Just about all the tools I own have trigger locks and many get locked on when I don’t want them to. Usually the trigger locks at the most unsafe situation. Does anyone use them and why? The only one I have ever used is on a belt sander, and a piece of duck tape or zip tie would have worked just as well. I don’t think they belong on power tools.<!—-><!—-> <!—->
Kevin <!—-><!—->
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Replies
I'll second that. Nothing scarier than a runaway power tool not responding when you release the trigger. Happens to me a lot with my sawzall. I'm not against trigger locks, but it seems like the location is 90 percent of the problem.
"he...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Some are good, some or bad. I find the one on a belt sander can be handy. Most others less so.
happy?
I concur with your observation, as does my employer, a Fortune 500 company.
I like the ones on Hitachi angle grinders- they've got the paddle switches, and it's very easy and quick to lock it on/bump it off. Definitely better than the thumb switches on some grinders, which are way to easy to leave on. My pet peeve is trigger locks that are impossible to use with gloves on. I'm sane enough not to use the trigger lock on a hole hawg unless I'm mixing mud.
zak
"Trigger locks are unsafe?"
I agree; it's not a safe situation if someone's shooting at me and I can't shoot back because of the d*** trigger lock!!!!
Seriously, I'm curious what tools you have that have trigger locks. I haven't seen a lot other than belt sanders and corded drills (where the lock can be very useful), and the occasional angle grinder. I've got an older Craftsman power planer, but I can't remember if it has one or not.
Yeah, not a fan of trigger locks at all. There may be one out of one hundred times that I wish the trigger would lock but thats not near often enough to make it worth it.
OK....I'll disagree.
I use the trigger locks on my tools quite often. Damned handy.
Drills, routers, jigsaws.....and a drywall gun would be useless without one.
Someone say Sawzall has one? Not mine. I don't think. Never used it if it does.
Now I'm gonna have to go down to my shop in my jammies and double check!
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Agree. I can't imagine hanging board without locking the screw gun on and just feeding screws. Be kinda tough to use my router table if I had to hold one hand under the table to depress the trigger and feed the stock with the other hand (g).
Dave
It's always fun when you plug in a belt sander or router and the switch is on. I like it when the 1/2" T drill snags on something while your hanging off a ladder and you can't get it turned off until it wraps the cord up and pulls the plug. Gotta have a button for the drywall gun and the RO. The better triggers just have to be pulled in and released to disengage the lock, kind of hard to do with a runaway belt sander. I don't like those double triggers, with no plunge safety, on pin nailers either. Someday I know I'll be trying to dig a 23 ga. steel splinter out of something. I think I'll pass on the duct tape/tie wrap idea.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I have the nice Bosch jig saw (1587?) not the barrel grip, and occassionally my thumb will depress the lock accidently. It's more of an irritant that a problem. None of the other tools lock that easily.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
My old DeWalt recip saw, which seems is never gonna die, has the trigger lock exactly where my hand will depress it every time I use my left hand to work the trigger. Thing is, I can't imagine ever, ever, ever wanting such a tool to keep running on it's own. In fact, I think the next time I use it I'm gonna squirt some superglue or something in the lock, when it not depressed of course. Heck, I might ever take the grinder and cut that button right off and mail it to DeWalt with a letter saying I didn't want the button to start with, it almost killed me a couple of times, and I want a refund for that portion of the tool.-----------------------------------------------------------
FT Job Wanted: Chicago, north side/North Shore burbs. http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=70809.1
Ted,
Right, I have a 1/2" Hitachi hammer drill that does the same thing, locks on accidentally because the switch is located badly. It's otherwise a good drill, but I hate that switch. The drill has too much power to not be under my control all the time.
Ron
i have a porter-cable 1/2" drill with a locking button. last weekend, i had to holesaw a 2 2/4" in 63 places through 60 year old pine t&g. as the saw would finish the cut, the barrel of the saw would bind up and turn the drill. the drill would turn in my hand, and before i could let go, my thumb would hit the lock button and it would take off. my wrists are still sore.
Worse to me than trigger locks are the safeties that must be depressed for the tool to run. Yetsterday I was using my battery circular saw and to reach the safety when sawing at a 45, I had to put my hand way around to the left of the grip and had trouble holding the saw and making the cut. Good thing guns aren't like that!
Worse to me than trigger locks are the safeties that must be depressed for the tool to run. Yetsterday I was using my battery circular saw and to reach the safety when sawing at a 45, I had to put my hand way around to the left of the grip and had trouble holding the saw and making the cut. Good thing guns aren't like that!
I got so fed up with my own battery saw that I took it apart and physically removed the "safety" button. Now I can put my hands in a safe, secure position before pulling the trigger.
Trigger locks can be very unsafe. I've had a few fairly heavy-duty drills where, if the bit caught in the workpiece, the twisting of the drill would push the lock into your hand, engaging it -- much to the surprise of the operator! I swear I almost busted my wrist a few times with those things. I ended up taking a pair of vice grips and yanking the lock button out of the drill so it couldn't spin my arm off. On the other hand, if designed properly (and used safely) a lock can be awfully useful. The tool designers just have to place the lock in a location where it can only be set if you intend to set it.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I HATE them! I am left-handed and sometimes accidentally press the trigger lock. I only use corded tools - lots of oomph. A half inch drill can spin you around if it binds and the TL is set. I don't seem to have that problem with my Milwaukee drills, thank goodness. My Milwaukee right-angle in the lower gear range can move large bulky objects (me) without a problem.
I've only had trouble with an accidentally locked trigger once or twice, but the comments here have got me thinking.... why not disable the trigger lock if it's presenting a real problem? Shouldn't be too hard to figure out.
I hate 'em. They always get stuck in the most inopertune times, too.
I have a back up power saw with a safety button that you need to press and hold in order to engage the blade on. I hated it so much I bought a new saw.