Had an old lead tell me to stop using safety wire pliers on lockwire. Tried it his way.

So I've been a mechanic for about 4 years now, always used safety wire pliers for everything. Last week on a job at a small GA hangar in Wichita, this guy with 30 years experience walks over and says I'm doing it wrong. He claimed hand twisting is faster and gives a better result on smaller fasteners like on a Lycoming engine. I called him crazy, but after he showed me on a row of screws, I gave it a shot. It took me 3 tries to get the tension right, but I'll be darned, the ends came out cleaner and it actually saved me maybe 5 minutes per panel. Now I'm split between the two methods. Anyone else swear by hand twisting over pliers, or am I just falling for old timer nostalgia?

3 comments

3 Comments

wells.brooke1mo ago

Hold on, is this REALLY that deep? You're acting like he asked you to rebuild a magneto with a paperclip. Hand twisting lockwire on a Lycoming is fine, it's not some lost art. I've seen guys do it for years and their stuff holds up just as good as anyone using pliers. The real question is why you're spending an extra 5 minutes per panel being fussy about it. If you got a clean result, who cares which tool you used? Sometimes old timers have a point, sometimes they're just set in their ways and wanna feel important. Don't overthink a wire twist.

henryf532d ago

Oh man, exactly, people get way too bent out of shape over how you hold a pair of pliers.

alice_harris351mo ago

Five minutes less per panel on a Lycoming, is that really something to get worked up over?