Tongue and groove pliers are among the many tools that are used by commercial electricians, especially when working with conduits. One of the main reasons is the compression couplings that are used to put conduit together, but they also come in handy. I would definitely recommend buying two of these if you work on putting up conduit. You will get your money’s worth if you find yourself frequently using compression couplings. I really like that Milwaukee angled the head of their Tongue & Groove Pliers at 45 degrees and not 80-90 degrees.
It makes it easier to tighten the couplings in hard-to-reach places. Plus, the smooth transition grips are especially nice because they feel like the tool is a part of your hand. The grips also don’t feel likely to slip, even when you’re applying significant pressure to the tool.
Milwaukee 12-inch Tongue & Groove Pliers Features
And speaking of applying force, the forged alloy steel and induction-hardened jaws really do bite. They will grip the pipe and hold on like nobody’s business. And that’s what I want in my pliers. They can let go when I do – but not before.
Another feature that we thought was really good on the Milwaukee 12-inch Tongue & Groove Pliers 48-22-3212 was the reaming head. There are actually two ways to ream conduit. While Milwaukee shows pictures using the top of the head to ream out the conduit, we found that you can also use the part of the tool just above and below the jaws. Both ways seem to work just as well. The really nice part of this tool is that it eliminates having to get out a file (yet one more tool) to eliminate burrs on the inside of freshly cut conduit. This will definitely save you a lot of time, and it’s nice to see a tool that’s actually designed for this purpose (considering we’ve been abusing our existing tools in this way for years).
The Milwaukee 12″ Tongue & Groove Pliers are so handy and well-designed that we might actually say they could set the standard for tongue and groove pliers. If you like saving time (and who doesn’t?), this tool will save you a ton just with the reaming function alone. Highly recommended.
