Top 6 Tools

The only one I would add to yours and Colporteur’s, all of which I use so concur, is a Multicomp Pro crimper.  I’m away on holiday at the moment so can’t take a picture.  The calliper I use is a non-digital one and I also own a micrometer but don’t use that regularly.

The only one I would add to yours and Colporteur’s, all of which I use so concur, is a Multicomp Pro crimper.  I’m away on holiday at the moment so can’t take a picture.  The calliper I use is a non-digital one and I also own a micrometer but don’t use that regularly.

Do you find the calipers useful for bending component leads for placement on PCB? I had a tool I got on a PACE soldering course for bending components leads. The jaw wide\th varied as you positioned two points in the PCB holes. It was a great little tool that got lost when I moved from electronics to networking. The calipers might work, I was thinking.

A good crimper makes it more likely that crimps will be used. My crimpers are not great, so I don't do much crimping.

I end up using this one on almost all projects, simply because I use a lot of 0.1" pin headers, so I guess this would make it into my top 6. It works with typical generic 0.1" sockets only (it's not a general-purpose tool for a range of crimps), but works really well.

Nice tool - if I had a ratcheting crimper, I would use more crimps.

I’ve never used it for such a purpose, only measuring a dimension.  Perhaps the inner dimension wings might do that.

I use the same darn tool for db-25 etc pins. And I hate the darn thing. They are a pain in tush to use one hand holds the pin, the other hand the wire, and you need another hand to crimp it.

That is a problem : ) My current method is to use side of body/chest or leg to push it. I wonder how it's really supposed to be used though.

I put heatshrink sleeve on the handles to make it slightly softer for this method : ) 

I use a finiky little insertion tool for DB25 (solder cup pins) or insulation displacement ribbon connectors.

I find myself in a position for wiring quite a few Sub-D connectors with solder cups.  How does this tool work Doug?

One side inserts pins from the back by encircling the wire and pushing the pin past the retention ring until they seat with their retention tabs sprung out.

The other side removes pins by inserting the tool from the front - it then squeezes the retention tabs so they can pass by the retainer ring as the pin is puled from the back.