inkjunkie

Need to get re-educated on how to correctly. Have a neighbor that is a retired FAA inspector that said he will teach me. He mentioned I should get some Milbar pliers, are they worth the $$ over a cheaper pair?

CTSmechanic

iTrader: (2)

The Milbars are very nice.... You can get them off the Snap on or MAC truck and they run 100-120 bucks... I have several pairs of them and use them numerous times a day... The HF one will work for a weekend mechanic who uses the every once and awhile..I refuse to shop at HF so the choice is easy for me

GTA Matt

I have a matco set. Well worth the extra couple dollars (they were $80). There is a difference in aircraft pliers and cheaper ones. The ones designed for aircraft use have rubber imbedded buy the cutting teeth to hold the cut wire so it doesnt take the chance on falling somewhere it doesnt belong. Its very easy once you get the hang of it.

inkjunkie

Thanks guys. I found a pair of them, used, on EPay. I was the pit crew for a friend that road raced bikes and he taught me his way of safety wiring but that was close to 20 years ago. Want to learn the right way. Any preference on wire diameter?

Blown06

iTrader: (32)

What sort of things would you safety wire on a car?

inkjunkie

More for my bike, a solid mounted 110" V-Twin that laughs at Loctite..... But on the car brake rotors onto the hats, caliper bolts, various different things.....pretty much anyplace you would use Loctite.......and then when you go to take things apart you will not be fighting with the Loctite......

GTA Matt

I use .032 stainless wire. I got a 1 pound moroso spool from Jegs for around 20 bucks. It should last you a lifetime worth of wiring lol. I also use loctite along with the wire, just for good measure.

CTSmechanic

iTrader: (2)

I'd second .032.... I use it for everything... drain/fill plugs.... heat shields.... brake hardware... bolts here and there... .025 is a little light for a lot of things but has its place... .041 is for tractors

inkjunkie

Ordered a bunch of stuff from Amazon, had a spool for $16......Thanks.....

.041 for a tractor.....just so happen to have one of them. Suppose it would be good practice for me? I think I finally have it all Loctited, but would not hurt to safety wire it all. Seems like the only time something falls off is when the wife is driving it. She was dragging the rake thru the yard this spring and one side of the 3 point hitch lost some hardware. She was in the process of dragging some rocks around, and got all sorts of hung up. Thanks for your input....

Blown06

iTrader: (32)

examples of said work....

GTA Matt

Only pictures I have. I am no expert on it, but I have seen many bad examples, or done just plain wrong. I am sure if the guy teaching the OP is an FAA inspector he will be taught correctly tho.

CTSmechanic

iTrader: (2)

I was actually just joking around when i said .041 is for tractors ......

BlackLS1Bird

iTrader: (2)

Nice looking lockwire job. Most people that dont do it often forget to put the wire on the correct side of the bolt to prevent it from spinning counter-clockwise. They just throw it in there and think it is good enough. I have done a ton of lockwiring in the Navy. Their standards for proper lockwire jobs are pretty high, so you get good at it after a while.

silversweetZ

iTrader: (11)

Just make sure you go beyond neutral. I'm an F-15 mechanic and I can tell ya I've seen thousands of bad examples from my airman that fail most quality assurance inspections because of this. Almost everything on that jet requires safety wire. There are some good examples on youtube.