Adam Savage’s Favorite Tools: Wire Twisting Pliers!
Adam loves discovering new tools by watching other craftspeople at work, even if there aren’t immediate projects or tasks in need of that tool. Having a unique tool like a pair of wire twisting pliers isn’t about having it handy all the time, but it’s part of understanding how things are put together in the world. In this case, the twisted safety wires you may find holding screws in place under aircraft or military hardware. Here’s how those are made!
4 thoughts on “Adam Savage’s Favorite Tools: Wire Twisting Pliers!”
Leave a Reply
Making
Painting and Detailing Jen’s Book Nook Diorama!
Jen's back with another book nook project, this time decking…
Forever Baby Yoda – This is Only a Test 577 – 12/3…
We're back from a remote Thanksgiving holiday to catch up on two weeks of news, including the unveiling of Super Mario World at Universal Japan, Wonder Woman 1984's upcoming debut on HBO Max, and a new desktop holographic display from Looking Glass. Plus, we recap this past week's awesome Mandalorian episode--revelations and spoilers with…
Show And Tell
Tested in 2020: Kayte’s Favorite Things!
Modelmaker, fabricator, and host of our Model Behavior serie…
One Day Builds
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Chewbacca’s Bowcaste…
For Halloween this year, Adam needed a bowcaster replica for…
Show And Tell
Tested in 2020: Ariel’s Favorite Things!
Ariel brings in a recommendation for an accessible and power…
Greg Munson – The Adam Savage Project – 11/24/20
BattleBots is back this week! We're joined by the show's co-creator, executive producer, and robot combat veteren Greg Munson to talk about the process of producing a season of BattleBots during lockdown, the roster of competitors and robots appearing this year, and what how he and the BattleBots team are thinking about ways to evolve and…
Making
Adam Savage’s Favorite Tools: All About Awls!
In showing off the usefulness of a small awl for marking you…
Show And Tell
Tested in 2020: Sean’s Favorite Things!
Our resident 3D printing expert and modelmaker Sean checks i…
Show And Tell
2001: A Space Odyssey Moon-Watcher and Bone Replic…
Adam Savage shares two pieces of his collection from the fil…
Show And Tell
Tested in 2020: Bill’s Favorite Things!
Tested contributor Bill Doran checks in from his workshop to…
Real world use case: replacing the factory bolts that hold the blades onto SDS-Plus and SDS-Max scrapers. All the threadlock in the world is no match for those vibrations when you’re trying to bust the thinset off a concrete slab.
First time I saw one used I was in the USAF in 1973 working on the F-4D as a Weapon Control System Repairman. We called the tool a “safety wire twister”. Only a few screws (or bolts) on the radar package required such a security mechanism. Some of these screws even had to be installed by a QC Tech who would have to add a metal seal to the end of the safety wire. The seal had the QC tech’s ID number embossed in it in order to verify whom had performed the task. If something went wrong with the fastener, the investigators would have a pointer to the last person who had touched it.
They are called Safety Wire Pliers. In most applications you use a stainless steel wire to safety a nut, bolt or both.
I lost count at the amount of times I cut myself with safety wire.