ELECTRICIAN HAND TOOLS (part 1)

 Always prefer proper and good tools for the job of an electrician. By using improper and substandard brands, efficiency of the electrician is greatly reduced. It means that tools of good and standard quality should always be preferred.There are the following main tools which are generally used by an electrician. 

1. Pliers: The various types of pliers are as follows:

(a) Combination plier : It is used for cutting, gripping, twisting and holding the wires etc. This plier is used for many operations so it is called combination plier. The size of a plier varies from 150mm and 200mm. These are of two types.

(i) Insulated plier

(ii) Un-insulated plier.

(b) Flat nose plier:Its nose is flat so it is called flat nose plier. This can be used for holding, twisting and drawing the winding from the stator of motor. Its size varies from 100 mm and 150 mm.

(c) Round nose plier: It is used for making the ends of wires round. Its nose or jaws are round so it is called round nose plier. Its size varies from 100 mm and 150 mm.

(d) Long nose plier: Its nose is long and round from outside so it is called long nose plier. It is used for loosening and tightening small nuts and bolts. It is available in 100 mm and 150 mm.

(e) Side cutting plier : It is used for cutting the wires and for removing their insulation. It is generally used for radio and winding work. It is available in 100 mm and 150 mm sizes.

2.Screw Driver: It is used for loosening and tightening the wooden or machine Screw. The size of the screw driver depends on the length of its blade or shank. It is made of carbon steel and has a hardened and tampered edge. It is available in different sizes such as 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 250 mm, etc.

The smaller sizes of screw drivers are used for tightening and loosening the small screws of electrical accessories etc. are known as connector screw drivers. These are available in 50 mm and 75 mm sizes.

Types of screw drivers :

(a) Flat screw driver (Light and heavy duty)

 (b) Ratched screw driver

(c) Carpenter screw driver

(d) Double ended off set screw driver.

(e) Philps screw driver

3. Hammer: It is used for riveting, chipping, clipping the wooden batten etc. It is generally made of steel or cast steel with tampered face and peen. An eclipse shaped hole is made for fixing the handle on it. These are of two types:

(a) Power hammer

(b) Hand hammer

Power hammer is used for forging the heavy jobs. Hand hammer is used for fixing clips, making gutties hole in wall, rivetting purpose etc. It has following main parts:

(i) Pane, (ii) Face, (iii) Eye hole, (iv) Handle, (v) Head, (vi) Wedge, (vii)Cheek, (viii) Neck.

 The various types of hand hammers are as follows:

(A) Ball peen hammer, 

(B) Cross peen hammer,

 (C) Straight peen hammer, 

(D) Flat peen hammer, 

(E) Claw hammer, 

(F) Sledge hammer.

Generally ball peen hammer is used and easily available according to its

weight 200 gms, 250 gms, 500 gms, 1 kg, 2 kg and so on.

Saw: The various types of saws are as follows:

(a) Tenon saw : It is used for cutting wooden wiring materials such as boards, round blocks, casing capping etc. It is in rectangular shape and a strip is fitted at the top edge of the blade to keep the blade straight while sawing. The sizes of the tenon saw depend upon the length of the blade which varies from 200 mm to 300 mm.

Tenon saw

(b) Hand saw : It is used for cutting wood, planks, etc. Its front portion is narrow in comparison to its back portion. The size of the hand saw depends upon the length of the blade which varies from 200 mm to 300 mm. Its teeth are bigger than that of a tenon saw.

Hand saw

Hacksaw: It is used for cutting conduit pipe and G.I. pipe. Its frame is either adjustable or fixed and is made of mild steel. The blade of hacksaw is made of high carbon steel, tungston steel or high speed steel. It is hardened and tampered. The width of the blade is usually 12 mm and the thickness is 0.6 mm. It has different teeth 18, 24 and 30 teeth per inch. The blade is kept straight while sawing otherwise it will break. It is available according to the size of the blade such as 200 mm, 250 mm and 300 mm. It has five parts namely the frame, blade, handle, fly nut and prong.
Hack saw frames are two types:

(A)fix hacksaw frame.  

(B)adjustable hacksaw frame

 Pocker or Brodwal : It is a pointed tip with flat sides and the rest of the blade is cylindrical like a screw driver. It is used for making pilot holes in the wooden batten, board, round block, etc. for screws. It is available in length 150 mm, 200 mm, etc.

Gimlet: It is used for making holes in all the types of wooden articles. Its size varies in lengths and different diameters. Its forehead is threaded and part of the length is identical to a twist drill and rest of the portion is cylindrical like a screw driver. The diameter varies in steps of 3 mm to 25 mm.

Drill Machine : It is used for making holes in wood and metal. A twisted drill bit is fitted in the drill-chuck upto 12 mm. It is of two types:

(a) Hand drill machine

(b) Electric drill machine

(a) Hand drill machine: The machine is operated with hand so it is known as hand drill machine or portable drill machine. It is used to make holes in wood by fixing bit. It is available in 6 mm and 12 mm. There are many types of hand drill machines:

(i) Breast drill machine

(ii) Ratchet brace hand dril machine.

(iii) Pneumatic hand drill machine.

 (B) Electric Drill Machine: It is also used for making holes in the wooden and metal. The machine is operated by electricity, so it is called as electric drill machine. The speed of the machine is very high so it easier to make holes. The drill bits of different sizes can be changed with the help of jaw. The drill bits in the jaw can be tightened or loosened with the key. These are of two types:

(1) Light duty electric drill machine

(ii) Heavy duty electric drill machine.

FIXED DRILL MACHINE:           type of machine are installed at fixed place . different type of fixed drill machine are:

(A) Bench drill machine

(C) Radial type drill machine

(E) Column type drill machine

(B) Pillar type drill machine

(D) Gang drill machine

Firmer Chisel:  It is used for scrapping, chipping and grooving the wooden jobs. It is made of carbon steel or tool steel and forehead is very sharp, the edge is plane from one side and has an angle of 45° to the other side. The size varies and is measured from the width of the blade. It is available in different sizes such as 6mm,12mm,20mm,25mm etc...

Firmer chisel

Cold Chisel : It is used for making a hole and channelling in concrete and masonry work. It is made of carbon steel. Its edges make an angle of 30° or 45° with both the sides and is well tempered. For better gripping, its body is made in octagonal shape. It is available in different sizes such as 100 mm, 150 mm and 200 mm long and its width as 12 m, 18 m and 25 mm. These are of following types: (a) Flat Chisel, (b) Cross Cut Chisel, (c) Half Round Nose Chisel, (d) Diamond Point Chisel, (e) Side Cut Chisel, (f) Web Chisel.

Cold chisel

Hot Chisel : It is used for cutting iron sheets and its length is usually 100 mm.

Hot chisel

 Files: These are made of high carbon steel. It has number of small teeth on its surface for different work during filing. The files are classified into five categories depending upon size, shape, cuts and grade.

 (a) Flat file: It is parallel to 2/3rd of its length and then tapered. It has crisscross on both face and at both edges 

Flat file

(b) Square file: It is also parallel to 2/3rd of its length and then tapered. All the sides having double crisscross. It is used for filing corners and rectangular holes where flat file cannot be used.

Square file

(c) Round file: It is round in shape. It is used for increasing the diameter of a hole and removing the burrs of the conduit pipe. It is continuously tapered.

Round file