OT Crimp tools & Cutter Re: DEC MMJ

On 22 Jan 2007 at 11:05, Jay West wrote: I've never used them for that--I've always used a sharp Xacto knife held so it rides against the connector, but tilted slightly, so it doesn't dig into the connector body. Makes a clean cut and is very fast. There's a certain aesthetic purpose to using flush cutters on a PCB. Many of the cheap Asian boards that I've run into leave a couple of millimeters of component lead extending above the board surface. Heaven help you if you have to reach between two boards and manage to snag the back of your hand on the exposed leads. It's like sharp edges on stamped metal parts--there's no reason other than economy to leave them that way. I don't know how many times I've opened a finger on the edge of someone's PC case. Taking that last little step; cutting component leads flush and rounding off sharp edges is important to me--it looks good and is safer. This week I'm finishing up the refurbishment of a tuba that bounced out of a moving pickup truck bed onto a freeway. After disassembling the instrument, removing dents, brazing broken braces and then reassembly, I've got a horn that plays again. Now, I'll spend the next couple of days cleaning up solder joins (so they don't show), buffing and lacquering. These last days will add nothing to the functionality of the instrument, but the result will be something that is pleasing to see and touch. Such things are important. When electronics equipment used to be hand-wired in a chassis, the sign of a good builder was adequte use of tie strips and neatly placed (and laced) wires. "Point to point" wiring with components flopping every which way among a rat's nest of wiring was the sign of a hack, even though both construction techniques produced a working device. Cheers, Chuck