Scalefour Forum

A number of people have commented on the usefulness of parallel jawed pliers. There was a link, posted in the Track and Turnouts section to the Maun website. Maun are the makers of parallel jawed pliers.

I notice that they are selling obsolete stock of 5" square nosed pliers for just £3.05 (incl VAT). These pliers are usually found elsewhere from £20 or so upwards.

See here for the page.

David B wrote:A number of people have commented on the usefulness of parallel jawed pliers. There was a link, posted in the Track and Turnouts section to the Maun website. Maun are the makers of parallel jawed pliers.

I notice that they are selling obsolete stock of 5" square nosed pliers for just £3.05 (incl VAT). These pliers are usually found elsewhere from £20 or so upwards.

See here for the page.

It's timely that you posted the reminder. Mine arrived in the post today



They do have the proper parallel action, with just a slight preference for the tips to close before the handle end. Which is perfect to avoid things pinging out of the open end.

The jaws have very fine serrations across them, and one jaw has a groove down the length of it. I'll look forward to seeing how they work in practice.

Oh, and also on the cheap and cheerful side of things, immediately after I'd pressed <order>, I noticed there is a "fishing set" which looks very usable for messing around with at only eight quid plus the vodka and tonic...

Cheers
Flymo

Thank you David, just ordered a discounted pair. Even with the shipping, they were very reasonable!

Philip

+1

+1, Brilliant price even with overseas shipping.

Cheers,

David

Not +1 but +2 at this end. If they're good, they're a steal at that price. If not, it's less than the price of 3 pints that are come and gone in well under 2 hours. Besides P&P increased the cost of a single pair by 100% but only increased the price of each of the 2 pairs by 50% (this is better than the wife's logic of buying designer shoes that hurt.....but they were a bargain).

Thanks for the heads up on this one! Anyone else spotted bargains out there - a new category for the Forum?

Lindsay

I got mine some time ago, and I don't know what I paid for them. I don't use them very often (I couldn't remember where to find them last night), but for a few jobs they are absolutely invaluable.

Allan F

Lindsay G wrote: - a new category for the Forum?

That would be most useful. There are a couple of threads on RMw, one for Ebay and the other for general bargains. I've been alerted to some brilliant bargains through those in the past, so one on here would very helpful.

Thanks DB, duly ordered!

Just another thank you for the information. 2 pairs ordered.
Bevis

Re6/6 wrote:

Lindsay G wrote: - a new category for the Forum?

That would be most useful. There are a couple of threads on RMw, one for Ebay and the other for general bargains. I've been alerted to some brilliant bargains through those in the past, so one on here would very helpful.

Thanks DB, duly ordered!

Do you have the links for these, please?

I already had some smooth jaw Maun pliers - for certain jobs they are invaluable - so I was more impressed by the Fisherman's Set, both with serrated jaws. £10.68 for two pairs of quality pliers inclusive of p&P can't be bad - thanks for the heads up, David and Paul!

I've just ordered a pair too. At that price they can't be ignored! I already have a pair (slightly larger) that I bought from Squires last year and I've found them very useful but I think they must be Chinese copies as they aren't trademarked Maun - and they cost a lot more!

Just ordered some, down to the last four pairs now. Thanks for the heads up.

Enigma wrote:I've just ordered a pair too. At that price they can't be ignored! I already have a pair (slightly larger) that I bought from Squires last year and I've found them very useful but I think they must be Chinese copies as they aren't trademarked Maun - and they cost a lot more!

Arrived this morning, signed for. Not unpacked them yet but I notice that the jaws look slightly serrated whereas the Squire's ones are smooth. There is also a groove along the length of one of the jaws which could be useful for holding long thin things.

ordered my today , thanks for the heads up

David B wrote:A number of people have commented on the usefulness of parallel jawed pliers. There was a link, posted in the Track and Turnouts section to the Maun website. Maun are the makers of parallel jawed pliers.

I notice that they are selling obsolete stock of 5" square nosed pliers for just £3.05 (incl VAT). These pliers are usually found elsewhere from £20 or so upwards.

See here for the page.

David, thanks for the tip-off. Mine arrived today, and, not having to pay VAT they were an even bigger bargain at GBP2.54, however postage to Australia was nearly six time the price of the pliers. Now I have to find a place for them within arm's reach on my workbench. At the moment they have displaced a less useful pair of pliers.

I really must reorganise, or at least tidy, my workbench! At least the pliers stand out intheir splendid red sleeves.

Enigma wrote:

Enigma wrote:I've just ordered a pair too. At that price they can't be ignored! I already have a pair (slightly larger) that I bought from Squires last year and I've found them very useful but I think they must be Chinese copies as they aren't trademarked Maun - and they cost a lot more!

Arrived this morning, signed for. Not unpacked them yet but I notice that the jaws look slightly serrated whereas the Squire's ones are smooth. There is also a groove along the length of one of the jaws which could be useful for holding long thin things.

Fairly easy to change to smooth (with grove remaining) if you have a bench grinding wheel. I've smoothed out one of the sets I bought in the clearance offer as follows:

1 - remove the nuts by grinding the hammered over-thread beyond the nut, until flush with the nut. Undo nut, and then undo screw from front.
2 - with jaw removed, gently grind the jaw until smooth (or smooth-enough, with just a trace of the serrations).
3 - reassemble carefully, and if really worried about the nuts coming off, secure with a dab of varnish on the thread as thread-lock.


- Nigel

nigelcliffe wrote:

Enigma wrote:

Enigma wrote:I've just ordered a pair too. At that price they can't be ignored! I already have a pair (slightly larger) that I bought from Squires last year and I've found them very useful but I think they must be Chinese copies as they aren't trademarked Maun - and they cost a lot more!

Arrived this morning, signed for. Not unpacked them yet but I notice that the jaws look slightly serrated whereas the Squire's ones are smooth. There is also a groove along the length of one of the jaws which could be useful for holding long thin things.

Fairly easy to change to smooth (with grove remaining) if you have a bench grinding wheel. I've smoothed out one of the sets I bought in the clearance offer as follows:

1 - remove the nuts by grinding the hammered over-thread beyond the nut, until flush with the nut. Undo nut, and then undo screw from front.
2 - with jaw removed, gently grind the jaw until smooth (or smooth-enough, with just a trace of the serrations).
3 - reassemble carefully, and if really worried about the nuts coming off, secure with a dab of varnish on the thread as thread-lock.


- Nigel

I'll leave them as they are I reckon. The Squire's ones have smooth jaws so I'll have one of each.

And David - your workbench appears to be a shining example of a clean and pristine workbench so no need for tidying.

Well, compared to mine (and plenty of others I've seen) anyway...............