Crimpers

[DailyDovetails]

I find myself crimping JST and Molex type connectors a fair amount. I recently put together some connectors for my EMG pickups and I’m not really happy with the quality of the crimps I get with these inexpensive import ones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJLB5LJ...=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWw . I’m thinking I might be happy with these https://www.amazon.com/ENGINEER-AWG...ix=crimper+engineer,aps,213&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1 I know you have to crimp twice with these and that’s ok. With the ones I have now it does the wire and casing at the same time and it’s often either loose on the wire or broken on the casing. Has anyone used this set or have a recommendation for something else that’s not crazy priced?

 

[Erik S]

I’ve done a lot of work with insulated crimp on terminal connectors and I never liked it until I got a ratcheting style crimper. They come out perfect every time, and it’s way easier to use. I have this Matco one, but I imagine the cheaper Amazon ones are also great.

CRIMPING TOOL FOR STANDARD CRIMP CT8000A | Matco Tools

www.matcotools.com

 

[jwin615]

Can't speak for that tool but Japan engineer brand tools are good to great
Chinese knockoffs are abound though

 

[Robert]

I've had some really shitty ones, but so far I've had good luck with this one:

Amazon.com

 

[Aentons]

Ive had these for a few years and they work fairly well for my purposes. I needed the smaller size and these are not as wide as some of the others. Also, that Engineer brand stuff is high quality.

IWISS Mini Micro Open Barrel Crimping Tool

Amazon.com

 

[DailyDovetails]

Thank you all of the suggestions so far. I will look into them especially the ratcheting type which I didn’t look at before. I was able to get some serviceable crimps with what I have but something else I think would do better. There was a lot of good info in here https://www.molex.com/content/dam/m...alcrimpbookpdf/638/63800/TM-638000029-001.pdf that helped also.

 

[Stickman393]

I'd suggest getting a ratcheting pair like the variety that @Robert posted.

I'd also advise against the engineers. Not that it's a bad tool company, but because I've got a pair like that and they're *very* difficult to get consistent results from.

Too much pressure, you snap the conductor you're working on. Too little, the lead slips right out of the crimp.

These are meant as a *field* tool, as they're lightweight and slip easily into a tool bag.

Ratcheting crimps are a much more precise and tend to be able to provide *far* more repeatable results. They're also able to do both the conductor and insulation crimps simultaneously. Not to mention that they have the advantage of being able to hold a terminal while you slip the conductor in place.

Honestly, there isn't much variation that I've found in these types of tools on Amazon. As long as you buy one that handles the terminal width that you're working with, you're good.

 

[DailyDovetails]

Well I mush have been good this year. Santa left me these along with some other tools in my stocking.


these work 10x better than my old crimpers and get pretty perfect connectors in 1 go. I need to fine tune the stripped length and process some but this is the 3rd crimp I made on 24 gauge wire for a JST connector.