What Tradies Want — August-September 2017

WHAT TRADIES WANT. 61

I

f I had a dollar for every time we’ve
been left with a screw that seemed
impossible to remove, I’d probably own
the magazine rather than be working for it.
Screws with burred or damaged heads are
the bane of just about every tradie.
Warren & Brown obviously know the feeling
because the company is now offering a
patented range of multi-purpose pliers
designed for removing screws and cutting
and twisting wire.
The PZ55, PZ56, PZ57, PZ58, PZ59 and
PZ60 will work where a regular screwdriver,
impact driver or pliers have failed. Unlike
ordinary plier jaws with horizontal serrations,
the P-series have vertical serrations which
basically wrap around the entire screw head,
giving a superior grip with maximum friction
and no slip. Ordinary pliers have less surface
area applied to the screw head. That, in turn,
means less friction.

TEST #1: REMOVING
VARIOUS SCREWS FROM
TIMBER
For this test I’d been provided with the PZ58,
PZ59 and PZ60 model pliers. The PZ59 is
the biggest of the three and the PZ60 is the
needle-nosed version.
A quick walk around the work site exposed
many cool opportunities to test out the PZs.
First I removed some screws holding in a
power point that had only been roughed in.
The Warren & Browns gripped exceptionally
well and I had the screw out ace pronto.
It was time for more of a challenge. I decided
to attack a couple of bugles.
The PZ59 did a great job on getting these
larger profile fasteners out without any
problems. Sure, an impact driver could’ve
done the job a lot quicker, but remember
these bad boys are for when the head has
been burred and you just can’t get the bit to
stick. Rather than grinding it off or snapping
the screw there’s now a choice of pliers that’ll
avoid a pile of headaches.

TEST #2: TIGHTENING
DOWN
For our second test the team at Warren &
Brown supplied some metal blocks of various

sizes with different styled screws fixed in.

Even though these weren’t rusty or locked

in, we made sure we tightened them as well

as we could before we set to removing them

with each of the different-sized pliers we had

on hand. All three tools worked extremely well.

The needle-nosed PZ60 pliers are going to be

everyone’s best friend when it’s time to remove

those smaller diameter screws from tight,

countersunk areas that are normally extremely

difficult to get to. When it was time to really put

in some muscle work to rotate particularly tight

fixings, the specially designed T-grip handles

made gripping a breeze.

The PZ range are true multi-purpose

pliers specially designed for removing stuck

screws, cutting wire and twisting, so they’re

really the all-rounders of the bunch. They’re

very comfortable to hold and make applying

pressure quite easy.

The PZ55 to PZ58, with vertical-tooth jaws,

are designed to be used on larger fasteners.

These guys have plenty of bite to get the

job done.

TEST #3: ERGOS AND

PERFORMANCE

I tested the Warren & Browns in several

different applications and they shone. The

vertical teeth on all the pliers worked well,

and the narrow, compact design gets into

harder-to-access applications. Any hand tool

requiring significant gripping power needs to

have comfort and grip high on its priority list,

and we’re happy to say the Warren & Brown

gear passed with flying colours.

THE VERDICT

The concept with these pliers is like many of

the best ideas out there. It’s essentially very

simple yet extremely effective. The normal

horizontal serrations on a set of pliers grabbing

a round screw head only have the thickness of

the head to grip – a very limited surface area.

The idea of rotating the serrations means

there’s now vertical gripping serrations

running upwards all the way around the entire

head of the screw. The difference in gripping

power, and therefore torque applied to the

task, is huge.

These pliers have earned a permanent place

in my toolbox and will pay for themselves 10

times over within a very short period of time.

Well done to Warren & Brown on a

great range of truly multi-purpose screw-

removing pliers.

Visit http://www.wbtools.com.au

TRADIE

TOUGH TEST

APPROVED

The PZ59 in full effect.

When it comes to removing burred

or rusty fasteners look no further.

The PZ58 is adjustable from

three millimetres to 9.5mm.

The PZ60 is adjustable from

two millimetres to 5.5mm

and suits dome- or pan heads.