Crimping – Help Requested

[Ed P]

As many may know, if you are joining really thin wires to anything it is recommended that you first of all crimp on a pin connector and then solder to this. (Direct soldering of thin wires is disparaged as the thin wire will wick up the solder and make the wire prone to being easily broken). Similarly you use connectors such as this to make up jumper connections to headers. Thus far, easy peasy, and with a bit of care it is relatively easy to use a pair of long-nosed pliers to mash up/crimp the wire and connector together.

However, I was always taught to use the ‘right’ tool for the job so I purchased a crimping tool, but no matter how hard I try the results are absolutely terrible and unusable. The You-tube videos I have tried are rubbish as it is impossible to see exactly how the wire/pin connector fit into the crimper prior to mashing them together.

Does anyone have any practical advice on how to use a crimping tool?

Thanks, in anticipation and a big thank-you to Lee for setting up this area.

[Steve C]

These pins need a specific type of jaw in the crimpers to form the correct shape. It looks to me as though the ones in the link are the type used for general purpose crimping, used, for example, when fitting an accessory to a car.

I have several pairs of the type you need, I will try and find a link to info about them.

[Steve C]

Found something on Youtube which gives an idea

[Ed P]

Thanks Steve, that is a much better link than those I found and totally appropriate for thin wires – I’ll waste a couple of dozen more crimps and have another go!

[Ed P]

In the end I wasted over a hundred – I’m still carp at doing this. I guess it is a combination of failing eyesight and too much force, but I think it is going to be a while before I can guarantee reasonable results every time. I’m now moving on to the smaller variety of crimps to make these, so I guess a couple of hundred crimps and bits of wire are due to go in the bin!

Bob – thanks for adding the navigation to this section. When I have finalised everything to my satisfaction (including the crimps!) I’ll do a post on reusing the bits from an old Squeezebox as a ‘kitchen’ pc/media centre with built-in 5 inch monitor. Nothing mind-blowing just bringing together a few well-known and maybe lesser-known  techniques. (Be kind when you look at the soldering – the old eyes and coordination are not what they used to be.)

[Richard]

A magnifying glass on a stand can be a great help as long as you can keep the bits in view long enough without moving up, down or sideways and out of view. It is over 30 years since I did any of those, I found a few, a very few left over bits in a box a few months back though the pin removal tool, though unused these days is more readily to hand, it is just a bit of plastic and bent metal really.It was very useful if you had to change a made up item or had  inserted the pins or sockets in the wrong layout.

As I remember it the crimper was quite a small lightweight item and much easier to handle that the ‘it can do everything’ types sometimes offered for sale. I would really struggle with a heavy tool and tiny pins and wires.

Richard

[Ed P]

Thanks Richard – I now use a +5 pair of specs and a ‘third hand’ to solder, the specs help with the actual soldering but almost give me motion sickness when I use them!

[Author]

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