Welding pliers necessary for MIG welders?
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Rockable
Well-known member
A good set of MIG pliers is very handy to have. If I lost mine, I would buy another one PDQ. I bought mine from Eastwood years ago but there are quality ones available. Can you "get by" with needle nose pliers? Yes. Will they do everything the MIG pliers do and do it well? No.
There are lots of different ones available. Here's a quick look at Amazon.
There are lots of different ones available. Here's a quick look at Amazon.
steel 35
Well-known member
Not having them wastes time.
welder4956
Well-known member
I have a couple of pair, one is Channelok and the other is Harbor Freight. The Channeloks don't work as good as the HF for me. I have also used needlenose pliers in the past when nothing else was available and they worked just fine as long as you only needed to clip the wire or clean spatter out of the end of the nozzle, and didn't use them to remove the nozzle or replace a tip.
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Aaron_W
Well-known member
I would say yes. I mean you could probably get by without, but welding pliers are designed specifically for MIG. The cutters are offset to give you a good stickout length, the nose designed to scrape the slag out of the nozzle, and they have a spot to grab the contact tip for replacement.
As long as the cutters cut well precision isn't all that important with the other functions.
As long as the cutters cut well precision isn't all that important with the other functions.
strutaeng
Well-known member
I've been hobby welding now for about 12 years and still just use side cutters. 
Jswain
Well-known member
I'd say it's worth it, especially if the gun uses screw on nozzles & tips. One tool to get a good stickout, change a tip or nozzle, or ream out a nozzle of buildup is pretty handy for the price.
Bring a piece of your mig wire with you and select a pair that cuts it everytime. I had a set of Hobart's that wouldn't cut fully through 90% of the time and it was a pain
Bring a piece of your mig wire with you and select a pair that cuts it everytime. I had a set of Hobart's that wouldn't cut fully through 90% of the time and it was a pain
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
I have a set of Channelocks that I leave on my MIG welder. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat if I lost them.
-cut wire
-clean nozzle
-remove nozzle
-remove tip
-scrape occasional splatter berries (not an intended use)
-cut wire
-clean nozzle
-remove nozzle
-remove tip
-scrape occasional splatter berries (not an intended use)
isb cornbinder
Well-known member
Yes.
AldeanFan
Well-known member
I’ve been welding for 24 years and have never owned a pair.
I learned welding working in an autobody shop and no one in the shop had a pair then.
Now thanks to garagejournal I need to spend money on a tool I didn’t know I needed, again.
I learned welding working in an autobody shop and no one in the shop had a pair then.
Now thanks to garagejournal I need to spend money on a tool I didn’t know I needed, again.
that's the cost of admission here! LOL
I've been hobby welding now for about 12 years and still just use side cutters.
same. never needed them one time at home. chanell lock side cutters is all i use. at work ive got mig pliers for pulling the old wire (5/64) through the liner when changing spools
whateg01
Well-known member
I use them for clipping the wire, removing the nozzle, removing the tip, cleaning the nozzle, and swirling zinc plated nuts in muriatic acid to be welded.
ok. wasnt sure if i was missing something or the mig pliers were just a monkey see monkey do kind of thing. nozzle i just tighten by hand. contact tip i been using the same one for the last 40lbs of wire. hey if you need them you need them i guess. its all good
Offcenter12
Well-known member
Well I'll chime in. Necessary? No. Handy for an all-in-one if you need it I guess. I've welded MIG to put beans on the table over the years and never saw anyone use them. Side cutters always fit the bill and like Corn Chip nozzles are hand tight, tips last a long time. I do use this stuff, but some guys avoid it like the plague. https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/62077193 To each their own. Heck, put them on your Christmas list and have someone else buy them for you. 
I’ve been hobby mig welding for 40 years and I have always used Klein brand electricians wire cutters. Mostly for cutting the mig wire but they also work great for cleaning the nozzle. If I needed to tighten the wire tip I just grab a pliers, of which I have several to chose from. My dad was an electrician and I inherited my first 2 pair from him. I think I have 4 or 5 now, LOL
Like most specialty tools, you don't NEED a pair. As you, me, and others know, you can certainly weld without them.
They're simple a welding multi-tool. I have a pair, don't recall the brand or the price, but I certainly didn't pay a premium for them. I use them when I MIG and they stay on the MIG cart. I like them, they work well.
Probably 98% of the time I use them it's for cutting the lead to length. When I do use them for nozzle work, they are the right tool for the job. So I'm happy.
I weld some project every week. I have a miniature set of side cutters for the MIG, but honestly I could not locate them if I had to right now. I quit using them to trim back the wire and instead just swipe the hot wire across the inner edge of the ground clamp to shorten it. Call me crude.
oldwino
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I’ve always used needle nose for trimming wire and splatter cleanup. Found a pair of like new Channellock MIG pliers laying on the street. Wouldn’t go back to needle nose again. The right tool just makes things easier
Slednut
Well-known member
So how do you clean your nozzles and remove/install your contact tips without MIG pliers?
well everyone has their own way of doing things. welding pliers arent a bad idea if it helps you.
contact tips i use have machined flats for a 10mm open wrench and i can go atleast 40lb of wire before needing to change it. eventually the orifice will waller out and need new tip but they do last a long time. fluxcore would wear them out sooner but i dont do much with fluxcore in this machine.
nozzles i just pinch and crumble the build up spatter with my fingers every so often during the day and it falls out of the nozzle. end of the day i fully scrape it out with mini screw driver
Are “Welpers” not a relatively new thing? At our plant some guys liked them and some did not.
When we went from Tweco to Miller CF consumables, we went through a LOT fewer parts.
We also trimmed the nozzles and tips on the lathe and extended the useful life significantly.
When we went from Tweco to Miller CF consumables, we went through a LOT fewer parts.
We also trimmed the nozzles and tips on the lathe and extended the useful life significantly.
I have been welding for 55+ years (started in 1963).... Have never seen the need for a pair of those.... just use side cutters
and the tip-dip gel.....
Don't think I will get any now at this point in my life.... Too old a dog....
LynnW
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
I don't use any tip dip, and I don't have issues with weld splatter, but for whatever reason my nozzle gets pretty loaded up at times. Last weekend I was welding on my trailer, a lot of which was done on my back, and I cleaned my nozzle probably 4 times and even screwed up a tip (first for me).
landrover bodger
Well-known member
been welding for many years without a pair of these then i bought a pair would not be without them now. saved so many burnt fingers changing tips and gas cups.
Pull the gas shroud off, unscrew the tip with regular pliers. Screw the new tip on, push the shroud back on.
I didn’t know these existed until this thread
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
A pair of blue ones came with a Miller MIG I bought 50 years ago. They were handy for fighting recalcitrant tips, cleaning the crumbles, clipping wire, holding small work, and getting someone's attention. As I've changed welders, they've moved along as part of the kit. Somewhere in the last 20-ish years, some ahole grabbed them. I found that needle nose weren't quite cutting it, and I replaced them with HF, which work fine, and no one covets them.
tyyost
Well-known member
I have used them, and often look at them in the store when I’m browsing. I don’t weld a lot, but keep a pair of side cutters handy when I do. Like many of you, I have lots of pliers, and tend to grab whatever I need as I need it. Crusty nozzle gets a pair of needle nose, a stubborn contact tip gets regular pliers, tank change gets a wrench. I’m usually not far from my box or power so the need for a 5 in one never seems worth it.
If I was running a shop or school with several welders it certainly would be cheaper to have welpers at each station than full tool kits. Same with traveling welders or on a job site. One thing to keep track of rather than several.
If I was running a shop or school with several welders it certainly would be cheaper to have welpers at each station than full tool kits. Same with traveling welders or on a job site. One thing to keep track of rather than several.
I think the orientation of the cutters on the Welpers are not as nice to use as diagonal-cutters.
Even the guys that liked the Welpers seem to want diagonals as well. Depending on what you’re doing, for every tip you change you might trim your wire 100 times.
Even the guys that liked the Welpers seem to want diagonals as well. Depending on what you’re doing, for every tip you change you might trim your wire 100 times.
Retroman
Well-known member
I have 2 of them and neither of them cut very well so needle nose for me.
whateg01
Well-known member
That's odd. Needlenose pliers done cut very well either!
Retroman
Well-known member
Well thanks for letting me know what doesn't work for me. I guess I will have to find something that does.
Since you know what doesn't work for me perhaps you can spec a tool that will work for me?
Thanks for all your help!!
Need? Not really. You can use dykes or side cutters or needle nose pliers for cutting the wire, and a small ball pein hammer or a rock to tap things, some channel locks or water pump pliers to grab the nozzle, a flat blade screwdriver to scrape crud from inside the nozzle, etc.
Handy? Yes. Handy wire cutter to snip the wire electrode, handy contact tip grabber, handy nozzle spatter and crud remover, handy pliers tip, handy mini hammer head to qive a quick tap to things that need a little tap, handy nozzle pliers for when a nozzle is hot or needs a little extra grip to remove it, etc. One handy multi purpose tool that costs about the same as any one of the other tools you would need to do one task (or maybe two if you use a pair of pliers as a blunt object to tap things into place).
The cheap HF ones work OK, for maybe another $5 (a few years ago) more the Lincoln Matador (?) nickel plated (?) ones are a little nicer to use and look at and don't rust just sitting in the drawer in the welding cart. I don't regret spending the ~$20 or so on them at all and would buy another pair if I lost or somehow mangled these ones.
Handy? Yes. Handy wire cutter to snip the wire electrode, handy contact tip grabber, handy nozzle spatter and crud remover, handy pliers tip, handy mini hammer head to qive a quick tap to things that need a little tap, handy nozzle pliers for when a nozzle is hot or needs a little extra grip to remove it, etc. One handy multi purpose tool that costs about the same as any one of the other tools you would need to do one task (or maybe two if you use a pair of pliers as a blunt object to tap things into place).
The cheap HF ones work OK, for maybe another $5 (a few years ago) more the Lincoln Matador (?) nickel plated (?) ones are a little nicer to use and look at and don't rust just sitting in the drawer in the welding cart. I don't regret spending the ~$20 or so on them at all and would buy another pair if I lost or somehow mangled these ones.
They certainly aren't necessary, but the thing I like about the dedicated MIG pliers is that they're spring-loaded to open after a cut. With side cutters, etc you have to open them up manually each time which I find annoying wearing welding gloves.