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Split Ring Pliers
by Roger Taylor
Faced with the daunting task of installing 150 split metal key rings on my new patio shade cover, I came up with a plier-type tool to separate and spread the rings. This makes installation so much easier than using a butter knife or some other wedge device.
I removed the snap ring posts from some broken snap ring pliers and ground a taper on the end. With a 1/8” round carbide burr in my Dremel tool I created two notches to retain the ring for spreading.
With this new tool I was able to quickly loop the rings around the shade’s support cable.
I know what you may be thinking; why didn’t I feed the cable through each ring before looping and crimping the ends of the cable to secure it to its mounts? Well, first of all, I didn’t think that far ahead and we didn’t have the shade panels in hand when the cable and mounts were installed. Also, this is just a temporary installation; the whole assembly will now come down, with the cable mounts being sent out for powder coating.
The rings will eventually be permanently installed through the shade cloth’s grommets. You can bet my new tool will really be helpful then!
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