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Update: I switched from safety wire pliers to hand twisting on a King Air job in Wichita last month and I'm not going back
Honestly, I always used safety wire pliers for everything since A&P school in 2011, thought hand twisting was for old timers who just wanted to look cool. Last month I was doing a fuel pump swap on a King Air 200 in Wichita and the pliers kept slipping on the .032 wire because of the tight angle behind the firewall. Out of frustration I grabbed a pair of 9 inch duckbills and did the whole run by hand, and the twist came out way tighter and more even than the pliers ever gave me. The pliers spin fast but they chew up the wire and leave that ugly birdcage look if you're not careful. Hand twisting took me maybe 20 extra seconds per safety but I didn't have to redo a single one, and that's what really matters when the inspector is watching. A buddy of mine who's been at it for 30 years said the pliers are for production line speed, not for tight engine work, and now I get it. Has anyone else made the switch or do you still swear by the pliers for certain spots?
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noahs8229d ago
Admitted I was the guy laughing at the old timers doing it by hand, figured why waste the time when the pliers do it in two seconds. But then I had a job last year where the pliers kept snapping .041 wire on a tight run and I got so fed up I just grabbed the duckbills and never looked back. The twist is way more even when you do it yourself and you can feel when the wire is about to give instead of just cranking until something pops. Pliers still have their place on long straight runs where you want speed, but for anything tucked behind a firewall or around a corner they just chew the wire up. Took me about 15 years to figure out what those old guys already knew and yeah, I ate some crow over it.
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