HANDHELD TENSIONING AND CUTOFF TOOL FOR METAL TIES

摘要

A handheld tool (10) for installing flexible metal ties includes a gun-shaped housing having a grip (20) and a barrel portion (22). When a trigger (24) adjacent the grip is squeezed, a tensioning and cutoff mechanism in the barrel tensions the tie and cuts it off after a predetermined tension is achieved. In order to achieve the substantially higher tensions that are desirable in metal, rather than plastic, ties, the barrel portion of the housing is reinforced with a member (30) that surrounds the forward portion of the barrel portion. The reinforcing member is preferably formed of a rigid member and stiffens the barrel portion of the housing to enable it to resist the tensioning forces applied to the metal tie by the tensioning and cutoff mechanism.