Proper Safe Use of Pliers
By: The Working Man



Pliers can come in a variety of sizes and shapes including:
diagonal cutting, lineman, slip joint, needle nose, groove
and locking tongue. Hand Pliers are used to grip, turn, cut, and
bend an object. They are versatile tools but they must be
used properly and according to the purpose for which they
are designed.

Never increase a pliers handle length in order to get more
leverage. You should choose a larger size of pliers.
Improperly increasing the length of a pair of pliers has
resulted in severe injury and destruction of property.

Store your pliers in a cool dry place to prevent rust, mold
and softening of the metal. Many pliers have been damaged
beyond repair by being stored improperly. Pliers that have
been compromised can snap off or slip causing harm to you
and maybe even wrecking your project.

When cutting hardened wire use only the pliers that are
designed specifically for that purpose. Using an improper
tool for a job increases the probability that you will hurt
yourself, damage property or hurt others.

Substitution of pliers for a wrench for turning bolts and
nuts is an improper use of pliers. You should be using a
wrench for this project. The pliers can slip and round off
the fastener making it nearly impossible to get the fastener
undone later.

When using pliers to bend wire or metal, be sure the jaws of
the pliers can fully grasp the wire or metal you are trying
to bend. If you do not have a proper grip on what you are
bending it can result in the pliers slipping and the wire or
metal is snapping back and cutting you. If you have trouble
clamping a wire to bend use a bigger pair of pliers and a
vise.

When you cut a wire always cut at right angles with no
bending of the wire back and forth against the cutting edge
of the pliers. Irregular cut or even slipping of the pliers
when you saw the wire while cutting can result in your being
injured.

Never use a pair of pliers as a hammer. Hammers are designed
to weather the force of striking objects but pliers are not.
You can damage a pair of pliers by striking them against
hard surfaces.

When working around flammables such as vapors or dust use
non-sparking pliers.

You can find just about any type of pliers at your hardware
store or lumberyard. For more specialized pliers you should
look on the Internet or in specialty supply shops.

Always wear the proper PPE or personal protection equipment
when you are working on a job. Assess the dangers to
yourself and wear what is needed to protect yourself and be
aware of the dangers to yourself and others on a job site.


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