Vise Grips

Chrome vanadium steel (CVS) is typically used for hand tools; I guess similar materials should be acceptable,

Just a guess,

I have never seen a pair of vise grips fail. I'm sure they could especially if made cheaply or of inferior materials. I would guess they might wear at the latching mechanism causing them not to latch securely.

Love the quote!

Failure points:

Teeth on the jaws

threads on the adjustment screw

& occasionally the leverage link will bend

Bootleg brands fail much quicker, but I've seen official 1's have all these failures also!

mostly after much abuse, things like using channel locks to lock them, repeated heating when welding....

Just out of curiosity.. Why do you want this info? Most common failure point I've found is the hinge pin and and holes. They bend/stretch. This causes the jaws to move side to side. (Get sloppy so to speak.) I've rarely seen a pair actually break. As mention previosly most common causes are from abuse.... Over torquing, hammerin on.

The vice-grip brand and other high quality copies are prone to gradual wear with heavy use. They are usually made of hard steel

The ones made in China, India and Taiwan etc are prone to elastic deformation due to being made of softer stuff. Some are almost useless. You find them at these shops full of cheap asian tools price very low. Most of these tools are rejected by serious users and are only suitable for a home use for infrequent use.

What a new nice word! "Softer Stuff" I always said "s^=#y Stuff" (or made in China, Taiwan, etc.) You always learn something.

Wangito.

Hi. Thank you so much for the info. I wanted the info for my design subject. My group was asked to do a reverse engineering on vise grips.

Name brand Vise grips are one of the best tools I have in a one man fabrication shop. I have 24 pairs of the larger welding (finger) clamps that are used heavily. I started buying the things in 1979 and still have some of the original ones going strong. The one thing that usually wears out is the little spring that holds the lever from jumping out of the bolt adjustment channel. Over the years I have learned to cope with this. The only pair that I have that shows any real wear is a pair that I use for tongs for blacksmithing small parts. The heat has affected the pins in these and they have got a little "sloppy" over the years. I have used the "off" brands before and they will bend before they give much service. The only brand I use is the original Vice Grop brand I think they are made by Irwin tools now. over the years I have made tube and pipe fit up clamps from vice grips by welding small angl iron pieces to them and this is great for boiler tube fit up in a tight places. if used right they truly can be like having an extra pair of hands on the job.

Thanks

There is an alternative to the Vise Grip locking pliers design and its clones. They are known as squeeze-action Toggle Pliers, and are made to Industrial rather than Consumer standards. For example, Vise Grips use stampings for the handles, industrial TP's use alloy steel forgings or castings, which are heat treated by annealing at high temperature to remove internal stress and then furnace-cooled to below critical temperatures to prevent brittleness that can accompany normal air-quenching.

The Irwin Tools website does not say what the Vise Grip materials are (trade secret?), other than calling it, "high-grade heat-treated alloy steel for maximum toughness and durability" (best guess as above, CVS). The jaws of vise grips appear to be castings or forgings of relatively simple design, reinforced only in the jaw area primarily for gripping. In contrast, industrial TP's use highly engineered jaw designs that incorporate I-beam type construction to maximize strength and minimize weight.

Another design detail of note is that while Vise Grips and others of that ilk offer various sizes but do not mention strength capacity, industrial TP's are often chosen by strength as well as size. For example, "Toggle Pliers" offerings from Carr Lane Manufacturing Company, as shown in their on-line catalog, range in strength capacity from 200 lbs and 1 inch maximum clamping size, to 700 lbs. and 4.5 inch maximum clamping size. The Carr Lane pliers use AISI 1045 high carbon steel. As compared to a common CVS, 6150, both as annealed, the 1045 exhibits only slightly lower tensile and yield strength (about 85 and 50 KSI) versus about 96 and 59 KSI, respectively. On the other hand, Izod impact strength, a test for brittleness, is about 35 (less brittle) for 1045 and 20 (more brittle) for 6150. Since final design strength can vary greatly (why I-beam construction is often used), impact strength often becomes critical. It is also a good indicator of overall toughness.

Rivets, commonly used as pivot point in the mechanism, and often a weak point in the design, are made of solid (not hollow) 430 stainless steel in the Carr Lane design. Composition of Vise Grip rivets is unknown.

Another notable difference is that Vise Grips come in various jaw designs, typically using serrated teeth to mimic common non-locking tools or as unique one-use devices. Industrial TP's, on the other hand, typically use one or two threaded Spindles, which may have solid flat or rounded steel contact surfaces, or use swivelling heads for angle, rather than parallel, gripping. These often work like a fast-action C-clamp. The threaded spindle design allows jaw size adustment to be made directly rather than indirectly, and does away with the whole screw, spring, and lever adjusting mechanism in the handle of the Vise Grips. Fewer moving parts, less to break or wear out.

Another advantage is that while specialized modifications can be made to Vise Grips by welding and grinding, this can affect the strength and/or brittleness of the clamping jaws. The deep serrations of the teeth also become stress concentrators, especially if the jaws have been heated by welding or grinding. Since the industrial TP's use threaded spindles, not only are there many off-the-shelf types of contacts bolts and spindles that may be selected, but also easily replaced, customized contacts can be made using tool steel and threaded rod or studs and then mounted onto the Pliers with nuts and lockwashers (if desired).

Welded tools are often useless except for the single job they were customised for. That is why many shops often have a large collection of them. Since they are highly specialized, there are many custom designs, and some of them might be used very rarely. Shops which go this route often find they have a sizable investment in Vise Grips. Conversely, industrial TP's can be used over and over on many different jobs, simply by replacing the inexpensive threaded spindles, if necessary. This keeps tooling costs down for many shops.

Basically, if you want a locking hand tool for general usage, use a Vise Grips or similar hand tool. They work great for what they were designed for and, if necessary, can be pressed into service for other uses, but then often lose their original value when customized. If you need industrial strength clamping that can be applied by hand, with or without a base, and customized quickly and easily by simply changing tooling on threaded spindles, without compromising their original design, use industrial Toggle Pliers.