Linesman Plier Fish Tape Pulling - Requires Grooves?

[oldschoolcraft]

I have always seen linesman pliers have cut grooves on the bottom part for fish tape pulling. The new $50 Milwaukee US Made Linesman Pliers do not have grooves on the bottom inside. They do advertise these as fish tape pullers, and I'm aware of running the tape through the side of the plier joint, but I've always seen these with grooves. The only reason I can think of to not have grooves is to make it cheaper to produce, but they're $50 pliers.

Can anyone explain if there's any benefits to these not having grooves milled in?

 

[Hakeem]

it might be easier on the non conductive fish tapes made out of plastic but if you need a pair of pliers to pull those through, you’re doing it wrong.

I’ve never seen anyone use those to pull fish tapes—i thought they were nail pullers for the longest—but then again I stick to residential electrical work where an exceptionally long home run might be 80ft. I’d imagine it’s a different story on the industrial side.

 

[PCustoms]

I’ve never seen anyone use those to pull fish tapes

Same here.

Seems if I can't pull the tape just using the tape I should have done something differently...

 

[sparky 1971]

The built in fish tape pullers are a gimmick. I've pulled hundreds of feet of fish tape using the pliers end of the pliers even though I think all of my linesmans pliers claim to have a puller.

 

[micromind]

Vise grips work better.

 

[Beerhippie]

Fish tape is to fish the pulling medium for long/difficult pulls through so you can attach that to a derrick and/or winch. Maybe the bumper hitch of a truck.

Pulling medium might be tape, rope, or steel cable.

Keep the total bends in your conduit for a single pull to 270 degrees or less!

 

[oldschoolcraft]

So do you guys not care if the linesman pliers doesnt have grooves milled into the bottom underside? Something about the smoothed milwaukee ones feels cheap to me. Not sure if anyone would prefer it smooth or if there's any benefit to smooth.

 

[Beerhippie]

I've never used the grooved part of my lineman's pliers, so no, it wouldn't bother me at all. If you need to pull the tape with pliers, again, you're using the wrong tool to pull. Use the fish tape to pull a woven pull tape or rope, then pull with that. You can hook it over your shoulder and use your legs to pull, use it with a winch, or rig up some ****** blocks and pull it with a truck.

Fish tapes are fairly delicate, kink easily and I tend to get pretty upset if someone abuses mine. Cutting the hook off the end for really tight pulls (usually occupied conduit) is acceptable, as I can bend a new hook onto it and only lose a few inches. Some fish tapes even have a threaded bell on the end so you can unscrew whatever's on it.

 

[sparky 1971]

So do you guys not care if the linesman pliers doesnt have grooves milled into the bottom underside? Something about the smoothed milwaukee ones feels cheap to me. Not sure if anyone would prefer it smooth or if there's any benefit to smooth.

Milwaukee only claims to have a built in fish tape puller on one pair of the eight different linesman pliers they have, and it appears to not only have grooves behind the jaw, but another puller that is part of the hinge, which I think looks like a good way to kink the tape. I really doubt anyone cares about either kind since it's a gimmick. How many times do you planning of pulling a fish tape anyway?

9" Lineman's Comfort Grip Pliers w/ Crimper and Bolt Cutter (USA) | Milwaukee Tool

The Milwaukee® 9” Lineman’s Pliers with Crimper and Bolt Cutter are designed with the Electrician in mind, delivering the easiest cuts and a lasting edge.

www.milwaukeetool.com

I've never used the grooved part of my lineman's pliers, so no, it wouldn't bother me at all. If you need to pull the tape with pliers, again, you're using the wrong tool to pull. Use the fish tape to pull a woven pull tape or rope, then pull with that. You can hook it over your shoulder and use your legs to pull, use it with a winch, or rig up some ****** blocks and pull it with a truck.

Fish tapes are fairly delicate, kink easily and I tend to get pretty upset if someone abuses mine. Cutting the hook off the end for really tight pulls (usually occupied conduit) is acceptable, as I can bend a new hook onto it and only lose a few inches. Some fish tapes even have a threaded bell on the end so you can unscrew whatever's on it.

I'm usually not going to mess around pulling a rope or anything else until the wires get to #4 and larger. I just used my Klein tape to pull three #6's through 210' of 3/4" EMT with four 90° bends by myself. (7-1/2 HP three phase air compressor) I did put a 4-11/16" pull box in, but was able to go straight through it. I used my linesman pliers to pull it the last 15' which included the fourth 90. I use it like that pretty often and after at least 12 years, other than the case being a little beat up, it's just like the day I bought it.

 

[Death Row Dave]

My lineman plies do not go 100% together , made way for such projects

 

[oldschoolcraft]

Milwaukee only claims to have a built in fish tape puller on one pair of the eight different linesman pliers they have, and it appears to not only have grooves behind the jaw, but another puller that is part of the hinge

This is the one I was looking at, and it does advertise it as fish tape puller. And it lacks grooves.

9" Lineman's Comfort Grip Pliers (USA) | Milwaukee Tool

The Milwaukee® 9” Lineman’s Pliers deliver the easiest cuts and longest life for the professional user.

www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[sparky 1971]

This is the one I was looking at, and it does advertise it as fish tape puller. And it lacks grooves.

9" Lineman's Comfort Grip Pliers (USA) | Milwaukee Tool

The Milwaukee® 9” Lineman’s Pliers deliver the easiest cuts and longest life for the professional user.

www.milwaukeetool.com

OK, you got me there and I missed one. I've never used Milwaukee pliers, and because of the handles, I never will. What kind of projects do you have that might need a fish tape puller? It's one hell of a pull when the fish tape reel feels like it's going to break and the linesman pliers come out. 90+% of what I do involves pulling the tape with my hands, 9% of the rest, I will wind it up as I go and use the reel. That 1% that is harder than I thought it would be get the linesman pliers. While doing electrical work year round, over the last 30 years I bet I have used my linesman pliers less than 100 times to pull a fish tape.

 

[sparky 1971]

My lineman plies do not go 100% together , made way for such projects

None of mine go together either and I have Klein, Knipex, Channellock, Ideal, and Greenlee. They will all work for fish tape pulling because the tape is 1/8" thick. They won't grab a piece of paper though.

 

[Walkers]

The newer pliers have to take into account the feelings of the fish tape as well as the user, so no grooves.

 

[PCustoms]

Milwaukee only claims to have a built in fish tape puller on one pair of the eight different linesman pliers they have, and it appears to not only have grooves behind the jaw, but another puller that is part of the hinge, which I think looks like a good way to kink the tape. I really doubt anyone cares about either kind since it's a gimmick. How many times do you planning of pulling a fish tape anyway?

9" Lineman's Comfort Grip Pliers w/ Crimper and Bolt Cutter (USA) | Milwaukee Tool

The Milwaukee® 9” Lineman’s Pliers with Crimper and Bolt Cutter are designed with the Electrician in mind, delivering the easiest cuts and a lasting edge.

www.milwaukeetool.com

Looks like someone in the graphics department put the arrow on the wrong feature. Now way that spot on the hinge is "designed" to be a puller, right?....

 

[oldschoolcraft]

Looks like someone in the graphics department put the arrow on the wrong feature. Now way that spot on the hinge is "designed" to be a puller, right?....

Yeah I think the groove in the hinge is meant to lock down and compress when the handles are closed.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

What kind of projects do you have that might need a fish tape puller?

None. Nothing. I just love linesman pliers, they are my favorite tool of all time, and I like buying ones I dont need, just to collect. None of my linesman pliers lack milled grooves. I have Klein, Craftsman, Two Snap ons, and Knipex. Milwaukee is the first one I hadn't seen with milled grooves. My only guess was they are cheaping out to keep the price down, even though it's a $45 tool. It's from their first US-made tool collection.

I was just wondering if there's a benefit to the inside being smooth, or if some MBA bean counter in the board room said they can make an extra 20 cents per plier to not put it in. Which would make me not want to own one.

 

[sparky 1971]

Looks like someone in the graphics department put the arrow on the wrong feature. Now way that spot on the hinge is "designed" to be a puller, right?....

It's a puller. It's been several years ago, but the first pair of Kleins I bought that had it, I put them on a fish tape that was on my truck just to see how it worked. I squeezed the handles and one handle broke off. It wasn't that I squeezed that hard, had to be a bad casting but because of that, I've never actually tried to pull using it. Here's a picture of the Knipex, it's effing dark out right now so I had a flashlight in my teeth but you can see how it works. It's also probably a really good way to kink the steel if the going gets tough and it's squeezed too hard.

 

[sparky 1971]

None. Nothing. I just love linesman pliers, they are my favorite tool of all time, and I like buying ones I dont need, just to collect. None of my linesman pliers lack milled grooves. I have Klein, Craftsman, Two Snap ons, and Knipex. Milwaukee is the first one I hadn't seen with milled grooves. My only guess was they are cheaping out to keep the price down, even though it's a $45 tool. It's from their first US-made tool collection.

I was just wondering if there's a benefit to the inside being smooth, or if some MBA bean counter in the board room said they can make an extra 20 cents per plier to not put it in. Which would make me not want to own one.

Just for fun, I went looking at my linesman pliers and the only two pair of several I have that have the grooves are one of the Knipex that has grooves about 3/8" wide and a pair of Irwin branded NWS that I bought a couple of years ago and forgot about until now. They both also have the puller in the hinge, but I have never used the NWS because I can't get past the comfort grip handles. German made NWS pliers being clearanced at Menards for less than $15 was too good of a deal to pass up so I bought two, but since the night I brought them home, they have moved about 15 feet.

 

[ArcReactorKC]

Many moons ago when I was a fulltime electrician I don't think there is/was anything that could get me to leave my Klein linemans.

Every pair I own has the fishtape puller but I don't think I ever used it. Then again by the time I was a second year apprentice I had moved to industrial work and everything was done with pull string and a vacuum anyway.

I am a big milwaukee fan but even with the low usage I have for my linemans I would still be buying Klein.

 

[Wamsutta]

I have always seen linesman pliers have cut grooves on the bottom part for fish tape pulling. The new $50 Milwaukee US Made Linesman Pliers do not have grooves on the bottom inside. They do advertise these as fish tape pullers, and I'm aware of running the tape through the side of the plier joint, but I've always seen these with grooves. The only reason I can think of to not have grooves is to make it cheaper to produce, but they're $50 pliers.

Can anyone explain if there's any benefits to these not having grooves milled in?

Which model number Milwaukee pliers? The newest ones are the MT550.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

Which model number Milwaukee pliers? The newest ones are the MT550.

It's that one. MT550 - lacks milled grooves.