how do you guys get so fast?

This thread's about over, but I'll add mine:

I also think the best way to speed up is to watch the most experienced people. Don't think of yourself as slow, just observe and emulate if you see a good idea. Don't confuse this with hack work!

I worked in a bay before and I thought I'd do alright, but I was a little slow at first. After watching some of the guys, I picked up tricks here and there.

It frustrated me because I can do very good wiring and soldering....after all, I am a tech, but wiring cars is a whole new game! I'm very fast with mechanical work too, I can change a timing belt or whatever as fast as any mechanic.

The trick is to know what has to be done, have all of your tools and supplies where you need them and stay organized.

In regards to putting the butt splices on the harnesses, that could save you time if you crimp twice, but you really only need to crimp once. Pigtail the harnesses together, cut it down and crimp it. Solid 'caps' are great for this, but the open end is great for testing or adding wiring in the future. It struck me as odd at first, but after I did it once, I kept doing it. Much better crimp too. That is one 'trick' I learned working with the pros, excellent time saver for HUs.  

Personally, I like to solder and I can do that very fast, but most shops won't encourage that.

I also broke my thumb in high school and never got proper medical attention, now it is about 50% dexterity of my right...but only thousands in surgery can fix it if it's possible, extensive manual labor is not for me. If anyone knows a good hand surgeon, please let me know! ok, time for zzzzz  zzzzzz  

Crimping deck wire harness's is probably the hardest thing to do, , , shure your done in like 5 min, , but it takes 30 min to figure out how to cram that fat bundle of crimps behind the radio.

Twist and solder is the best, cleanest, safest, most tidy way to do anything.  Theres no way around it!  If my boss told me to stop soldering and start crimping, id give him the ol finger and walk right out the door.

All connections on N.A.S.A. space craft must be soldered.

I do installs in my front yard and I solder everything.

I put in a HU and soldered it, then put a crimp over it just to save time, at that point, the crimp doesn't hold anything together, it just insulates it.  When I have time to kill, I'll do a smooth western-union splice with perfectlky fitting shrink tube....never have problems fitting that into a tight spot!

The shop I worked at always had cars coming back, non which were mine. The problem was always a bad crimp connection or a bad ground. Once, an installer dropped the cross-over units inside the door plastic, they got all wet and caused the speakers to crackle!