I just did a price run on the groove pliers first mentioned.
I first went to PepBoys. The smallest size they had were the tiny
4-1/2". I was stunned by the price at $12.99 Next I checked
HomeDepot. The smallest size they carried was 6-1/2". The price was
better at $9.99, but they don’t carry the small ones. Finally, I
checked at WalMart. The smallest they had was a 6". The price was
much more reasonable at $4.44. I figure the 6" will be ok in the
short run at least. It will give me something to try the technique
out with. If everything works nice, then later I will switch to the
$12.99 size. The modification to the tool took less than 10 min. I
will be trying them out over the next couple of days. I like the
Idea of the multiple height zones the groove lock gives.