Duke Set Tool for #220 / #330 Body Traps - Professional Plumbing Repair Kit for Drain Cleaning and Maintenance - Perfect for Home, Commercial, and Industrial Use

If you're young and tough, not 82 years of age, with arthritis in your hands and shoulders, I am sure the leverage provided by the length of the handles on set tool is sufficient to set your traps without difficulty. Unfortunately, because of my age and physical condition, I found it extremely difficult to set my traps. To remedy the problem, I went to my local hardware store and purchased two links of pipe, each measuring 18 inches in length, with an interior diameter of three quarters of an inch. I inserted the pipes over the handles of the tool and wrapped electrical tape around the spot where I desired to stop the insertion of the pipes. With the additional leverage created by the pipes, setting the traps is a breeze. If you're having the problem I had, I hope my advice helps.READ THIS REVIEW FIRST ! I normally don't write reviews, but I think this will be very helpful to you. This product is a set tool for a Conibear #220, #330, or #330 Magnum ! Let me tell you, if you do not have this tool, then "good luck" trying to set your #330 Magnum Conibear. I spent a bit of time with this tool & a #330 Magnum Conibear trap, & here are my findings. First, this tool appears bigger than it actually is. When the tool arrived, I thought they must have shipped me a smaller set tool by mistake...but in fact, it was the right set tool, but it's just not as big as you would think. Next, this tool is not quite big enough to easily set a #330 Magnum...a #330 Magnum is a very powerful trap & requires a LOT of leverage to set it. When I first tried to set the #330 Magnum with this tool, I could not do it alone...I could not use both hands to scissor this tool on the trap spring, & also attach the safety catch to the spring. I had a friend help me. My friend & I are both average sized men of average strength. I even with help, I could not close the trap. I went to Home Depot & bought 2 sections of black iron plumbing pipe, both sections were 4feet long. I slid a section of pipe over both handles of the set tool, which gave PLENTY of leverage to EASILY close the trap spring. My friend got near the floor to set the spring safety, & I was standing & using the pipes & set tool to close the spring. Just as the spring was nearly fully closed, the center nut & bolt assembly sheared off under the pressure & exploded into the garage & was lost. This set tool is made in China & the center bolt is 6mm & probably a cheap alloy. I went to Ace Hardware to replace the broken nut & bolt assembly, & I purchased a set of metric hardware which are "hardened grade 10.9" items, one 6mm bolt, two washers, one nut. I re-assembled the set tool with the new hardware, added the "cheater bars" (iron pipes) to the handles, & we tried again. Using the iron pipes as extensions for the tool, & with the hardened metric bolt, the trap spring closed so easily, that I found that I could do it all by myself & set the spring safety all alone. I spent time getting very familiar with the whole rig, & I finally determined what needed to be done to make this a "professional grade" set tool. I went to Lowes & bought 2 metal flat steel bars of the same size, thickness, & type that are used on the set tool, & about 4 feet long (they have red paint at the end, they cost about $7 each). I welded those bar extensions to the handles, which now made the set tool MUCH longer, with much greater leverage. If you do this, you need to make sure that you only weld at about 2" from the end of the handles, otherwise the extra material will be too close to the center nut & prevent the scissor trap tool from closing fully...you want the scissor action to close nearly completely so that the spring is brought almost completely together. The final touch was when I cleaned & degreased the nut & bolt with some spray on brake cleaner, & applied Red Loctite thread locker & let it sit for a day. After those modifications, the improved set tool will close even the most stubborn #330 Magnum Conibear trap. Note: if you buy the set tool but you do not use any of my modifications, then do yourself a BIG favor & just check the nut & bolt assembly to make sure it is tight EACH time you go to try to set the trap...if the nut & bolt assembly is loose, it will "walk out" as you scissor the handles...each time you try to close the trap, the nut is spinning off, & after a few tries, the nut & bolt will be unstable enough to explosively shear off, & you could get hurt. Wearing eye protection, thick leather gloves & sturdy boots is a advisable. But if you choose to use any ONE of my suggestions here, then definitely use the Red Loctite to prevent the tool from breaking apart during use.Good steel. Handle could be longer for setting 220 traps.This is the added safety you need when setting a trap. It makes it much easier and I am a woman. I’d highly recommend.Simple and easy to useThese make setting your traps easy and quick. Very sturdy design won't slip or bend. Plenty of length from fulcrum to end of handle for added torque.This works great...just as advertised. Well made and makes it easy to set traps and recover trapped game.Used them for about 6 weeks setting 155's and 160's. They still work fine and they are easy to set conibears with, but they are not that great of quality and probably won't last real long.Defiantly worth getting if ur setting a few 330s but be under no illusion even with these you need some strength to compress the springsNo frill setting tool labeled 0965 , by Duke.Much packed with tightly taped bubble wrap in a large Amazon taped box.No rubber handles. No loop or notches for fingers.Was able to set /squeeze Belisle SuperX 160's spring rings (powerful pair) (SuperX160 square frame measures about 17 x 17 cm) despite having no experience whatsoever except for watching a helpful youtube video on how to set a Duke 220 by Fleming Oudoors.Was able to unset safely trap with same tool.Tool measures 52cm long and the hinge is 19.5 cm from the gripping hooks.Thus the (upper) leverage portion is 32.5 cm long.Do not forget to order the small security handling tool as a precaution when handling traps under tension, shown in the aforementioned video.The tool doesn't really gain you much leverage, the pivot is only just better than half way between handles and jaw. After a few times using it the jaws start to twist and bend away from each other, it doesn't have enough thickness to prevent this.This might work on much smaller traps but if you have a variety of traps I’d be looking for something a lot more heavy duty this is just basically some glorified sheet metal with a nut and boltPretty much useless for setting #330. Handles aren't long enough to compress springs with ease. Goggle "rope trick for conibear 330" and use that method to set the springs. Works like a charm and all you need is a couple feet of 3/8 to 1/2 inch rope. I recommend the rope method with the lasso hooked around the foot. Can be done with one hand in an emergency if you catch your hand/arm in it. I should note this tool will work for the final holding of the jaws, when you hook the trigger, but that's it.