Circlip pliers workaround

[Guest]

I needed to remove the circlips down inside the slide assy's from my '82 GS650G carbs. The opening is about 7/8" dia & the clip sits down about 1.5"; there's also a plastic pin in the middle you have to work around.

I went to the local Sears hardware store with slide in-hand & proceeded to test every pair of circlip pliers they had on the shelf - all were too bulky to get around the plastic pin that resides in the middle. Also, the prices for these specialty tools were approaching $30 !!

Then I stopped at a Black & Decker outlet store, and they were selling pairs of inexpensive Chinese needle-nosed pliers for $2.50. They were constructed extremely light & thin (read cheap), but fit perfectly down into the slide hollow & easily removed the circlip. They wouldn't make a very durable pair of needle nose pliers, but they made a great pair of circlip removers!!

 

[jtolbert]

I saw your thread title and was going to post to say that I have a pair of Craftsman needle-nosed pliers with the tips hacked up in such a way that they fit circlips very well...But it sounds like you've already got the right idea.

 

[Guest]

I use a pair of "heavy duty" tweezers. Looks like something found in a med kit. Works great

 

[Schweisshund]

I used a grinder to make a perfect set of circlip pliers out of needlenose pliers.

 

[RotaryRodder]

I just used my uber-needlenose pliers also,

 

[Mop Bucket]

I know what I am doing tonight!

 

[bwringer]

Still, it's awfully nice to have The Right Tool if you do this stuff more than once:

OMG! It's a whole TEN DOLLARS!
http://www.mikesxs.net/products-7.html

I know spending a wee bit of money is anathema to this crowd. Just throwin' it out there...

 

[Dogma]

I would have gladly bought those if I had known about them. But, my ground-down needle-nose are doing the job just fine now.

 

[Mop Bucket]

There are some cool tools on that site. They pretty reliable? The piston grabber looks interesting since I need one. Wonder what tool I could hack to make something similar? :-k I had an old needle nose pliers sitting around that didn't close right. Perfect for the modding and no loss of a tool. My new tool worked great.

 

[Planecrazy]

I've always been a big fan of "rolling your own" when the need arose and the "official" tool was either unavailable or way more expensive than it ought to be... There's nothing like the satisfaction of having created "the perfect solution" for a fraction of the cost of "the right tool!"

Then again, I DO enjoy collecting unusual gadgets, hehe!

Regards,

 

[Jethro]

Have 3 sets of nice Craftman snap ring pilers in all sizes. They have lasted me years and years now, and I don't see them wearing out soon.

 

[Mop Bucket]

Found the perfect tool for removing the piston from the calipers. I already had the tool in my shop (garage, I am dreaming), a good old air compressor. Just had to make sure I wasn't in the line of fire, those things fly out!

 

[Guest]

Cheap a$$ Harbor Freight long needle nosed pliers work the treat.

 

[bwringer]

Mike's XS is a long-time well known vendor. I've ordered tools from them a couple of different times and been happy.

And yes, I have a pair of Mike's $10 long-nose circlip pliers, and they work great -- very sturdy and well-made.
http://www.mikesxs.net/products-7.html