ElectricalAdvice

The Hand Tools

Electricians have a wide array of different hand tools in their arsenal, from wire cutting pliers, or dykes; to linesman’s pliers, for cutting and twisting electrical conductors together. Stripping pliers, for stripping the individual conductor sheathing, or insulation. Pliers to make a code-required connection with a crimp sleeve, in certain instances, with solid copper circuit conductors. Fuse pliers, for safely pulling out fuses; chain pliers, for chains for light fixture.
The usual suspects in pocket knives, which no electrician should ever be caught without; knives for removing cable sheath from large conductors; knives for cutting wall board; knives to strip small cable assemblies and knives to keep their pencils sharp.
Screwdrivers of every stripe, including straight blade drivers large and small, three or four sizes of phillips head drivers, square drives or torx (star shaped) head. Long blade, stubby blade, with thin and thick round shafts for comfort and ease of use, or, to allow the use of a wrench, a square shaft.
Hammers are very popular items with electricians also, curved-claw carpenter’s hammers, straight-claw electrician’s hammers, large and small sledge hammers, and sometimes wooden or rubber mallets.
Allen wrenches, big and small, T-handle, or ‘L’ shaped, open end, basket and socket wrenches, ratchets, extensions, spin tights (nut drivers). Multi-tap thread tapping tools and small bolt cutters for threading 6/32, 8/32, 10/32, 10/24 and 1/4/20 holes. Pipe threading tripod stand and threading gear for rigid conduit in trade sizes ½" to 2", hand operated.
Hand saws for cutting wood frame members, plywood, hack saws for Rigid Metal Conduit (RMC), Electrical Metallic Tubing (EMT), Polyvinylchloride (PVC) conduit, and flexible conduit, either of steel or PVC.
Hole punches for making trade-size round holes in steel cabinets and electrical enclosures for rigid steel, PVC or EMT conduit. Hand operated punch sets for sizes from ½" to 2". Hand operable conduit (pipe) benders and hickeys, for trade conduit sizes ½" to 2". For both EMT, or RMC.Extra-sharp chisels for cutting in wood, cold chisels for cutting or loosening rusted steel bolts, cutting metal sheeting, cutting,
poured concrete, concrete block or brick. Star drills for cutting varying size holes in concrete and concrete blocks.
Cable shears, cable cutters, or loppers for large cable sizes, hydraulic-assist cutters and strippers for extra large cables and cable assemblies. Sheet-metal shears, to cut straight; to cut curves to the right; to cut curves to the left.
Crow bars for demolition work in wood frame, pry-bars for leverage assistance, flat bars for prying and pulling. Cat’s paws, and other devices to remove nails and other hardware.
Testing equipment for the various situations, for voltage, current flow, and an ohmmeter to test for continuity in circuits. Voltage testers, proximity voltage testers to find circuit problems; of course, ampmeter, for testing current flow.

The Power Tools

With the advent of increasingly powerful rechargeable batteries, the cordless tool has reached it’s zenith of use in the construction trades. Where once there were corded electrical tools, they are now replaced with the cordless variety. I don’t know exact statistics on this, but consider that practically every tool manufacturer has rendered their own version of cordless tool kits that originally hit the market from DeWalt Tools.
From my own experience, as the president of my own electrical contracting company, it’s “Leave the extension cords in the truck, boys, we’re going cordless!” I have several brand new reciprocating saws, which I purchased as part of the kits I bought to replace the 3/8" hammerdrills that traditionally received more than one trip to the concrete floor from on-high! Lots of pieces, but it was still cheaper to buy a new kit, with two batteries, four cordless tools (even though I only needed one), and a new charger and kit box. That’s another item that I have plenty of, so a small inventory: sawzalls (4), battery chargers (6) and kit boxes (7). I wish the corded tools got a little more use, since they are practically new, as are the extension cords! I will have a yard sale one day and part forever with these extra tools, if they aren’t already obsolete by then!
Anyway, we do use the cordless hammerdrills, sawzalls, circular saws, flash lights, battery charger and, most importantly, the radios, (which double as battery chargers by the way), and they are now sold by seemingly every tool manufacturer under the sun.
But we also use corded varieties - usually more powerful than the cordless variety - sorry battery manufacturers! In residential work, usually wood-frame construction, the Hole Hawg, from Milwaukee Tool Manufacturing, is a stalwart of the industry, as is their 90 degree right angle drill. Both are manufactured for rough handling and high abuse, and they hold up remarkably well. Usually used by electricians to drill holes for medium size cables, ½" shaft, 5/8" - 1" diameter, 6" and 18" length ships auger, for boring in wall studs and other wood framing members. The drill motors can also handle large Self-Feed bits from Milwaukee four inches or larger in diameter. These larger holes would be bored for the purpose of running conduit and larger cable assemblies. These powerful tools can lift a man off the floor (me for one), while trying to bore through tough materials, therefore they must be used intelligently. An unskilled person will take some time learning to use and control this tool.
Small electric drills, with machine bits from 1/32" to 1/2" stepped bits of any size, with maximum 3/8" chuck, for drilling in sheet metal, steel electrical boxes, or, with the carbide bit, in concrete, in both corded or cordless varieties. Using spade, or butterfly, brad-point drill bits, for drilling small holes in wood, for doorbell buttons, alarm system wiring, thermostat wiring, anywhere a long, thin bit would be useful; especially when running small cable, or cable assemblies.
A rotary hammer, for drilling in concrete, brick, stone, or concrete block. The rotary hammer has two modes of operation, a drill mode, where both the drilling and hammering mechanisms are working in conjunction with each other to drill the hole efficiently, and a hammer-only mode, when a flat chisel can be utilized for chipping away at the work surface. There are two types of chucks that will accept two types of bits, and you can buy adaptors for each to fit the other. There is the splined bit, a 3/4" shaft that inserts into the tool, and what is called an SDS bit, both have a locking mechanism to hold the bit in the tool.