WRENCHES, PLIERS AND CLAMPS

      At some point in any project you will be attaching, dismantling, or assembling what you have been measuring and sawing. These operations can be done in a variety of ways.
      Most people need a pry bar around the house. This demolition tool is useful where pulling nails, ripping wood, and prying molding from walls needs to be done. A pry bar offers more leverage than a hammer.
Another special item useful around the house is a com-a-long. This device has a cable and a ratcheting handle used to pull things together. It is useful for anything from making framing sections square and plumb to pulling a car out of a ditch.
      Wrenches and pliers are metal tools. Wrenches are with a round end that fits over and turns nuts, while pliers are made of two crossed pieces of metal, used to hold small things or to bend and cut wire. A wide variety of wrenches or pliers are not necessary for woodworking, but some of the more common ones have their place around the house.
      It combine an offset handle with a male drive piece which has a spring-loaded bearing to lock on various size sockets. They can be used at almost any angle since handles may be attached to the head by a jointed hinge device.
      Many socket wrenches have a ratchet handle, making reversing possible in confined spaces.

SOCKET WRENCHES

      Socket wrenches come in three basic sizes or drives, 1/2''x10", 1/2"x15" and 1/2"x18". Sockets themselves are available with 6, 8 and 12 point gripping ends. They also are available in metric sizes.
      A socket wrench makes the job of tightening or loosening nuts faster and easier than conventional wrenches. It also provides a snug grip on all sizes of nuts, even worn ones.
      Accessories that can provide a drive means to socket wrenches include flex handles, speeder handles and T handles. Extensions of various lengths and universal joints can be used with ratchet wrenches and socket wrenches to work on fasteners in hard-to-reach locations.

PLIERS

      Top quality pliers are forged from fine-grain tool steel, machined to close tolerances with hand-honed cutting edges properly hardened. They are polished, adjusted and inspected. Pliers fall into two broad categories-solid joint and slip joint, either of which may have cutters. Pliers vary in length from 4 1/2" to 8". Slip-joint pliers are of two designs-multiple hole and tongue and groove. The slip or adjustable joint enables the tool to adjust to the size of the object being held. Solid-joint pliers have a joint fixed with a solid pin or rivet and are not adjustable. Cutting pliers are of three types-side, end and diagonal cutters. They are quite different in appearance and using. Side cutters have a cutting blade on one side only and are available in long, curved and short-nose types. End cutters have cutting blades on the end and are used to make sharp, clean cuts close to the surface on wires, bolts and rivets. Diagonal cutters have two cutting blades set diagonally to the joint and/or handles. Shears have cutting edges that pass each other. Some pliers are available with factory-applied, plastic-coated handles, providing an attractive appearance and comfortable grip. However, pliers manufacturers strongly recommend that the user shouldn't use baked-on plastic-coated handles for electrical insulation. A spring in the handel is available in some pliers to open them automatically after each cut, providing ease and comfort for the user. The following list includes pliers most commonly found in hardware stores and home centers. Regular slip-joint pliers-General utility pliers with two jaw-opening adjustments. Some have a shear-type wire cutter. Thin-jaw slip-joint pliers-Like slip-joint, but made with a slim nose to reach into tight places. Plumber's special pliers-Come with smooth jaws or jaws covered with a soft material to prevent scratching when used on plated plumbing fixtures. Multiple slip-joint pliers-General utility tool with up to eight adjustments, allowing for jaw openings up to 4 1/2". . . either multiple hole or tongue and groove. Straight and curved jaws are available.

CLAMPS

      Clamps are for holding objects together while they are being worked on, or while various adhesives are drying.
"C" clamps consist of a "C" shaped frame into which an adjustable screw is assembled. The size of a "C" clamp is measured by its capacity-the dimension of the largest object the frame can accommodate with the screw fully extended. Also important is depth of throat, the distance from the center-line of the screw to the inside edge of the frame. "C" clamps range from 2" to 12".