Robo-Grips - Useful?

[Rata222]

Went to a "moving sale" yesterday and found a five dollar box of woodworking clamps. In the box were these two pair of Robo-Grips. Though it appears they are common, I am unfamiliar with them. I guess they are meant to be a good Channelock replacement. I am curious if you guys find them to be a good addition to the toolbox. Any applications that you find they excel at. Or are they just a Channelock replacement and maybe find them seldom preferred.

 

[FOMOGO]

I think Robo-cop used them to adjust his testicles, but your results may vary. Mike

 

[Ulma Doctor]

maybe you'll have better luck with them than i did.
after searching for more than 30 years ,
i find it difficult to find a better replacement to my good ol' channel lock™ slip joint pliers, and tongue & groove pliers
Vise grips have also earned their bars in my book.
Knipex pliers are of the superior sort, although i find the grip to be less than sufficient on their tongue and groove pliers.
due to the fine nature of the teeth . they seem to load up quickly or just slip at the wrong time, that makes me a bit leery

i have tried the laminated tools from craftsman and the others
i regard them as low hanging fruit- but they have usefulness nonetheless when little or no other alternative exists

 

[mpoore10]

I have a pair. It does not get used as often as channel locks mainly because of the shorter handle reducing leverage. They can be useful to remove spring clamps found on automobiles. It can also help with repetitive work where you might have to keep putting the channel lock back into the right groove.

 

[matthewsx]

It’s the kind of thing I’d put into the misc tool bag I carry in the truck. Might be useful if nothing else is handy but it wouldn’t earn a spot in the garage roll away.

 

[Alcap]

I have a set , they don’t get used too often but some times getting into a tight place and being able to adjust on the fly with one hand is handy otherwise the Channel Locks get used first

 

[Dhal22]

I have a pair. It does not get used as often as channel locks mainly because of the shorter handle reducing leverage. They can be useful to remove spring clamps found on automobiles. It can also help with repetitive work where you might have to keep putting the channel lock back into the right groove.

Same here.

 

[Rata222]

Thanks guys. That's pretty much along the line of what I was thinking. I couldn't see how they would be much better than channel locks. And they certainly couldn't replace vise grips.
Still glad to have them in my toolbox, especially since the price was right!

 

[mpoore10]

You could do a lot worse for "As Seen on TV" tools. That "one size fits all socket" with the pins is not good. The sockets with the hole through the middle are handy in certain circumstances such as threaded rod. I have wanted to get one of those circular saws with two blades rotating in opposite directions, but have not had the project come up to justify it. I inherited some Gearwrenches that I like a lot. They are thin and fit where other wrenches won't. Fastenal will honor their warranty too.

 

[darkzero]

I thought so.... in the mid to late 90s when I bought them from Sears. Many other people got suckered into buying the Craftsman branded ones too. I've got both sizes & still use them sometimes with the vinyl jaw protectors that I have left. Unfortunately & of course they don't sell the jaw protectors anymore but at least Knipex does now for their Cobras & Alligators. I had no idea they were sold under the Ridgid brand too.