Lost a full day's pay on a 'universal' coax crimper that was anything but

I picked up one of those cheap 'universal' coax crimpers from a hardware store last month, thinking it would save me time on a big apartment complex job. The thing was under $20, and the package said it worked with all common connectors. First time I tried to crimp an RG6 quad shield fitting, it just crushed the connector and left a jagged edge that cut my hand. I wasted over an hour trying to make it work, ruining about fifteen connectors before I gave up. That's about $12 in parts down the drain, plus the tool cost, and I had to drive back to the shop for my good tool. The whole mess made me start the job late and I lost out on a full day's pay, close to $300. It was a total rookie move, trusting a no-name tool. Has anyone else found a truly reliable universal crimper, or are we all just carrying separate tools for RG6 and RG11?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahbaker2mo ago

Ugh, those universal ones are the worst! I had the same thing happen with an RG59 fitting, just mangled it completely. Now I just bite the bullet and carry the two separate crimpers, it's not worth the headache.

noahclark2mo ago

My Klein coax crimper finally gave up after maybe three hundred fittings. The die just cracked clean through.