Hey all, Just thought I'd give some feedback on a new tool. I've been doing some battery work and decided to get one of those Hydraulic crimpers. Best price, by far, was Harbor Freights 8 ton version. I picked one up ($55 as I remember) and have made several crimps with it.   Here's what I think of it to date.   Pros: Price - Well, it's HF, price is their thing. Crimps - For the dies it has, I like the crimp. Crimp shape is Hexagonal on the larger sizes Capacity - The Jaws open quite wide allowing very large size Wire. I was using #2, but suspect a 00 would easily fit. Construction - Seems well enough made but time will tell Dies - Very easy to replace. They fit well and a variety of sizes Very easy to use. About 8 to 12 pumps with little effort needed. Resets easy as it is a simple valve like a hyd jack has.     Cons: Dies - Though it states dies up to 0 (1 aught), it was really a better fit for a 4 or possibly a 2. I did get my 2 in there and made a good though not perfect crimp. From there the sizes go way down to a 14 I believe. Something for which a Hydraulic crimper is not needed IMO.     Conclusion...worth the money and glad I bought (as opposed to the Ancor brand hammer crimp or a much more $$ name brand Hydraulic. The dies that are for the smaller sizes are near worthless... except I am taking them to a friends machine shop to see if they can be drilled out. At least I would have a large, albeit round, crimp for larger cables. Problem I expect is that they are hardened to a certain extent and may not drill well. We shall see.     Anybody else have this tool? Joel Wilkins m/s Miss Magoo Columbia 45 m/v Liberty Call Trophy 2802 Treasure Island, FL

I have one and it seems that the die sizes are off. Agreed, it is not needed for smaller sizes. Got mine 2 years ago and arrive at correct die size by trial and error. This was a subject on this forum 3 years ago. Let us know if they can be drilled. On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 9:59 AM, Joel Wilkins <cruiser6003@yahoo.com> wrote: > > Hey all, > > < SNIP > > > Anybody else have this tool? > > > Joel Wilkins > m/s Miss Magoo Columbia 45 > m/v Liberty Call Trophy 2802 > Treasure Island, FL >

I just got through with a major replacement of all my battery cables for my 6x6vdc house bank moving up to 00 cable and lugs. I got my HF hydraulic crimper at a marine yard sale for $20. I had a machine shop in Ft. Pierce, FL grind out the so-called 00 dies so that a 00 lug would fit in. They charged $20. Beautiful crimps! And the real good news was that after guestimating 50' of cable, I had 3 inches left over! dave On Feb 26, 2013, at 11:54 AM, Ron Rogers <rcrogers6@gmail.com> wrote: > I have one and it seems that the die sizes are off. Agreed, it is not > needed for smaller sizes. Got mine 2 years ago and arrive at correct die > size by trial and error. This was a subject on this forum 3 years ago. Let > us know if they can be drilled. > > On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 9:59 AM, Joel Wilkins <cruiser6003@yahoo.com> wrote: > >> >> Hey all, >> >> < SNIP > >> >> Anybody else have this tool? >> >> >> Joel Wilkins >> m/s Miss Magoo Columbia 45 >> m/v Liberty Call Trophy 2802 >> Treasure Island, FL >> > _______________________________________________ > http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > > To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options (get password, change email address, etc) go to: http://lists.trawlering.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers_lists.trawlering.com > Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World > Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Dave Friedrich dave.friedrich@gmail.com