Continuum]

I found this seller on Google.

They aren't out yet, but Malco bought the old Vice Grip plant to manufacture their own line of pliers. Hopefully they will launch soon.

https://www.malcoproducts.com/news/m...witt-nebraska/

Zach

That’s pretty slick. Quite a bit of revived history.

[WTXBTUMOVER]

The Milwaukee pliers are nice. I have a few pairs and I really like them. They seem to be well built. The adjusting screw turns smoothly and the flat end makes it easier to turn, even under a slight load.

IIRC, they are made in Taiwan though.

Zach

[psacustomcreations]

I have a decent assortment of the pliers.
Blue Point, Milwaukee, Strong Hand, and Irwin, and Pittsburgh.
The Blue Point were bought from Ebay as a group of six. These were most likely factory seconds since it turns out they don't like to open up on thier own. I need to go through and lube them and use them more so maybe they will loosen up.
The Milwaukee Torque Lock are very nice.
The Strong Hand feel like the best quality.
The Pittsburgh long reach are poor quality.

Edit: The Blue Point were made in Spain. With lube and use they will be good.





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[Lis2323]

I have a decent assortment of the pliers.
Blue Point, Milwaukee, Strong Hand, and Irwin, and Pittsburgh.
The Blue Point were bought from Ebay as a group of six. These were most likely factory seconds since it turns out they don't like to open up on thier own. I need to go through and lube them and use them more so maybe they will loosen up.
The Milwaukee Torque Lock are very nice.
The Strong Hand feel like the best quality.
The Pittsburgh long reach are poor quality.

Edit: The Blue Point were made in Spain. With lube and use they will be good.





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Pat I just got a few new Strong Hands like yours but haven’t actually used one yet on an actual project. How do you like this feature ...?





I like the look and finish of the Blue Points.


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[psacustomcreations]

Pat I just got a few new Strong Hands like yours but haven’t actually used one yet on an actual project. How do you like this feature ...?





I like the look and finish of the Blue Points.


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I have not really used that feature on them so can't comment on that. The times I really needed a lot clamping force, I just used two hands to close them. In general, I really like the Milwaukee and they were my favorite before I got the Strong Hand.

I just spent the last 5 minutes or so on the Blue Points, lubing them and working them back and forth. They are much better now.

The chrome on the other models limits the amount of slag that gets stuck to the clamp. I might be concerned with the paint on the Blue Point. Once the bb burns through the paint, would it stick to the clamp.

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[Lis2323]

Yes, most if not all are made in China. I tried a cheap route once and found bearing down on the lock bent them. These are from BB Home Depot.



I’ve gotten excellent performance out of them so I’d highly recommend them.



Of course snagging a set of vintage Peterson Dewitt pliers is the best as pointed out by Lis.

Here are vintage Peterson Dewitt pliers where I modified the jaws, also welding speed cranks. I do this for all my pliers. This particular set is probably 50 years old. They were so worn they weren’t locking so that’s the reason for the sacrificial mod.

Those speed cranks are a nice mod


I buy cheap clamps for incorporating into fixture jigs. They provide greater clamping power than toggle clamps and I don’t feel TOO bad chopping and modifying them. (Don’t forget to remove the spring before welding on the clamp)

This one is permanently welded to the I-beam.....




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[Lis2323]

I have not really used that feature on them so can't comment on that. The times I really needed a lot clamping force, I just used two hands to close them. In general, I really like the Milwaukee and they were my favorite before I got the Strong Hand.

I just spent the last 5 minutes or so on the Blue Points, lubing them and working them back and forth. They are much better now.

The chrome on the other models limits the amount of slag that gets stuck to the clamp. I might be concerned with the paint on the Blue Point. Once the bb burns through the paint, would it stick to the clamp.

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I was thinking that feature would be good when you have an assembly all clamped down and you are hesitant to remove the clamp in case the parts move. Now you can leave the clamp in place and use a small piece of round stock to tighten.


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[Lis2323]

I don't know if this is a good deal or not, but it looked interesting.



https://www.trick-tools.com/Welders-...l-Kit-WSK-7314


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[ronsii]

I was thinking that feature would be good when you have an assembly all clamped down and you are hesitant to remove the clamp in case the parts move. Now you can leave the clamp in place and use a small piece of round stock to tighten.


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That would be handy if it works right... I know usually I try to just 'barely' unclamp them while trying to turn the screw a bit... then clamp them back up again... sometimes it works... other times... not so much

[Lis2323]

I just took Continuum's great speed handle idea and made my own.

5/16" bolt, regular nut shaved down to half depth and a nylock.












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[Mike_L]

What about the original Vise-Grips?

IDK about all models but the deep throat swivel pad models are still made in USA according to them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011361PS/

[Lis2323]

What about the original Vise-Grips?

IDK about all models but the deep throat swivel pad models are still made in USA according to them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011361PS/

While we’re on the subject of ViseGrips... You can purchase the various sizes of replacement springs for all Vise Grip tools from their website and various vendors. They ((used to) come in packs of five.

HOWEVER* if you send them a request they will send you up to ten replacement springs free of charge. FREE!!!

* warning this was last year and they may have changed their policy.


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[djd775]

I have a decent assortment of the pliers.
Blue Point, Milwaukee, Strong Hand, and Irwin, and Pittsburgh.
The Blue Point were bought from Ebay as a group of six. These were most likely factory seconds since it turns out they don't like to open up on thier own. I need to go through and lube them and use them more so maybe they will loosen up.
The Milwaukee Torque Lock are very nice.
The Strong Hand feel like the best quality.
The Pittsburgh long reach are poor quality.

Edit: The Blue Point were made in Spain. With lube and use they will be good.





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Those Blue Points look just like Grip-On pliers to me. Sounds like Grip-On probably makes them for a few different distributors.

I have several pairs of Grip-Ons and they needed the same lubrication and ‘working’ to loosen them up.

I really wanted to like the Grip-Ons but I’ve been using the Irwin’s for years and I just can’t get used to the reversed release lever on the Grip-Ons.


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[Lis2323]

Those Blue Points look just like Grip-On pliers to me. Sounds like Grip-On probably makes them for a few different distributors.

I have several pairs of Grip-Ons and they needed the same lubrication and ‘working’ to loosen them up.

I really wanted to like the Grip-Ons but I’ve been using the Irwin’s for years and I just can’t get used to the reversed release lever on the Grip-Ons.


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I’ve only used Irwin (Vise Grip) and I really don’t like the release levers. I’d like to give the reversed ones a try. They “look” more ergonomic.


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[djd775]

I’ve only used Irwin (Vise Grip) and I really don’t like the release levers. I’d like to give the reversed ones a try. They “look” more ergonomic.


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Yeah, I’m probably a** backwards, but I just find I can grab the release side handle with one hand, pinch the release and have the pliers nicely manageable in one hand. Any way I try to release the grip ons with one hand, they either pop out of their track (the toggle comes out and they spring apart) or they fly onto the floor. Likely my own fault but....... And I find the smaller diameter screw in the grip ons doesn’t work as nice for me.


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[Mikel_24]

...grip-on made in spain. hmm maybe these are high qaulity ...

You be they are! I live in Spain and I have a couple. They work great. I hope you like them when you get them!

Mikel

[duramax-rob]

i don't remember if i saw it here or on youtube but the person used a channel lock or another regular vice grip and after getting the clamped vice grip attached as tight as possible on work piece, then tighten adjusting screw some more which tightens clamped on even harder. also unloosen adjusting screw with another to easily remove. clear as mud but it works. some adjusting screws have that built in handle also.