How to Use Locking Pliers
Locking pliers are the indispensable hand tool that loosen bolts with stripped heads, clamp two pieces of metal together for any reason. They most often come into play whenever you’re trying to repair something and have to improvise a solution, sometimes a fairly unorthodox one. Own just one pair, and you’ll be convinced that you need another, and another, and before you know it you’ll have a set. While other pliers merely grip, these lock so tenaciously it’s amazing what they’ll hold up, pull together, or twist off.
Read on for a bit of background on locking pliers, some standout models, and how you can best avail yourself of a pair.
How to Lock and Unlock
Locking pliers are surprisingly sophisticated, relying on what mechanical engineers refer to as a four-bar linkage mechanism. In the case of these pliers, the top handle (and its adjustment screw) is one bar, the lower handle is the second bar, the linkage between the two handles is the third bar, and the pivoting lower jaw forms the fourth bar. The interaction of the two handles in conjunction with the adjustment screw’s action against the linkage bar provides the necessary movement and a limit that will jamb the mechanism in place when you provide enough closing force on the handle. Here’s a look at the four-bar linkage mechanism in action.
In a way, it’s the tool’s versatility (loosening, tightening, grabbing, twisting, or just clamping) that leaves beginners stumped about how to use it. It’s right to ask how one tool can do all of that. If you’ve never used locking pliers or, sheepishly, you’re kind of mystified about how to use them, look no further. You begin with the pliers loose (that is, their jaws not gripping and the locking mechanism not engaged). You bring the handles together and keep squeezing while you twist the knurled locking knob. Some locking pliers have a ring, through which you can slide a screwdriver for increased twisting force.
Click the Open Gallery button below for a step-by-step breakdown of the locking mechanism in action.