How to Add Springs to Parallel Pliers

Don't you just love pliers that spring back open for you? I will be taking these vintage parallel pliers that were not designed to have a spring back feature & adding that to their repertoire.

• Parallel pliers to be made better
• Spring steel wire ( I used 304 stainless steel 1mm spring wire for this )
• Heat shrink tubing
• Tape to wrap handles with (optional)

TOOLS

• Drill / rotary tool
• Drill bit
• Mandrel
• Wire cutters
• Needle nose pliers
• Heat gun / lighter
• Vise (optional)

First thing to do is drill some holes in the handles of the pliers. I like to drill the hole straight down. Then go back & drill it out more on an angle so that the wire can be inserted at a nicer angle. You will need to drill the hole slightly larger than the diameter of your wire. about 20% should be good. I used 1mm wire, so my holes were drilled with a 1.2mm drill bit. The thickeryour wire is the stiffer your spring will be.

Take the wire & wrap it around the mandrel to form a loop with 2 arms extending out. You need to be careful here as this kind of wire is already springy, it can snap back at you if not paying attention. Lay the springs over your pliers & locate where to bend the arms. You should bend where the arm & the holes line up. I make 2 bends at approx 30 degrees each on both arms, so the arms have an offset. Fit the spring into the pliers. ( I use the needle nose pliers for this)

Adding the heat shrink tubing will help keep the springs into the pliers. I like to slide the tubes onto the handles, then open the pliers as wide as they will go & clamp them in the vise. Then heat up & shrink down those tubes. The heat gun is the right tool for the job but a lighter works in a pinch as well. The extra grip tape is nice but this kind can get sticky or dry out over time depending on use. I really like the heat shrink tubing to act as a barrier to keep the metal handles clean as well.