mingmen Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 see several gripper brands popping up here consistantly but I haven't seen the PDA SOS grippers mentioned. I admit I haven't scoured the site but... Any thoughts on these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccsolee Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Good, quality grippers. Look like they could have been made by Warren Tetting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMMERHEAD Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I have 2 and they are excellent. I like 'em better than CoC's. -HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmatt Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I have four of them! I love them. Now go get some!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vice Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I admit I haven't scoured the site but... SOS Grippers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigmfsk Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Short answer: good grippers. Long answer: A few of us at work ordered a variety of PDA SOS grippers in a single order. Nice grippers, one big surprise. Of two 280s ordered, one was TONS easier than the other - even easier than a 262. We mic'd them and found that the easy 280 was actually .259 ??? I'm sure PDA would have replaced it, but he kept it as a strange artifact -maybe it will be worth tons of money on e-bay! The following are minor issues, but unlike Warren's very nicely imprinted handle bottoms, PDAs imprintings made it difficult to immediately read gripper size, and were sometimes barely readable and sometimes marked off-center. Each gripper is marked with "PDA", the gripper model #, a serial number, and owner's initials. And each gripper was marked a different way. Example: one handle end: PDA, serial #. other handle end: 243, initials one handle end: initial, serial #. other handle end: 280H, PDA one handle end: PDA, 262. other handle end: serial #, initials etc. Some grippers had the imprinting all in the same direction, some had the imprinting facing each other. Since the serial numbers are three digits, and the model number is three digits, the only way to tell the difference in gripper strengths by reading the handle ends is to memorize all the PDA wire sizes. But in the big scheme of things, the imprinting is a minor issue - just the "elegance" factor. The PDA grippers are well constructed and look as new after continued used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingmen Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 Thanks! Will Do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3djim Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 My understanding is that PDA tolerances are: 1) angle of handle spread tol = +- 2 degrees; this approximately equates to +- 3/16" handle spread 2) wire diam tol = +- .002" 3) depthtol (i.e. handle set) = +- 1/16" Assume other manufacturers achieve similar bounds ... maybe a big assumption! My calc's indicate these probable errors translate to about 13% to 15% errors in force-to-close. Then, applying to the CoC#1 (target ~140 lbs FTC), an actual #1 could be off +- 20lbs. And, a #3 could be off +- 40lbs FTC. Same idea can be applied to a PDA and account for the wide discrepancy in feel you are experiencing. See some of my other posts for an indication of how I determine these approximate ranges. Also, I believe I've seen somewhere either on the Internet or in this Gripboard, that FTC might be off ~10->20%, depending on how careful the gripper is made. My best guess for the Tetting MM series is that they might be off by < +-1% FTC, which is amazing if he can pull that off. To get that statement I assumed, 1) +- .005" handle spread error 2) 0%, wire diam error (assuming same wire stock) 3) +- .005" coil diam error 4) +- .005" handle depth This is an old topic, search the Gripboard archive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedd Johnson Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I thought John got out of the gripper business? He is a member of the board. John Szymanksi or something similar. -Jedd- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I thought John got out of the gripper business?He is a member of the board. John Szymanksi or something similar. -Jedd- They still sell 2 different strengths of grippers, which can also be had unassembled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 I just got mine this morning. I got a 243 and 262, hoping to get one between the 1 and 2, one between the 2 and 3. They are the perfect strength. The knurling is a bit smoother than the COCs, I'm not sure yet if this is good or bad. The COCs do look nicer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 I like the smoother knurling on the SOS grippers. It's quite a bit easier on the hands. These bridge the gaps well. I'm very happy with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencrush Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 I have the PDA .280 and like someone else said, it's almost impossible to read the marking on the handles. There are far too many things marked on the handles for me to make much sense of them. In fact, I believe the wire size is mismarked on mine as well. The only number listed on one of the handles is 342...and I know the diameter is almost identical to a #3... I do like the gripper and it's a hard one to close. Perfect hop before the #3. And it's VERY close in strength to the #3s that I've tried. Couldn't be more than 10% easier, if that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 I really like my new grippers and wanted to play with them more, but the skin on my hands is fried. So I took pictures and compared them to my ironmind ones, then posted it in my gallery. We've got: My Grippers Side My Grippers Top My Grippers Bottom PDA SOS 243 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGuy Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 The grippers look good, and no longer identical to Warren Tetting's grippers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handgripperman Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I dont see how to buy an sos 280 or a sos 295 I want to buy one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SqeezeMasterFlash Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Call our kind sponsor, PDA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAMMERHEAD Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 They don't sell the 280's or 295's anymore. -HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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