When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
With exception of the Dow grease to use on the crimps and a few little things, I've gotten everything in with which to move the batteries on the boat. The Dow stuff is due in tomorrow, and the little things will be picked up on a shopping trip tomorrow as well. So, I'm laying everything out so's I know what is needed.
Toward that end I put the 2/0 MagnaLugs in the 70 and 95 die to see how they'd fit. The 70's have .175" between them in the pic, and the 95's have .110". Hmmmm, which to use. I'm very sure the 95's won't crimp enough as there would seem to be that much clearance in the fit of the wire in the lug as well as the lug filling in the corners of the hex.
So, I had a brain ..... wave. I called Quick Connect, the maker of MagnaLugs, and spoke to Gary. He understood the problem and is going to talk to the engineers to see if he can get an answer. Basically, what I asked for was either the finished dimensions of their crimp(s) or the inside measurements of their die. He's to call back this afternoon to let me know what, if anything, he finds.
I can modify the ones I have. So, if Quick Connect comes back with the dimensions of their die I can modify mine. For instance, I can mill the mating surfaces of the 95mm die to reduce the internal size. And I can tilt the head of the mill to cut the sides of the hex and/or take a pass down the middle to bottom/top of the hex. That would be easy if I had the dimensions.
Or if they come back with the dimensions of a legit crimp I can assume a certain rebound of the material and mill the die to that size. Or, if y'all come back with good measurements of crimps.
You know, looking at those dies in closeup like that, I bet, once you have the needed dimensions, you could get a machine shop to make you some for not a lot of money. And to take it further, if you got the dimensions needed for the other sized lugs, you could get some sets made (cheaper piece cost) and sell the sets on ebay, or to folks here, specifically for US sized cabled. I might even buy a set myself.
Machine shop? Why would I do that? Why not make then on my mill?
My shop is fairly well equipped, and I have both a lathe and a mill. So, making the die would be fairly straight forward. The channels are slightly less than .500", so a 1/2" plate would be my starting point as these die are metric. I think they are probably 12mm (.472") but 1/2" would work. Tilt the head of the mill over to make the side cuts and clean up with a pass down through the middle back at 90 degrees to do the top and bottom of the hex.
And, these die aren't hardened. A file shapes them prettily easily, plus they now have grooves on the outer ends where they hit the stop - the round piece that slides out to replace them.
However, I doubt I'll want to go into business making them. But, I might be persuaded to provide CAD drawings so someone else could.
Copper and lead are so much softer that steel, is there a reason to harden them?
(Tom, you use yours. Do they show signs of wearing out?)
No, but my crimpers cost over $1000 new, so I'm guessing they are made of higher quality materials.
I only suggested it because Gary said his already showed some wear.
Jim - Good point about the ram. I'll check, but I think it has plenty of throw. Still, I need to check.
Tom - If I were doing lots of connections then hardening would be a good idea. But as soft as the die currently are, any good US steel is going to be harder.
All - Isn't it reasonable to think that I can calculate the necessary die dimensions - assuming Quick Cable doesn't come through? The AWG gauge is actually the size of the copper with no air. And I can figure out the cross-sectional area of the terminal pretty easily. So, since we aren't doing away with material the finished cross-sectional area should be essentially the total of those two, probably less a bit for some of it being pushed out, and less a little bit for insurance. Yes?
There are many different lug standards. The two most common for marine & trucking use are the Flared Starter Lug as seen on the left and the Heavy Duty Power Lug as seen on the right. Different manufacturers have slightly different names but FTZ calls them Power Lugs and Quick Cable calls them "Magna Lugs". It is important to note that the lug on the left is for 4 GA wire and the lug on the right is ALSO for 4 GA wire.
*WARNING These lugs use DIFFERENT DIES. When buying a crimp tool PLEASE be very careful you buy the right tool. There are many tools out there marked for 6 GA to 4/0 GA wire that will not work correctly and do not come with the proper dies. You are then left guessing which dies to use for the flared starter lugs and which tool for the heavy duty lugs.
The right tool will have labels for "Flared Starter Lugs" and for "Heavy Duty Power Lugs". There are only two relatively affordable tools I know of to meet this lug crimp standard and they are the FTZ and the Quick Cable crimp tools. Most of the other tools out there are made for the industrial lug standard.
Heavy Duty Power Lugs will always be marked with a color code and have two letter embossed or stamped into the lug. If your "heavy duty" lugs do not have these colors and letters they are very likely not the proper size for the dies.
And, apparently these metric-sized crimpers are a good match for the Heavy Duty Power Lugs, aka MagnaLugs. I crimped both #4 and 2/0 cables today, and the crimps are tight and look good - at least to me.
I didn't do 81ChopTop's trick of a light crimp, turning it 1/6th turn and crimping again, then turning it back and doing a full-on crimp. Instead I used the die that are one size larger than in the table we've posted on here several times, and then went to the die that are called for in the table and did a full-on crimp. The first full-on crimp was where QC says to make crimp #1, meaning close to the wire. And then I moved to the #2 crimp position and crimped there as well.
Here's the #4 ML with a starter crimp using the one-size-larger 35mm die:
And, here's the #4 ML crimped using the 25mm die that is supposed to be the right one:
Similarly, here's the 2/0 ML crimped with the one-size-larger 95mm die:
And, here's the 2/0 ML crimped with the 70mm die that are shown in the table to be correct for 2/0:
And, here are some of the cable-ends I made today. The top one is 2/0 and the bottom two are 4 gauge. And that's adhesive-lined shrink tubing. Now I'm ready to start the work in the boat so I can get the cable lengths exactly how I want them and have neat runs.
And, I'm happy with my hydraulic crimper now. Just have to feed it MagnaLugs and it makes great crimps.
LOL! I just experienced that to some extent trying to take the picture. The black #4 didn't want to lay where the terminal was flat, but the others did.
Anyway, you have a good point. But, since I only put terminals on one end of my cables I can determine the clocking I need as I cut and install the terminals on the other ends. Still, I might not have thought of that, so thanks!
Also, you reminded me that I need the screw-down cable ties, so they are in the shopping cart at Amazon, along with the Bennett electronic indicator/control kit. And, I was about to put a kit of adhesive-lined heat shrink in the cart as I've turned this place upside down looking for it today. But, when I saw the picture of it I realized it came in a plastic divider tray, and I went right to it.
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Slideshow: The VelociRaptor Expedition gains a lift, upgraded suspension, Brembo brakes, and trail-ready equipment while retaining the stock 440-horsepower EcoBoost V6.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
He understood the problem and is going to talk to the engineers to see if he can get an answer. Basically, what I asked for was either the finished dimensions of their crimp(s) or the inside measurements of their die. He's to call back this afternoon to let me know what, if anything, he finds.
