>>1553158>place the wire between the bolt and washer and pull the cable down around it and towards the wheel with a pair of pliersI normally use a small pair of needle nose vice grips
looks like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Long-Nose-Adjustable-Mini-Vise-Grip-Locking-Pliers-Welding-Clamps-5-125mm-/264094513820ovb make sure the shifter is in the lowest gear
and dont use too much force as you just want to take the slack out of the cable
for bottom hinged FD I have as needed jammed a small bit of wood into the FD pivot to hold the FD at the height I want above the lower limit screw
then after the cable is secured the FD takes up the slack in the cable by falling down after the wood is taken out
some old derailleurs have a notch to rest the extra length of cable
>tfw poor https://www.parktool.com/product/cable-stretcher-bt-2 