Hi all. I recently discovered a great solution for holding items
while polishing, filing, etc. A company called De Sta Co
(www.destaco.com ) makes a bunch of innovative work-holding devices
I’ve seen in various catalogs. But I’d never seen the unusual pliers
they make until recently.
The model I got is 424-2. Each “jaw” is a rubber stopper-looking
thing about 7mm x 7mm mounted on a machine screw that screws into
each side of the frame. The opening adjusts by screwing these jaws
in or out to suit. The mechanism is an unusual and elegant
four-pivot over-the-center locking device, much different than a
Vice Grip style, kind of hard to describe. They make a version with
the rubber jaw on only one side and a solid non-adjustable metal one
on the other side, as well a bunch of other variations. They were
about 18 bucks and have replaced my Vice Grips for many tasks. The
rubber jaw faces are so thick that they will be much more reistant
to the heat that can build up during grinding and polishing.
One caveat- the first pair I ordered had a flaw in the screw tapping
on one side of the frame that wouldn’t allow the screw jaw to go in
all the way. I sent them back and the distributor examined the
replacement pliers and found the same flaw. He ran a tap through
them before sending them and the problem was solved. It was a
troublesome quality control issue, but the utility of these things
made the hassle worth while. Check 'em out!
Allan