New one handed, two hand tubing tool

[saekeaton64]

I was thinking of a way in which I could easily free up a hand while installing drops.
I decided to use a squeeze type shop clamp as my parallel movement, the cheap vise-grips I bought had two rivets which held the lower jaw on, so I knocked the rivets out and used the holes to bolt the vise-grips onto the shop clamp. The threaded rod connectors are 1/2" thread and were drilled out half way to allow the tubing to slip over the barbs easily.
I have tested this tool a bit and it works well for installing drops as i two handed tool does, but also works well for installing spouts and tees like the one handed tool.

[Mike R.]

Looks good. I made a tool for putting the drop-lines onto the fittings but haven't got to making one like yours for the lateral line installation. I was thinking of using chanelocks with visegrip setup welded on but your way looks even better. It has a nice parallel action.

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[G-Unit]

Looks good. I like the idea of it being one handed.

[maple flats]

I hope the tool is strong enough. I've had cheap versions of the tool you started with and out of 6 all six failed in less than a year. I was using them to clamp 2x4's horizontally onto vertical 4x4 when I built the sugarhouse. I hope your s are stronger.

[saekeaton64]

I think the shop clamp should last for a while, as it takes very little effort to slip the tubing onto the fitting using the tool. The springs in the handle are something that could cause problems later though if they rust up the tool will be shot.

[wiam]

I think you would have a sore wrist if you use that all day.

[saekeaton64]

I made 150 drops today without any problems. The clamp provides a great mechanical advantage, very little effort is needed to push the tubing onto the fitting.
If I were to use the tool 1000+ times a day it might be a different story, but so far so good.

[lpakiz]

I think it is a great idea! Those clamps are pretty tuff and if you get tired using one hand, then use both or switch..
I am always amazed at the resourcefulness of the folks on this site. GOOD WORK!!!

[Shaggy acres]

What a fantastic idea! I will have one of those built before bed tomorrow. Once again the group resource that is Mapletrader ROCKS! You guys are great!

[Deano686]

Thats awesome!! I bought all the materials for building a standard two handed drop tool a few weeks ago. Wanted to get it built last week. Boy am I glad I didnt get to it!! This will certainly be the one that I build!!! Thanks so much for sharing!