23 Feb
2008
23 Feb
'08
5:45 p.m.
On 23 Feb 2008 at 18:30, J. David Bryan wrote:
I'll second that. With an arbor press and
mandrels designed for to receive
the connector halves, it goes together easily. If you have to use Vise-
Grips, it's quite difficult. A bench vise with smooth jaw faces is a bit
better if you do things slowly and carefully and ensure that the parts and
the cable line up correctly as you squeeze them together. It takes quite a
bit of force to punch through 50 conductors simultaneously.
Even a cheapie hand press, such as Jameco 73252 (Hanlong IDC Crimping
Tool) at $16 will pay for itself in connections not botched. The
problem with a Vise-Grip or any sort of pliers is that the jaws move
in an arc, meaning that one side gets more pressure than the other.
Unless you're very careful, you can end up bending some of the pins.
A bench or woodworker's vise with both jaws faced by wood or plastic
(say, ABS or HDPE) will work in a pinch, particularly if you can
rabbet a slot in one side to hold the connector. Most bench vises
have patterned hard steel jaws which, if not faced with softer
material, will leave an impression in the connector body and could
possibly deform the pin holes. A good size woodworker's clamp might
also do the trick (I haven't tried it, having a hand press in my
toolkit).
Leave a little excess cable poking through the connector and flush-
trim with a fresh utility- or X-acto knife for a nice-looking job.
That's the way I do it, anyway.
Cheers,
Chuck