Cable Hammer Crimper Tool

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infinity

infinity

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Has anyone ever used one of these for a few crimps? I need to make two crimps on some boat cables and don't feel like dragging the heavy Burndy battery crimper all the way from the job to the marina.

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ptonsparky said:
Use a bigger hammer than the one pictured. That is what one of our Pump installers use. Successfully.
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I've read some reviews for similar products and people say that they actually work. For less than $20 it might be worth it.
 
170422-1008 EDT

If I have a hydraulic cylinder that has a maximum force of 10,000 # based on pressure and cylinder area, and I compare this with an air cylinder of the same rating, then which press will produce a better insertion of a bearing cup, and why? Think about the mechanics.

How does this relate to the crimping tool of this thread?

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For automotive battery cables, welding cables, I see no issues, but for other uses I would not very comfortable w/ it.
 
170422-1201 EDT

I have never run a test myself, but I have been told that the peak shock level of a hammer hitting a nail can be around 1000 Gs. Thus, a 1# hammer hitting a nail would produce about 1000# force.

Can you provide 100# grip force with your hand? What is the mechanical advantage of a typical crimping tool?

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Hydraulic and certain other mechanical crimpers are designed to give the same crimp pressure every time. The hammer crimper pictured is cheap, but probably is pretty inconsistent in quality of each use. If there were a ratcheting mechanisim that made you at least use a minimum amount of travel each time the consistency would increase though.
 
Two things-
You need a good base mass to keep the energy of the hammer impact in the crimp (that's why a blacksmith usually uses the biggest anvil they can), and I'd be very uncomfortable with finding anything like that on any smaller boat.

For the love of (name), don't use a claw hammer!!! They have hardened faces which can chip. Use a ball- or cross-peen hammer, or even a no-bounce one.

ETA-
Repeatability? I'm sure it'll work for one crimp, but after 10 and your arm gets tired... and how do you tell that a crimp is good other than with some kind of gauge?
 
My NAPA parts guy GAVE me one. He said they had a spare. Of course I do his pump work at his house and he gets all my parts business.

they work very well on battery cables and welding cables. Where to buy? NAPA or Amazon.

Do they work as well as my Greenlee 1811 crimpers? No, but that's comparing a $300 tool to a $20 tool.
 
infinity said:
I've read some reviews for similar products and people say that they actually work. For less than $20 it might be worth it.
Click to expand...

use a single jack, and hit it more than once.
put it down on the concrete, and whap the crap outta it.
it'll work ok for what you need.
you can tell by the sound when it starts to ring, you're as
tight as you can get it.

if you are doing this on a boat, put a second single jack on the
dock laying flat, put the crimper on it, hit it with the first single
jack.
 
kwired said:
Hydraulic and certain other mechanical crimpers are designed to give the same crimp pressure every time. The hammer crimper pictured is cheap, but probably is pretty inconsistent in quality of each use. If there were a ratcheting mechanisim that made you at least use a minimum amount of travel each time the consistency would increase though.
Click to expand...

I think most people with experience in this field would be able to ascertain the crimped joint.
 
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