Appreciation post: The moment I stopped fighting with old crimp tools

For years I was using a beat up manual crimper from the 90s on MDM connectors, fighting every single pin. Last month I finally grabbed a proper ratcheting crimp tool for $60 and finished a full harness in half the time. Anybody else have a tool swap that saved your hands this much?

2 comments

2 Comments

henry60417d ago

Dude, that ratcheting tool thing is a game changer, right? I had a similar moment with my old manual strippers that had these dull blades that would always nick the wire. I just assumed all strippers did that until I finally caved and got a proper pair with a little adjustment wheel. Now I can actually strip 100 wires in a row without mangling half of them. It's wild how using the right tool makes you wonder why you put up with the garbage one for so long. My hands don't cramp up halfway through a job anymore and that alone is worth the $40.

the_lucas17d ago

My hands used to cramp up something awful too, I thought that was just part of the job until I switched to a ratcheting crimper for terminals and realized my old method was basically torture. That adjustment wheel on strippers is exactly what I needed all along but never knew existed, I spent years fighting with dull blades and mangled wires for no good reason. It's honestly crazy how much easier a job gets when you stop using tools that are actively working against you.