Old school vs new tools finally made me switch

Back in 2008 when I first started doing cable installs I swore by the old screwdriver and punch down method for terminating jacks. Took forever but I felt like a real pro doing it that way. Then about 3 years ago I picked up one of those newer impact tools with the adjustable spring tension after a buddy in Atlanta kept bugging me to try it. I fought it for like 2 months just out of habit and stubbornness honestly. Finally gave in on a job where I had to do 60 jacks in a single day at a office building downtown. I finished in 4.5 hours instead of my usual 8 or 9 and the connections actually looked cleaner with less broken wires. Now I keep that impact tool in my main bag and only break out the old screwdriver for tight spots or when I gotta fix something someone else messed up. Anyone else hang onto old methods way too long before switching?

2 comments

2 Comments

hollyg5918d ago

Gotta say @grant.nina, you're pretty much right about the impact tools making things faster, but I noticed you mentioned "tension settings" and that's one little thing people get wrong a lot. Most of those tools don't really have adjustable tension in the way folks think, it's usually just a way to set how deep the punch goes or a simple high/low setting. You wanna watch the tension thing because if you crank it too high you'll start breaking the wire clips inside the jack, especially on the cheaper keystone jacks. I learned that the hard way when I had to redo a whole panel after chipping plastic on half the ports. The adjustable part is handy for different brand jacks but don't treat it like a dial for how hard you want to slam the wire in. It's more about matching the tool to the specific jack's depth requirement so you don't nick the conductors underneath. Anyway, glad you made the switch too because that old screwdriver method is a hand cramp waiting to happen on big jobs.

grant.nina18d ago

Used to roll my eyes at folks with fancy tools thinking they were just wasting money, but after doing a big job with my old setup and realizing how sore my hand was getting I finally caved. Picked up a decent impact tool last year and now I can't believe I went so long without one since it cuts my termination time nearly in half. Took some getting used to at first but once I figured out the tension settings there was no going back to the old way of doing things.