Hi All. In case you haven’t curled up yet with this year’s Rio tool
catalog, one new item really caught my eye- the new series of
adjustable-jaw pliers made by Swanstrom. The angle of the jaws is
fully adjustable within their range. So they can be parallel or any
number of other angles, with various jaw openings. They’re probably
deceptively simple, but my first thought was why hadn’t anyone done
this before. It’s a very elegant design, with the caveat that there
are small screws and Allen wrenches involved, so a little extra care
is needed.
One of the coolest features is that the jaws are replaceable and
interchangeable, made in a variety of shapes and alloys. So you
could have one set of handles and a variety of jaws for different
purposes. Some are made to be easily modifiable for a variety of
tasks. Nice! My wheels started turning immediately.
Lots of others must have picked up on these, because it took me over
a month to get them. I’m sure they have uses yet to be discovered.
No connection, just a fan with lotsa pliers. And they’re made in the
USA!
Allan Mason
Hermosa Beach, CA