Tools / Grip and clamp

Grip and clamp

Tools that hold, pinch or press a workpiece or a part: pliers, vises, clamps, tongs and tweezers, and the crimpers that deform a connector by gripping it.

6 tools written

• Bench viseA fixed holder with one stationary and one screw-driven movable jaw, mounted to a bench or post, that grips work firmly so that both hands are free to file, cut, drill or hammer it.
• C-clampA C-shaped frame with a fixed jaw at one end and a screw with a swivel pad at the other, tightened by hand to hold work against a fixed surface or to press two pieces together.
• Lineman’s pliersHeavy fixed-pivot pliers with flat serrated jaws for gripping and twisting wire, and cutting knives set just above the pivot, where the handles give the most force. They take their name from the telegraph and telephone linemen for whom they were first made.
• Locking pliersPliers with a screw in one handle to set the jaw opening and a toggle linkage that locks the jaws closed on the work, so that the grip stays on without the hand. They serve as a small clamp, a portable vise or a wrench.
• Needle-nose pliersFixed-pivot pliers whose jaws taper to fine points, for holding, placing and bending small parts and wire in places the fingers cannot reach. Many carry a side cutter near the throat.
• Slip-joint pliersPliers whose pivot can be shifted between two positions so that the same jaws close on small work or open wider on large work. The common form adds a pipe grip behind the flat jaw tips and often a wire cutter.