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Rant: my crimp tool sat in a drawer for 8 months and the difference after one calibration class blew my mind
So I've been doing harness work on the line for about 6 years now and I always figured my crimps were fine because nothing ever came back as a fail. Then back in October our shop sent three of us to a 2 day class down in Wichita and the instructor had us pull test our own work before and after. My before samples were averaging 18 to 22 pounds of pull force on 20 gauge pins when the spec sheet says 30 minimum. Same tool, same dies, same wire. The only thing that changed was I learned the tool needed a full squeeze and about a half second hold instead of me ratcheting it quick and letting go. After the class I redid 40 terminations on a bench harness and hit 34 to 38 pounds on all but two. I went back to my box and found the ratchet mechanism was worn just enough that the release was tripping early and I never noticed because the crimp still looked good under a loupe. Ordered a rebuild kit that week and now I check pull force on the first and last pin of every connector I build. Did anybody else get surprised by a worn ratchet on a tool they trusted for years, or am I the only one who never checked?
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amymiller22d ago
That "still looked good under a loupe" part is what gets me, because that's exactly how it sneaks past you. I ran a worn ratchet for probably two years before someone finally pull tested my work and told me half of it was under spec. You're not the only one who never checked, most of us just trust the tool until something forces us to look.
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