The Importance of Welding Pliers for Metalworking

Posted on May 3, 2022 By Peter Brown Industries

For anyone who works with a lot of tools, there’s a great chance that they’ve never carried a single item in their toolbox that was more unassuming, yet more versatile than a pair of pliers.

Metal fabricators, and welders in particular, are especially fond of pliers because, as is typically the case with almost any form of metalworking: there’s simply no substitute tool for gripping or positioning an item the exact way you need it to be.

With seemingly countless variations of pliers having been developed over thousands of years, it’s really no surprise that a specific type of plier would evolve especially for welders. Their needs – and the needs of metal fabricators in general – go beyond just gripping things, though. And with that in mind, let’s look at what types of pliers they’re using and precisely what they’re using them for.

What Are Welding Pliers Used For?

Welding is one of those activities that require the use of the same tools, regardless of whether it’s being done as a hobby or as a profession. At either level, a sturdy pair of multi-functional welding pliers is more than just a convenient replacement for 2 or 3 other tools: it’s one that’s designed to make working with welding consumables (the nozzles on MIG welders in particular) less of a problem, and more of an aide when working around hot metal.

Immediately identifiable by their squared-off needle noses, welding pliers are designed specifically to:

· Remove and install welding gun nozzles using their large, round-grip openings;

· Remove and install wire feed tips using their small, round-grip openings;

· Cut welding wire using their bladed cutting recess;

· Clean the interior of gun nozzles using their square-nosed jaws.

Suffice it to say, there’s a significant amount of purpose-built functionality packed into these unique handheld tools. To fully understand just how vital all these functions are though, it’s important to learn a bit more about what role the consumable components – the nozzles – perform on a welding gun, and how it takes a special pair of pliers to keep the welding going smoothly.

Fixing Nozzle Problems with Welding Pliers

MIG welding nozzles are positioned at the tip of the welding gun. And although nozzles come in a range of sizes and materials, they really only serve 2 basic purposes:

· To direct the flow of shielding gas that’s used by the welding gun;

· To protect the contact tip that the actual welding wire is fed through.

Depending on the type of welding being done, and the different types of gases and welding wires used, the types of tips can also change with the nozzles. Remember though, they’re only consumable items and eventually, every nozzle and tip needs to be removed, even if it’s only for cleaning. The problem-based reasons for removing them however, can be just as varied as the types of welding being done. Some of the reasons include:

· Nozzles become clogged due to the buildup of excess weld spatter;

· Wire fed too quickly through the tip causing it to “birdnest” back inside the nozzle;

· Wire fed too slowly through the tip causing it to “burnback” toward the tip, or even inside the tip itself.

Ultimately, MIG welding pliers are the specialised tools for all these problems. Sifting through a collection of other pulling, chipping, and hammering tools to perform the same functions is a cumbersome arrangement and not always practical. A single pair of pliers for welding eliminates the problem completely.

Pliers for Gripping

Although it’d be easy to state that one-of-a-kind MIG pliers might be the only type of tools a welder needs, there’s actually another style of pliers that metalworkers can’t do without – sturdy clamping pliers. Considering the purpose they serve, in many ways they’re just as important as their more specialised, needle-nosed cohorts.

Ranging in styles from standard 80mm deep jaw pliers to massive 480mm deep C-clamp and chain models, heavy-duty gripping pliers are absolutely critical for ensuring objects are in the right spot before the welding starts, and are going to stay in that spot until the welding’s finished. And anyone who’s ever welded knows you can never have too many of them, or in too many different sizes.

These hardened steel vice grips are adjustable, allow for angled clamping, and are the final word when it comes to:

· Securing and stabilising oversized or awkwardly shaped items;

· Positioning pipes and square tubes;

· Gripping hot items.

Final Words

At the end of the day, it’s hard to visualise any DIY’er or professional who wouldn’t always need to keep several different kinds of pliers at their disposal. For anyone who does any type of metal fabrication or welding though, they’re a necessity. Although there may only be a few types of welding pliers, it doesn’t take long to realise just how important these few are.

If you’re a welder who’s thinking about purchasing some new equipment to help you with your job, then now’s the time to look into getting a high-quality pair of welder’s pliers and a couple of pairs of C-clamps. You’ll be glad you did.