Ratcheting Crimp Tool Question
 

In my collection of crimp tools I have an Aim tool with a die for RG-58
BNC connectors, the new West Mountain Radio tool with a die for PowerPole
connectors and a Tool Aid set with 5 dies for various insulated and
uninsulated terminals. I've noticed that the dies for these tools all
look somewhat alike with respect to the way they are mounted to their
frames. The dies look as if they would fit all three frames.

If the mounting method and dimensions are the same, is there any reason
not to use a die with a different frame?

Does anyone know of a cross reference of commonly available crimp tools
that lists which dies are interchangeable with which frames?

73, Fred, K4DII

Fred:

As long as you can determine the closure distance is the same, and the
geometry is the same (primarily the way the crimp tool handles the pivot for
the jaws), you should be ok. However, if the mounting is only "similar" be
very careful of the two things:
1) the width of the crimp tool in regard to the slot in the die. If the slot
in the die isn't the same width, it could be mis-registered and cause
problems closing.
2) (and most important) be particularly careful that the closure is the same
as the original crimp tool. Even a few thousandths of an inch makes a
tremendous difference in whether a crimp is performed correctly, too loose
(the dies do not close fully and the connection is not crimped with
sufficient pressure to make the proper contact) or too tight (the die
over-travels relative to the intended distance, which could damage the
conductor or terminal used, even to the point where the termination is
significantly weaker than intended).

Some crimp tools are adjustable to account for potential wear, and I've seen
many a crimped connection that failed from improper setting of the tool,
either too loose, which typically causes the joint to fail due to heat, etc.,
or too tight, which typically over crushes the conductor, making the
termination break off at the shoulder of the crimp, or actually fracture the
terminal material, causing it to fail and drop off under physical stress.
Either way, the connection failed and caused problems later on. This is a
particularly bad problem if the crimp is covered with heat shrink, as it
"looks ok" until you put it under stress, either electrical or physical...

Good Luck
--Rick AH7H

Fred McKenzie wrote:

In my collection of crimp tools I have an Aim tool with a die for RG-58
BNC connectors, the new West Mountain Radio tool with a die for PowerPole
connectors and a Tool Aid set with 5 dies for various insulated and
uninsulated terminals. I've noticed that the dies for these tools all
look somewhat alike with respect to the way they are mounted to their
frames. The dies look as if they would fit all three frames.

If the mounting method and dimensions are the same, is there any reason
not to use a die with a different frame?

Does anyone know of a cross reference of commonly available crimp tools
that lists which dies are interchangeable with which frames?

73, Fred, K4DII

In article , Rick Frazier
wrote:

As long as you can determine the closure distance is the same, and the
geometry is the same (primarily the way the crimp tool handles the pivot for
the jaws), you should be ok. However, if the mounting is only "similar" be
very careful of the two things:
1) the width of the crimp tool in regard to the slot in the die. If the slot
in the die isn't the same width, it could be mis-registered and cause
problems closing.
2) (and most important) be particularly careful that the closure is the same
as the original crimp tool.

Rick-

Thanks for the pointers. I suppose it is common sense, but I wouldn't
have thought about the jaw pivot arrangement making a difference.

Today I found an Ideal Industries "Crimp Master" tool with a die for cable
TV connectors, in a local store. That makes 4 tools for comparison.

Based on your comments, I found that the Tool Aid crimper and the Ideal
Crimp Master appear to have compatible dies. The Aim has a smaller die
slot width. The West Mountain Radio crimp tool for PowerPole connectors
has a similar size die, but the jaw arrangement is different from the
others.

I tried a couple of the Tool Aid dies in the Crimp Master frame and
produced similar crimps with similar pressure compared to using the Tool
Aid frame. My next step is to try interchanging dies with a different
tool a friend has. Between us, we hope to find what kinds of dies are
compatible with our frames.

73, Fred, K4DII