Had to choose between a 709 crimper and a $40 amazon knockoff for a 737 job last Tuesday

I was standing in the hangar at BHM with a bundle of Deutsch pins staring me down. The Snap-on one was $180 but I figured the cheap one would be fine (spoiler: it was not). After fighting 3 pins that wouldn't seat right and wasting 20 minutes, I borrowed my buddy's real 709 and finished the bundle in 5 minutes flat. Anyone else ever get burned trying to save money on crimpers?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver_baker492d ago

Man, that Deutsch pin struggle is real and I bet you were cussing under your breath the whole time. Was it the pins themselves that were garbage on the cheap one, or did the ratcheting mechanism just not have that solid click to tell you it was done right? I've seen guys try to hold those knockoff jaws shut with a pair of pliers just to get a good crimp. The 709 is one of those tools that feels like a ripoff until you actually need to rely on it.

corap612d ago

Oh I've been there... tried using a pair of channel locks once because my cheap crimper just wouldn't grab right. The pins would either get crushed like a soda can or the wire would just slide right out when you looked at it funny. That solid click you're talking about is the difference between a good connection and spending an hour chasing a short later on. The 709 is pricey for a pair of pliers but I swear it's cheaper than the therapy you'll need after fighting with a knockoff set for an afternoon.

aaronroberts2d ago

Those three pins you fought with probably cost you more in time than the price difference between the two crimpers right there. I tried to save twenty bucks on a ratcheting crimper for some Weather Pack connectors once and ended up with five pins that looked like they'd been chewed by a dog. Had to redo the whole harness with a borrowed tool and felt like an idiot the whole time. It's wild how something that looks like a simple pair of pliers can make or break your whole day on the line.