Advice, Solderless Crimpers

The lower one looks better. BTW This is one of my strippers, it's too damned big for modern cars/wiring/dashboards. http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Industrial-Tools-2078300-Self-Adjusting/dp/B000OQ21CA/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_17?

I have one of those. It's not an IRWIN, but the design is identical. And I think it's great for auto work, but so far 90% of my stuff is ≥ 16G. Luckily I have the luxury of pondering and cross-examining this issue for as long as I want, and since I am learning along the way...I am doing exactly that. Additionally, I do not Tweet/Blog/Facebook/Vine etc.; instead I try to broaden my knowledge base thru participation in learning/teaching forums such as this. 'Good to hear from you, Howie!

And yourself! The head on that tool is just to big to safely get into modern looms with many, many thin wires. There was a movie "Executive Decision" where our hero strips wire insulation with a laser! I wish.

Found another one: Ideal CrimpMaster 30-500

The search has concluded. A frenzy of online searching yielded a source where they were giving these beauties away for less than $60 so I pulled the trigger. I have been mighty happy with my other two IDEAL tools...and I expect more of the same with this one. I got it from here where they even offer free shipping on purchases of $150 or greater.

I have some ideal strippoers, really good.

Shall I therefore assume you approve of my decision, Sir?

HaHa, if in three months you post and tell me how great they are, yes. Sorry for that answer, I'm in cynical old b. mode.

ronemca wrote: So I have found a few more tools about which I'd like some feedback. Paladin 1305 Paldin 8022

You can almost never go wrong with Paladin tools. I rate them as comparable to Klein in terms of professional electrical tools.

ronemca wrote: ...and BTW - this particular tool keeps popping up with alternating part numbers. On Amazon and some other sites, p/n 8000 is described as "Frame only". I realize the dies are interchangeable, and that "frame only" should mean NO DIES INCLUDED, but the picture clearly shows the tool (and describes it as coming) with R/B/Y dies installed. Other sites make the same error. I wrote in to Amazon to propose a correction, but they declined. And I also posted a question of other owners, and a gentleman said his came with dies pre-installed. Yes I realize I can return it if it does not arrive as shown...but for me that's not only problematic, but...well...silly.

Go to the manufacturer's site, what does it say there? That info trumps all others.

ronemca wrote: Overshadowing all of this is... Aside from the sometimes exorbitant cost, the mecha[quote]nism of all these tools appears to be identical. If that presumption is correct

I assure you, it's not. They're similar- but I recently had to make new plug wires for my truck, and thought the same thing. I bought a set of dies for spark terminals and found they didn't fit properly into the frame. I had to modify the die- nothing difficult to do, if you understand how the tool works.

ronemca wrote: I guess what I am saying is that in every case, the fail-ability of the human operator is virtually eliminated.

Incorrect. Proper orientation of the crimp connector in the tool is CRUCIAL to a proper crimp. There's no way to assure this without the op using their eyes and orienting it properly. You'd be surprised how many "professional installations" I've had to rework for this one simple fact."Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it. - Robert A. Heinlein"

howie ll wrote: The lower one looks better. BTW This is one of my strippers, it's too damned big for modern cars/wiring/dashboards. http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Industrial-Tools-2078300-Self-Adjusting/dp/B000OQ21CA/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_17?

Those are passable, but just barely. The automatic stripper is neat, but won't work with all sorts of wire jacket (as I recall, THHN wire gives it fits- but then you won't find it much in cars from the factory- I like to use it for winch control lines and the like, low-voltage low current work for relays) But the crimper being on the hand side of the device means you get no mechanical advantage- so it's tougher on the hand and you don't get as good a crimp."Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it. - Robert A. Heinlein"