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What is this tool for?


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pppfffttt...easy one

That's for making those garnishes you get on the side of your plate when you order a steak and a potato and nothing else....the top portion is for making the crinkles in those carrots some places serve...any other help you let me know ;)

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If you really don't know, it's for cutting, stripping and crimping wires. It can also be used for shortening some small numbered bolts. That's what those threaded holes in the jaws are for. Wire size notches for stripping are on the inside of the handles and a couple of places for crimping, again according to wire size.

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I have a bad habit of not calling tools by their given names.....it frustrates ma son....the tool go getter dude. In this case, on a friday, I would call it a wire plier. On saturday its a small hammer. Sunday its a grill cleaner, or grill clamp lifting deal.

Any other day it's in the way hidding a tool I can't find! :D

48D

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I find them to be effective wire shorteners. When you are crimping and the cheap hinge twists and shears off the crimp connection AND your wire....

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Unlike in the video, Dave is correct on the holes near the jaw pivot. They are for cutting machine screws to shorter lengths.

Merle

I had the same observation. The guy in the video did not know what he was talking about. I did not know there was an 8-32 gauge wire:rolleyes:

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I have aquired several over the years, none of them work right, the wire cutters either never cut all the way through the wire, or cut the wire 2.65 inches too short. Their crimpers if you use them as per the color code never effect a proper crimp connection, so after you get the wiring repaired and stuffed back behind the panel or back up under the dash, they always seperate after a couple of uses of whatever you rewired. If you use the next smaller one they alwyas tear the insulation on the connector.

The numbers on the holes allegedly for triming machine screws have no meaning, especially on the chinese made tools. their only purpose is for trimming nooodles to lenght and the numbers refer to the numbers on the noodle package.

The crimping end I have found is most effective for crushing the connector just shy of where the stripped wire ends. And the strippers are effective only for reducing the gauge of the wire you are working with by removing half of the wire strands along with the insulation.

Is any of this a real improvement over teeth, needle nose pliers and twisted wires with electrical tape????? besides those connectors add much more resistance to the circuit as compared to about three inches of stripped wire wrapped around the terminal post. And that big wad of electrical tape, I have found to be more effective at securing the wires into cramped spaces.

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I bought this VACO stripper/crimper tool in the 60's. I have had to tighten the rivet holding the jaws together a couple of times but it still works better than any I have used to date.

The tool on the right is a stripper that belonged to my dad. He told me it was military approved as it does not "nick" the wire. It works well but I do not use it much as it is a pain in the butt to use.

MVC-004F-2.jpg

MVC-002F-1.jpg

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To me the one above is really only good for a travel toolbox for emergencies. Here are the two tools I use for my wiring. The top one cuts and removes the insulation. The bottom one cuts and crimps. I solder all my wire connections too.

DSC01179.jpg

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your tool on the right has been improved upon since first concept..todays version has a spring loaded beak that snaps in place between the gripper and the die to lock the jaws open..this eliminates bird-caging of the wire being stripped..when you release the grip pressure on the tool...rather a pain, but for working plug pins (solder or crimped) they are fantastic..no distortion in the wire..easy quick insert into pin..the staking tool on the left..well I got spoiled a bit, Stak-on by Klien..my choice of crimper..

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Most of those type strippers seem to work better on solid core wire than they do on the multi-strand we use in automotive applications. The person in the demo was using solid core or he could never have spun the stripper around the wire. I've only used the bolt cutter holes a couple of times and it worked on a pair of Snap-ons but I wouldn't try it on a cheap set.

Using those insulated terminals as is ranks right up there with using scotch locks. I prefer pulling the insulation off, soldering the wire to the terminal and capping it with a bit of heat shrink tubing.

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To me the one above is really only good for a travel toolbox for emergencies. Here are the two tools I use for my wiring. The top one cuts and removes the insulation. The bottom one cuts and crimps. I solder all my wire connections too.

DSC01179.jpg

ditto that Ed. That stripper is a great tool...I've used it all over in my house on stranded and solid core.

Here are a few more plyers for electrical use. The round nosed pliers work really well for twisting wire to go under a screw as Greg mentioned.

MVC-005F-5.jpg

the one second from the right...my dad had/has one of those someplace...LOVED that thing!

Edited by ggdad1951
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That's a learning tool.

It teaches you that it makes very unreliable wire crimps and you'll soon be looking for a replacement with ratcheting and click/stop action.

I've never bothered with the ratchet type for crimping stranded wires because I do this:

...I prefer pulling the insulation off, soldering the wire to the terminal and capping it with a bit of heat shrink tubing.

Soldering irons are pretty cheap, not all that hard to use, and make a permanent, oxidation free connection. There is only one gotcha: It will stiffen the wire where the solder wicks along the strands, so you need to be careful that the wire will not be flexing in that area or it will fatigue and break.

I do use the ratchet type crimper/installer tools when working with coax cable and with telephone/networking cables.

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I've never bothered with the ratchet type for crimping stranded wires because I do this:

Soldering irons are pretty cheap, not all that hard to use, and make a permanent, oxidation free connection. There is only one gotcha: It will stiffen the wire where the solder wicks along the strands, so you need to be careful that the wire will not be flexing in that area or it will fatigue and break.

I do use the ratchet type crimper/installer tools when working with coax cable and with telephone/networking cables.

Agree there. The simple red/green/yellow crimps are never very good.

Soldering is very good. I use that most of the time as well for one-sies/two-sies wires, along with shrink tubing to protect it.

When connecting a small tree of wires, I usually use the interconnects that crimp onto a wire to then slide and lock into a teflon connector body that can be disconnected at will.

Those things are crimped and can't be soldered. With some dielectric grease on the connections, they are pretty much impervious to anything.

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Soldering irons are pretty cheap, not all that hard to use, and make a permanent, oxidation free connection.

I agree soldering irons dont cost much. I have a lot of them some but not all pictured below. However the oxidation free connection depends on the flux and the solder used.

1.jpg

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To me the one above is really only good for a travel toolbox for emergencies. Here are the two tools I use for my wiring. The top one cuts and removes the insulation. The bottom one cuts and crimps. I solder all my wire connections too.

DSC01179.jpg

Those are the two tools my Dad (a Master Electrican) taught me to use at a young age. He taught me to solder too!

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