I love my lockwire pliers!

[AceMelon]

I love my lockwire pliers. My bike is lockwired to within an inch of its life.
Then I saw a deck with some kind or knotted wire arrangement.
Any excuse to get the pliers out.
So for my second ever deck build I had a play.
28awg twisted pair A1 Kanthal, 3mm peak to peak.
Came out at 0.7ohm and nice even glow. Again not a pretty coil but I was very pleased!

 

[arboreal]

If anyone else was wondering what lockwire pliers look like:

Never heard of them before. How do they work? what are they usually used for?

 

[AceMelon]

Racing machines and aircraft have a lot of drilled bolts that you thread wire through and tie up to stop them coming out if they work loose.
The round knob at the base of the pliers is on a threaded bar so as you pull it the pliers revolve.
Creates a nice even twist once you get the hang of them.

 

[arboreal]

I used to do a job where main main tool was a Schröder spiral ratchet screwdriver. I loved that tool.

 

[AceMelon]

I used to do a job where main main tool was a Schröder spiral ratchet screwdriver. I loved that tool.

Very similar mechanicals You understand where I'm coming from

 

[mrmoo]

still use one of them. Once youve got the hang, quicker than a cordless sometimes....

 

[shaqs77]

If anyone else was wondering what lockwire pliers look like:

Never heard of them before. How do they work? what are they usually used for?

I've used them in the aviation industry especially as well as motorsport.

On the aircraft. 98% of the bolts are lock wired to prevent them becoming undone during flight due to immense vibration. A physical lock if you like. Along with bolts and nuts , stuff like turnbuckles for flying controls are locked. Basically any that can become undone.

To lock a nut or bolt. The steel wire (28awg) is first started on a anchor point. The pliers are squeezed together and the silver locking mechanism is pulled to lock the pliers closed. The knob at the end is pulled and whole pliers twist. We usually aim to get roughly 10-12 twists per inch. This twisting method work hardens the steel to stiffen it.

I have tried my pliers to twisted kanthal but the pull is too tough and ends up snapping the wire. I just use a drill now.