Channellock mig pliers?

[jshultz78]

About 2 weeks ago I was in sears in the mall, and they had about 7 pairs of them, was thinking about getting a set, now that I've got a mig welder on the way I went back to get a set and they have zero in stock, not even a hangtag for them, I was in another town a few days ago also, same there.. Not even home depot or lowes carries them anymore. Did they stop making them, or was there a recall on them?

 

[Mike007]

I believe they are actually a somewhat new product in the Channelock brand. Ive been waiting for them to show up locally, but they haven't yet.

 

[TheGrooveking]

I just
Picked up my second pair yesterday at Berland's House of Tools. Had a pair for work and wanted a pair at home.

TheGrooveking

 

[wrh3]

Welpers?

http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/MiscPliers/360.html

 

[dwp99]

Welpers?

http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/MiscPliers/360.html

You beat me to it wrh3, I was going to say Epsteins. They sent me an email awhile back stating that they were carrying them.

 

[Rodhotz]

I have had a pair of those for the past 3 years or more and they are great! works for lots of other purpose too.

 

[Daedalus]

Good deal on those! I paid $27 at Amazon just a few weeks ago.

 

[kkroger]

Picked up a set of these yesterday and I wish they had been out a few months back when I was actually LOOKING for a set from Channelock.
I ended up with a set of Pearson Welpers, the original YS-50...
The C-locks are about 3/4 inch longer, the tips seem narrower.
the Contact Tip Jaw is square on these instead of Round on the Pearsons.
Here are some poor photos. the Pearsons are good tools but I really wanted USA made. Need to talk to Miller/Hobart about teaming up with C-Lock to market these under their name, Blue handles for Miller, Orange or Gray for Hobart... instead of the Chicom ones...

 

[ianguilly]

I just bought them, they look awesome.

 

[metaldad]

Jah, I have a pair.
Bottom, right side.

 

[kkroger]

C-Lock also markets these in their Code Blue Line
http://www.channellock.com/360CB-Code-Blue-Welders-Plier.aspx

 

[d.mcfarland]

Code Blue are the exact same pliers, just more European style grips instead of the dipped blue.

 

[Ign]

If you're a Channellock fan, that's cool. I use the Forney brand from Ace or Tru-Value(or most hardware stores) 'cause it's a great thing to buy with the 50% off coupons that tend to come out several times per year. Prices vary a bit from store to store but I used to find them at $18 retail which meant I paid $9 plus tax. They ARE handy and hard to beat at $9. Even if they're half-off a regular price in the low $20's it's a good deal.

 

[ATC]

Channellock 360's

I was just about to start a thread on this! Does anyone know where the best place (cheapest) is to buy them?

 

[theknurl]

MIG pliers;
wtf do you use them for?????

i use tip dip and a pair of dikes to trim the wire

 

[Chadwilliam1]

I just use duck Bill pliers, but I do agree welpers are the way to go to clean out the tip properly.

 

[PAPERMAKER]

MIG pliers;
wtf do you use them for?????

i use tip dip and a pair of dikes to trim the wire

Lol I used needle nose pliers when I was production welding, they work just as good as the Welpers.

 

[Stephenw]

Uses...

 

[Ign]

I just use 'em to clean spatter out of the nozzle and I REALLY like them for removing tips as they fully encircle the tip rather than just squeezing it with pliers.

For cutting wire I'm going to pull thru my liner I actually use Park cable cutters which, again, fully encircle the wire as they cut, less likely to flatten and make sharp edges which chew up your liner - - or simply dont' fit thru your tip.

 

[Kracin]

Lol I used needle nose pliers when I was production welding, they work just as good as the Welpers.

i work on specially built shelf welders and robotic welders, you arent gonna get a nozzle off with just a pair of needle nose. mig pliers work good for being able to grab just one tool for a possible problem when troubleshooting on the fly. instead of grabbing a set of needle nose, and a set of knipex or channellocks to deal with undoing anything else, including a wire brush or something else to get tough slag off the ends of the nozzles.

it's like using a regular wrench vs a stubby..... can you use a regular most of the time and get it done, yeah, with a little bit of contortion and twisting and finaegaling you can get it done, but with the right tool, jobs can be just a little bit easier, and over time it feels more worth it every time you grab one tool instead of 3, or end up going back twice to your box/bag to grab another