mig welding pliers?

I think that's a personal preference question. I don't have any myself. I find that a pair of side cutters in my back pocket work pretty good for most of what I need when MIG welding. Now if I had a pair of side cutters that also had a small round jaw for changing tips I would call that perfection. I've tried needle nose pliers but they don't seem to work as well. What I don't like about the ones shown is that they don't look like they would fit in my back pocket very well. At least not without tearing it up.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

I think it's just a matter of figuring out what you like carrying around. I have some of these pliers that I use in my shop when I'm MIG welding. I also have a set of needle nose pliers with wire cutters that I carry when I'm on a job site.

I wouldn't carry those big "MIG" pliers around with me, but that's me. I like the needle nose myself because they reach down in to the nozzle easily for cleaning out gunk and splatter.

My .02

Thanks, James Jigsaw Custom Fabricating

I have wondered the same thing but decided they were not needed. Right now I just use a small pair of Bernard pliers that I found at a garage sale. I find the most use for pliers to be in pulling out the wire and cutting it flush with the tip so as to have a slight delay in starting. This gets the gas going before the arc starts. The other use is in moving a piece of hot metal.

It is however nice to have dedicated pliers with the welder so everything is right there if I decide to weld.

Dan

Never needed 'em... I actually just use my Leatherman (since it's always on me). The cutters snip the wire (leaving a perfect 1/4" stickout- handy), the jaws can grab the tip for change-out, and as for cleaning out gunk, I just slide the nozzle off and bang it on the table. The "gunk" usually breaks away. If not, the Leatherman's got a couple of knife blades to scrape it off - not to mention the all-important bottle-opener. Can't get much work done without that... :)

The multi-functions and resulting extra bulk doesn't seem necessary. The only features I need very often are clipping wire and cleaning the inside of the nozzle. I use small sidecutters, but with notches ground into the outside. The fit is such that the jaws simultaneously clean the inside edge of the nozzle and the outside of the contact tip. Any cheap sidecutters will do, and you don't have to get fancy with the notch grinding since the slag comes off the nozzle pretty easily.

Wayne

I have a pair I picked up cheap at an auction but never use them. Instead I keep a small pair of side cutters with my MIG for cutting the wire. For the nozzle I brush the outside with a normal wire brush and have a stiff, round brush for the inside, similar to these:

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

Don't buy the cheap ones. I have a good 20 dollar pair and have picked up a few of the Chinese specials. The cheap units lose their spring tension. They also don't cut properly flattening the end of the wire making it a bother to thread in a new roll of wire. If you are doing production welding they are handy but few people go through a 20 Kg roll of wire in a day. Randy

I have a pair and used them a lot in my welding class. I just stuck them in the welding bag along with gloves, soapstone, etc... I was glad I got them. I'd use regular pliers on all sorts of other things, but I'd always leave the welding pliers in the bag, so they were always there when I wanted them. The square needle-nose shape works a little better for picking up stuff, too.

But you can use regular pliers... Either way, it's not a big issue.

I have two sets, one on the welding table and one on the cart. That way I have a set someplace close.I like them for clipping the wire, changing the contact tip, and cleaning the barrel. go for it and buy one or two. It is in your mind if you will use them.

Don D.

Never had a need for them. Side cutters work for me, plus I almost always use "Anti-Splatter" so tip fouling is kept at a minimum.