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Which crimper should I buy to make these connectors?!

VERAULT

VERAULT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
9,973
I have decided to start crimping my own cables rather than buy them pre-crimped to save money and for the fun of it.
I have the ends but am not sure which crimper I need to make them. T
here is nothing stamped on the strip of ends so I have an headphone jack for scale. 20200822_101609_resized.jpg
 
I use a cheapie JST-SM type crimper for that kind of stuff. I think it was like $12 on Amazon or Ebay. I don't remember for sure though.
 
I can't tell you the name for this type of crimp connection, but the crimpers are not hard to find. Here's an example on Amazon.


You can see that for each crimp size, there are two sections with different height. The smaller portion is for crimping around the wire, and the larger is for crimping the strain-relief portion around the insulation. These crimpers have a "gull-wing" shape at the top, to fold the sides of the connector back into the wire and create an airtight connection at at least a couple of points.

I happen to have a ratcheting-type tool, like in the link, as well as a simpler "lever-action" tool. Both work fine, but the ratchet tool produces a more consistent result.
 
It's always best to buy the Manufacturer's Crimper for their brand of pins. Molex Crimper for Molex Pins,
AMP Crimper for AMP Pins, etc. If you don't make a good crimp, you will be in for lots of problems.

Heck, I've seen folks make those crimps with needle nose pliers...... But, not me!

Larry
 
VERAULT said:
I have decided to start crimping my own cables rather than buy them pre-crimped to save money and for the fun of it.
I have the ends but am not sure which crimper I need to make them. T
here is nothing stamped on the strip of ends so I have an headphone jack for scale. View attachment 63072
Click to expand...

Don't know but I have several crimpers and I'll be have to see. Question: Nice photo and what did you use to take and post it. I tried to put a photo up on this forum a few days ago, using my Moto cell phone, and it looked like it posted okay and then the forum whacked it. Just curious. Actually, when I'm not rushed I've been soldering my cables when possible. I do have a nice crimper set for RG-6 compliments of Directv which left behind a few years back.
 
ldkraemer said:
It's always best to buy the Manufacturer's Crimper for their brand of pins. Molex Crimper for Molex Pins,
AMP Crimper for AMP Pins, etc. If you don't make a good crimp, you will be in for lots of problems.

Heck, I've seen folks make those crimps with needle nose pliers...... But, not me!

Larry
Click to expand...

I got those ends from jameco I think , a couple years ago, I dont know the manufacturer or what they are even called.
 
Agent Orange said:
Don't know but I have several crimpers and I'll be have to see. Question: Nice photo and what did you use to take and post it. I tried to put a photo up on this forum a few days ago, using my Moto cell phone, and it looked like it posted okay and then the forum whacked it. Just curious. Actually, when I'm not rushed I've been soldering my cables when possible. I do have a nice crimper set for RG-6 compliments of Directv which left behind a few years back.
Click to expand...

I have an LG smartphone I got from walmart for $45.00. Just a basic android smartphone. I take the photo, open the email program and attach the photo. It asks what size and I pick small and that makes it automatically a size small enough for the forum to accept. It somehow got a crack in it in the past week. Im am pretty fed up with smart phones and everything forcing you to update and nothing ever works. I have been reading on flip phones and I think Im going to switch.. They are the same price anyway. I hate what "phones" have become.
 
VERAULT said:
I have an LG smartphone I got from walmart for $45.00. Just a basic android smartphone. I take the photo, open the email program and attach the photo. It asks what size and I pick small and that makes it automatically a size small enough for the forum to accept. It somehow got a crack in it in the past week. Im am pretty fed up with smart phones and everything forcing you to update and nothing ever works. I have been reading on flip phones and I think Im going to switch.. They are the same price anyway. I hate what "phones" have become.
Click to expand...

Most likely 'operator error' on my part as I never though to look for size.
 
Look for a Greenlee or Paladin 1645 for the smaller pins and 1631 for the larger pins.
They are referred to as barrel pin connectors.

Very expensive new, but they show up regularly on Ebay (or in the pre-COVID days at hamfests). paid about $45 for each.

There are lots of Chinese clones. They really don't compare with a well made crimper.

1645 is for 30 - 18 awg
1631 is for 24 - 14 awg
 
VERAULT said:
Thanks Gekaufman, any idea what size my pins are?
Click to expand...

I doubt they are larger than 18 gauge, so the 1645 is probably better (and cheaper).

There are a bunch on Ebay in the $40+ shipping range. Just make sure the jaws/die look like they are in reasonable condition.

- Gary
 
I use a pair of needle nose pliers and then solder them. I don't need to worry about a special sized crimper. I'm not doing assembly line work but I'll put one of my soldered connectors up against any crimped one in a pull test or resistance test.
Dwight
 
Dwight Elvey said:
I use a pair of needle nose pliers and then solder them. I don't need to worry about a special sized crimper. I'm not doing assembly line work but I'll put one of my soldered connectors up against any crimped one in a pull test or resistance test.
Dwight
Click to expand...

I also soldered connectors for years, but I've grown to prefer crimping. At least for me it's way quicker and there is no chance that the heat will damage insulation or wick up into the wire.

To quote LEMO, "The truth to the matter is that both methods will produce highly reliable wire terminations when processed correctly. When building cable assemblies, it is simply a matter of choice. "

But if you're going to crimp the cheap Chinese crimpers are often of poor quality in my experience, and spending a bit more for a better quality tool is worthwhile.

I first learned about the Paladin 1645 from Glitch here on this forum, see:

http://www.vcfed.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-63519.html

Also worth a read:

http://tech.mattmillman.com/info/crimpconnectors/

- Gary
 
When I worked at Intel, we used to have a lot of cables with the smaller pins. We used a high speed crimper. It still required a skilled operator. If the pin was not set at just the right location the crimper would push the edge of the pins crimp down against the wire, rather than squeezing the crimp at the center. Th would usually shear most of the strands of the wire. The few that were lefts would slide out. The other was if the insulation got into the crimp, there wasn't enough room for the wire and insulation. This would rip the wire apart. We used to use a pull tester that had to be manually setup. I often wondered if it might be faster to just use a manual crimper as the extra step of the pull test, cost about as much time as a manual crimp.
If I have a crimper, I also would prefer to use one but for hobby use I find it hard to justify the cost. If I was in production I would clearly use a crimping tool.
It is just if you have a small project, sometimes soldering is not a bad option.
Dwight
 
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