Let’s Talk Care for Pliers and Cutters! by Curt Fargo

Let’s Talk Care for Pliers and Cutters! Lindstrom, Tronex and Xuron are 3 of the key brands of pliers and cutters in the Jewelry industry. The Jewelry industry represents only around 10% (yes, just a small portion) of the overall sales for each of these brands. Some of their other industries include electronics, industrial, avionics, production line manufacturing, aerospace and medical. The sad part is that even though we only represent 10% of their business, more than 95% of the issues related to damaged tools come from the Jewelry industry. So why is the Jewelry industry damaging tools at a much higher rate than other industries? There are a couple of factors that need to be considered as a possible causes. The Jewelry industry works with a larger variety of shapes and materials than the other industries. In most cases, the other key industries require a formal education/training program in their respected fields. I’m not saying that they are necessarily more educated than a jeweler, but they most often have more education in the proper use of tools specific to their application requirements. The key is, using the right tool for the right job. The term “Precision Tools” does not have anything to do with their strength, but more with their quality and ability to do a specific task. Paying big money for a cutter doesn’t make it stronger, it more than likely means that it is more specialized. There is no one cutter that will cut all material and all gauges. There is no one pair of pliers that will do all jobs. Depending upon the work that you are doing, you may very well need a very large selection of pliers and cutters. It is VERY important to know the type of metal and gauge size and/or shape of the material that you are cutting. Cutting material that a cutter was not designed to cut, can and most likely will damage them. Know your cutters and know what material and gauge they are rated to cut. When you see the gauge a cutter is rated for, realize that this rating in most cases is for the throat (back, close to the pivot point) and not the tip which is the weakest point of a diagonal type cutter. The industry standard for assigning gauge capacity for cutters is solid copper wire. That is not to say a cutter can only cut copper wire but rather, if a harder material is going to be cut, the capacity of the cutter is reduced accordingly. Damage to pliers quite often comes from people trying to use them as a prying device or from trying to form material they were not designed to work with. You won’t always see a gauge rating for pliers so common sense is needed here. The finer a tip is, the weaker it is. The longer a tip is, the weaker it is. If you have a choice between a long tipped tool and a short tipped tool, choose the short tipped version if possible as it is stronger, it has less flex and it keeps your hand closer to your work which in turn gives you more leverage and control. If you have issues where the tips no longer meet on your pliers, this is an indicator that you have been working with material that is too hard for them and/or that you have been using them as a prying tool. Pliers are NOT designed to perform crimping operations. If you are trying to close crimp beads, use a crimper that is designed to do the job. ALL bare metal tools will rust if not properly cared for. Rust is not only caused by water/humidity. Fumes from flux while soldering and brazing is very corrosive to metal tools. Cleaning your tools with a light coating of oil (3-in-1 oil works well) helps prevent rust. Sewing machine oil and LPS-2 also work very well. WD 40 is not recommended for use on precision hand tools. If you keep your tools in a case, keeping a Silica Gel Desiccant pack in the case will also help prevent rust. My favorite tool to remove rust is my JoolTool. If you don’t have a JoolTool, you can use a brass wire brush and thin oil, or if you have any of the old-style ink erasers, they work great too and follow up with a thin coating of oil. If you damage a pair of cutters or pliers by using them on material or for a task that they were not designed for, this is NOT a manufacturer’s warranty issue but rather a misapplication and/or tool abuse issue. If you make a mistake and damage your tools, own it and learn from it, but don’t blame the manufacturer. Higher end cutters can sometimes be sharpened to remove smaller, shallow nicks. If you damage the fine tips on pliers, quite often they can be reformed and/or reground.

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When selecting a cutter, you must first determine the gauge and type of material that you will be cutting. Almost all manufacturers’ capacity ratings are based on copper. You may find that one cutter won’t meet all of your needs and using a cutter on material that it isn’t designed for can cause irreparable damage. When cutting hard, semi-hard or memory wire, you will need a specialty cutter like Xuron’s 2193/2193F or Lindstroms 8160W. The 2193 will cut steel wire up to 12 gauge and memory wire up to 18 gauge. The 2193F has an additional fixture attached to it that allows it to cut memory wire up to 14 gauge. Cutting soft metals such as fine silver, gold, gold-filled, sterling silver and copper: Your first decision to make might be what brand to buy. This is really where personal preference and budget come in to play. Your second decision may need to be style/length of handle, third being the type of cut and last being head type. Types of Cut: There are basically 3 types of cut: semi-flush, flush and super-flush. Manufacturers may use their own trade names for these types of cuts, but for simplistic reasons we will use these generic terms. Semi-Flush - Leaves a low profile cut result. A cutter with this type of cut will be able to handle heavier gauge material than the other two types and will hold its edge longer. It is the least popular of the 3 types. Flush - Cut result leaves a narrow and short peak along the “pinch” line, decreasing the surface area at the cut. This is the most popular cut of the three types and can normally cut heavier gauge material than super-flush and lighter gauge than the semi-flush. Super-Flush - The finest cut result available with the smoothest lead-end result. This is the second most popular of the three. Head Types: There are 3 basic types. Choose the strongest head that can still allow you access to the material to be cut.

the Super-Flush provides the lowest of the three. The head style is not limited to any one type of cut. For example an Oval head cutter can come in any of the three types of cut, but for maximum cutting capacity, an Oval head with a Semi-Flush cut will give you the highest cutting capacity. Brands: We carry two premium lines of jewelry pliers and cutters: Tronex and Lindstrom. Both are very comparable in quality. Xuron has a great midrange line of cutters, pliers and crimpers that are made in the USA. Tronex manufactures their tools in Fairfield, California. These are our popular, but you must find which brand and style fits your unique hands. Tronex makes a standard handle and a long handle. The long handle will give you more leverage, but adds just a little weight to the tool. Lindstrom tools are made in Spain. The more popular style for the Jewelry industry has been their RX series, but again, you have to find what handle fits your hand best. They offer 4 different styles of handles, although the working end is the same. If you don’t have the budget for the premium lines and want better than the entry level tools, Xuron is a great option. To find the best tool for you, there is nothing like trying it out in person to see and feel for yourself. There are many other good brands and styles out there. Use this publication as a starting point to help you make an educated decision. Wire Gauge Conversion Chart Gauge Inches

Gauge Inches

Oval Head: The most common shape combining strength and durability and evenly distributes cutting impact.

0.102

2.590

0.020

0.510

0.091

2.310

0.018

0.455

Tapered Head: The sides are shaped along diagonal lines; improved access where space is limited; and improved maneuverability with good tool life.

0.081

2.060

0.016

0.404

0.072

1.830

0.014

0.361

0.064

1.630

0.013

0.320

0.057

1.450

0.011

0.287

0.052

1.290

0.010

0.250

0.045

1.140

0.009

0.226

0.040

1.020

0.008

0.200

0.036

0.910

0.007

0.180

0.032

0.810

0.006

0.160

0.028

0.710

0.006

0.142

0.025

0.640

0.005

0.130

0.023

0.580

0.005

0.114

Tapered and Relieved Head: Tapered on both sides with underside cut away; minimal proﬁle oﬀers access to very limited spaces. When comparing equal sized cutting heads made from the same material, the Oval shaped head has the highest cutting capacity of the three basic styles of head. The Tapered head will have a lower cutting capacity then the Oval head and the Tapered & Relieved head has the lowest of the three. Comparing the cutting capacities of cut type, the Semi-Flush cut gives you the highest cutting capacity. The Flush cut will provide a lower cutting capacity than the Semi-Flush cut and

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Selecting a Cutter

Information to help you select the cutter that will best meet your individual needs

Tronex

Lindstrom

Max Max Part No Shape Cut AWG mm 5049/7049 TC FF 22 0.64 5082/7082 TC FF 22 0.64 5112/7112 O F 16 1.29 5113/7113 O FF 18 1.02 5222/7222 T&R F 16 1.29 5223/7223 T&R FF 18 1.02 5513/7513 O FF 14 1.63 5612 O F 12 2.05 5613 O FF 12 2.05 5812 O F 12 2.05

Part No 7190 7191 7290 7291 7293 EX 8141

Max Max Cut AWG mm SF 16 1.29 F 16 1.29 FF 20 0.81 SF 18 1.02 F 20 0.81 FF 24 0.51 SF 20 0.81 F 20 0.81 FF 24 0.51 SF 16 1.29 F 16 1.29 FF 18 1.02 SF 16 1.29 F 16 1.29

Lindstrom

Part No RX8130 RX8131 RX8132 RX8133 RX8134 RX8135 RX8136 RX8137 RX8138 RX8140 RX8141 RX8142 RX8143 RX8144

Classic 8130 8131 8132 8133 8134 8135 8136 8137 8138 8140 8141 8142 8143 8144

Shape Cut AWG mm T SF 18 1.02 T F 18 1.02 OB SF 16 1.29

RX8145 RX8146 RX8147 RX8148

8145 8146 8147 8148

T T&R T&R T&R

FF SF F FF

18 18 18 20

1.02 1.02 1.02 0.81

E5542

RX8150 RX8151 RX8152 RX8153 RX8154 RX8155 RX8156 RX8157 RX8158 RX8160

8150 8151 8152 8153 8154 8155 8156 8157 8158 8160 8160M2 8161 8162 8163 8164 8165 8166 8167 8168

O O O T T T T&R T&R T&R O O O O T T T T&R T&R T&R TC TC O O

SF F FF SF F FF SF F FF SF SF F FF SF F FF SF F FF FF FF F SF

14 14 16 14 14 16 16 16 18 12 12 12 14 12 12 14 15 15 16 22 28 14 5

1.63 1.63 1.29 1.63 1.63 1.29 1.29 1.29 1.02 2.05 2.05 2.05 1.63 2.05 2.05 1.63 1.45 1.45 1.29 0.64 0.32 1.63 4.62

Part No 410 691 2175 2193 2193F 9100 9100F 9200 9200F

OB OB O

F F F

16 18 16

1.29 1.02 1.29

RX8161 RX8162 RX8163 RX8164 RX8165 RX8166 RX8167 RX8168 RX8233D RX8234D P6160 TRX 8180

Shape O O O T T T T&R T&R T&R O O O T T

XBow Part No E5141 E5142 E5151 E5152 E5160L E5161L E5162L E5233 E5234 E5341 E5342 E5351 E5352 E5541

Shape O O O O O O O TC TC T T T T T&R T&R

Max Max Cut AWG mm F 17 1.15 FF 18 1.02 F 14 1.63 FF 17 1.15 SF 9 2.9 F 10 2.58 FF 10 2.58 FF 20 0.81 FF 20 0.81 F 18 1.02 FF 20 0.81 F 17 1.15 FF 18 1.02 F 17 1.15 FF

0.81

Xuron Shape T SH O SH SH O O T T

Cut AWG mm FF 18 1.02 FF 12 2.05 FF 12 2.05 FF 18 1.02 FF 14 1.63 FF 12 2.05 FF 12 2.05 FF 14 1.63 FF 14 1.63

Rated to cut Hard Wire too