What do you generally use for removing/installing pill assemblies from flashlights? In my limited experience, most pills have two holes on either side that you can use for leverage.
I’ve been using my DMM probes as a makeshift tool. I knew this was a bad idea from the start, and not surprisingly, broke the tip off one of my probes this weekend.
Surely there’s a better/more appropriate tool to use for this purpose…
Needlenose pliers or tweezers.
also snap ring pliers work well
Two long thin sharp wood screws or plaster/dry wall screws through a piece of hardwood.
Or two obo masonry nails with an elastic/rubber band round the middle to form an X
that sounds like a surefire way to scratch your threads/driver.
Needle nose pliers, like these:
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10003268/1247602-wlxy-professional-mini-long-needle-nose-pliers
I filed the tips to make them fit into most holes.
You can easily ruin your tweezers doing that, but my tweezers are so expensive that I get away with this mis-use.
That sure sounds like a logistical pain when a pair of common long nosed pliers will do.
There are proper tools but i’ve always used these 
larger tweezers or smaller needle-nose-like pliers.
Not everyone has a pair if needle nose pliers laying around, but most people have a couple of nails or screws laying around somewhere
As they say, sometimes the best tool for the job is the one you have to hand, not the ideal tool that u dont
I did it once as I didn’t have long nose pliers with me, actually worked surprisingly well as the two points are solidly fixed to the distance between the holes,unlike pliers that move
Anyway this is the budget light forum
Everyone will need a pair of long nosed pliers at sometime in there life, so might as well buy them now. The price of a cup of coffee.
for the pills with the two “holes’ on the side i use a pair of angle Snap-ring pliers.
It depends on the size of the holes. A good pair of needlenose pliers, or pair of these needle tweezers for pills with very small holes.
For some pills I use a precision mini Philips screwdriver which has a harder tip, apply the right pressure/angle and you can open a pill without needing two prongs.
I did get some cheap snap ring pliers but they fell apart on the first use after I spent a little time filing the tips into smaller points. They don’t seem designed to take much torque.
Those are too expensive! 
These are $1.99 ATM, I got some @$1.29. Watch for sales. Work great without having to file the tips if you select carefully from the stock.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-3-4-quarter-inch-needle-nose-pliers-40696.html
I make sets of ring and pill tools from thin wall steel tubing. The size shown is cut from old tent poles of 0.03” wall thickness which allows the tines to flex in or out for various diameters, but without any rotational flex. Sturdy and stable. I wrap them with masking tape for better grip and to avoid scratches. These are all I use.
Can’t remember when I last saw my long needle or chain nose pliers.
Can’t remember my birth date.
I always use one of these, they are meant for other thing, but work very well:
There are a lot of tips available, with different thicknesses and angles.
(I think they are designed to work with something I think is called seeger lock)
Snap ring/circlip pliers made from stamped steel are usually flimsy when used for this, ones that are machined and have a solid pivot pin are much much tougher.
These probably would not work well: http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-circlip-pliers-set-97406.html or http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-retaining-ring-pliers-set-610.html
Cheap needlenose pliers can be really cheap, cheap enough you can grab a handful from the bargain bin and then grind the tips down to whatever size/shape you need.
Wow, so many quick and helpful replies! Thanks everyone! The tips of my needle-nose pliers are too thick. But you guys posted some good links to smaller ones (or I can file a cheap pair). I thought about using tweezers, but in my limited experience, some of the pills are in there pretty tight and I was afraid the tweezers wouldn’t be strong enough (though I’d rather have broken tweezers than my DMM probes, duh!).
I just thought maybe there was a tool I wasn’t aware of, like a mini-pitchfork with two prongs (something like a tuning fork maybe). But pliers/tweezers ought to do it. I also like the nail hack!
Thanks again!
95% of the time needle nose pliers work best. For the tiny stuff, these are very sturdy. I'm surprised the tips are still straight and sharp.
http://intl-outdoor.com/stainless-steel-straight-tweezers-p-297.html
I have an old “chart divider” or caliper that I use (had to look up the name).
Picked up at a Sunday market for a few coins.