Patent ID: 8316549

Claim:
A compound leverage hand tool comprising: a. a pair of handles pivotally interconnected at a handle pivot axis, each handle having a hand grip at a first end and an open ended retention slot at a second opposite end; b. a tool head having a pair of pivotally interconnected, workpiece engaging members, each workpiece engaging member terminating at one end in a transverse mounting dowel parallel to the handle pivot axis, each mounting dowel being pivotally seated in a different one of the retention slots; c. a pair of tool head latches, each tool head latch pivotably connected at a latch pivot axis to a different one of the handles and having a locking finger on one side of the latch pivot axis adjacent the retention slot of its respective handle, each tool head latch having a latch pin fixed to the tool head latch on the other side of the latch pivot axis and extending through an elongated guide hole through its respective handle, wherein the tool head latches are pivotable relative to the retention slots between a locked position, in which the locking fingers block the retention slots and prevent the mounting dowels of the tool head from being removed from the retention slots and the latch pins are adjacent outermost edges of the elongated guide holes, and an unlocked position, in which the locking fingers do not block the retention slots, the mounting dowels of the tool head are removable from the retention slots and the latch pins are adjacent innermost edges of the elongated guide holes; d. a spring intermediate the latch pins and biasing the latch pins outwardly toward the outermost edges of the elongated guide holes; and e. a handle latch pivotally mounted to one of the latch pins for removably engaging the other of the latch pins and holding the latch pins against separation by the force applied by the spring.