Old timer told me to stop using safety wire pliers for small stuff, I didn't listen for 2 years and finally tried it his way on a 737 brake assembly last week

I was dead set on using my pliers for every dang safety wire job until a 40 year vet in Atlanta showed me how much faster hand twisting is on those tiny lock bolts, and after fighting with a tight spot near the wheel well I gave it a shot and it took half the time. Has anyone else found a spot where the fancy tool just gets in the way?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionanguyen4d ago

Yeah hand twisting really shines in those cramped spots. Pliers just get clumsy when you got no room.

blair9904d ago

I had this 2004 Honda Civic, changed the thermostat in a space you could barely fit two fingers into. Those pliers with the bendy handles actually saved me, they let me keep a straight grip on the nut while turning it sideways. Hand twisting just makes my knuckles bleed after 10 minutes in a tight engine bay. Plus your fingers cramp up way faster than your forearm does with pliers in my experience. Maybe you got magic hands or something but I'll take a little clumsiness over torn up skin any day.

martinez.paul4d ago

Man oh man, that takes me back. I remember doing the alternator on my old Corolla in a Walmart parking lot at like 11pm (don't ask, it was a whole thing). I had this one cheap 10mm ratcheting wrench I found in a junk drawer, and it was the only thing that could fit between the radiator hose and the frame. My knuckles looked like hamburger meat by the end, but that little wrench saved me from throwing the whole car into a lake. Funny how one random tool you almost toss out becomes your hero in a pinch.