I want to stock wire bullet connectors for some of the vintage Ford applications we deal in. The original bullet connectors were crimped to the wire ends and the wire is 14 gauge. I am not familiar enough with the proper tools for getting a nice crimp, and there are also single and double crimp connectors available. This would not be a large production operation for the crimping, but I do want a decent tool to do this right. Figured I would come to our friends at the HAMB for some insight. Some of you guys will have some experience here, and any advice and tips are certainly appreciated................. Mac VP
You might try Klein tools and see if they have one to fit your needs. Lots of others available depending on what you want to do.
Generally the crimping tool has to work with the terminal. You need to figure out exactly what terminals you want to use, first. Insulated or non insulated? With or without wire strain relief? If you find a high quality terminal, expect there to be a recommended crimping tool for it.
Technical - Crimping Tutorial | The H.A.M.B. If you elect to use OEM-style 'Packard'/open crimps, my best advice is to buy both the crimps and the crimper from the same manufacturer to ensure compatibility. Because of minor variations in products even though they look nearly the same, a poor match can be very frustrating to get a good crimp.
Believe it or not, one of the best ratcheting crimp tools I have came from Advanced Auto Parts and ran me around $40. It does almost anything I have come across, so far. But I agree, start with the connector/terminal and do your homework. Buy once, cry once.
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