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Another crimping thread

Started by Phonesrfun, May 23, 2011, 11:52:13 PM

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Phonesrfun

I have been in e-mail contact with one of our members and took some pictures and added some text to them.  Since I made the pictures, I thought I would also post them here. 

These pictures and the narratives only cover the smaller spade tips and the crimper that has been widely talked about in other threads.  I hope to take some pictures of doing the larger spade tips later.

Here are some photos of doing the small wires using the 22-26 gauge die in the small part of the crimper.  The larger spades use the 20-22 gauge die.

Insert the tip so that the open end of the base of the tip faces the bottom of the U-shaped die.  It should stay in the die all by itself.  While it is in the die, thread the wire through from the back side.  While holding it in place, apply pressure and crimp it real tight.

It may take some practice, so count on using up some tips at first.
-Bill G

rp2813

Hi Bill,

I asked this on the other crimper thread over a week ago but I think that one has died out.

Would that same size of spade be usable on handset cords, particularly for coiled G1/G3 handset cords?  It seems to me that the spades from Radio Shack and the type in your pictures are larger than what was originally used on handset cords.  I'm particularly concerned about the spades being too big 1) To adequately crimp around the gauge of conductor in handset cords, and 2) To fit in the tight connection space on the back of a U1/U3 receiver element.

Any advice is most welcome.  I have a handset cord with bad spade connections on both the chassis end and the receiver end, but don't want to mess with it until I know I have the right size spades.  My spades are the smallest I could find at RS, the 22-26 size, and I am using that same crimper, which by the way works fine on station wire and mounting cords.

Thanks,

Ralph
Ralph

Phonesrfun

I have a damaged cord from a G3 handset.  I need to make a phone call right now, but after that, I will try it and post a picture.
-Bill G

Phonesrfun

On a G3 handset cord with the 22-26 spade, it works flawlessly.  Here are before and after pics:

-Bill G

rp2813

Thanks Bill.  I am going to give it a try.
Ralph

Nilsog

Where can we pick up this crimper and related spades? I've been having a heck of a time with having to strip new wire and put the generic non-self piercing spades on... usually breaking the wire and getting very frustrated in the process.
Ken

Phonesrfun

Oldphoneworks has them


www.oldphoneworks.com

-Bill G

RotoTech99

From:RotoTech99:

When I crimp on lugs to modern line cords to make spade to mod. cords, I like to put the wire in the lug first, press it down onto the contact points with a tiny pocket screwdriver to be sure the contacts pierce and hit the conductor, then crimp on the lug.

If necessary due to wire size, I'll slightly compress the lug sides, then press the wire into it, then crimp the lug on. 


I also salvage the old WE style lugs from their old plastic jacket cords for this; they easily crimp and adapt to the plastic wires. Opening the lugs takes a little patience so you don't "smush" the piercing prongs in the process, but it is a  good way to reuse what would ordinarily be a cord tossed out due to damage, or other causes.

They also give me better "contact" when hooking them up than the newer lugs by Radio Shack
.

Babybearjs

I've had no problem with the spades from Radio-Shack, They work great. the only problem I with them is when I have to bend them 90 degrees... the spade can fail if bent back flat. the aluminum is too cheap. the other problem one can run into is the length of the spade. I have had to nip off the tips so they don't interfere with other connections. I also have to order on the web for these as they have closed all the R/S stores in my area. they're website is still up and running.....
John

Tim Mc

#9
For my older cord projects I've ordered some self-piercing spade connectors from Digi-Key:  Amp 61498-1, CONN SPADE 22-28AWG #5 STR CRIMP.  They can be purchased individually, and are $0.0966 each when you get 100 up to 250.  I ordered 100 for $17.18 shipping included, which is only about $2-3 more than the price from other sources for only 50 connectors.  The finish appears to be brass.  They have another part number that's in a tin/silver finish (Amp 61498-2).  I'll try to remember to post how they work on cloth-covered and vinyl insulation.

~Tim






19and41

I've used the crimper shown in this thread to fabricate handsets for our rail communications equipment and there is one thing I would do in the event that the wire insulation makes the self piercing feature of the spade terminations not get a consistent good connection.  I strip about an eighth of an inch of insulation from the wire and fold it back beneath where the wire cradles on the piercing points.  I would have to prep a number of cords and it was worth it to insure consistent results.
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