Harbour Freight Hydraulic Wire Crimper

Wasn't sure what to think of this at first...

I am mounting the winch on the front of my 96 4X4 and was looking for a decent way to make custom length leads and while shoping at H.F. I saw this... $54 regular price but you can get 25% coupons pretty regularly at H.F. so I figured why not.

The 14 ga wire terminal squished out more than I like... I will experiment with the dies to see if I can get the same grip with less flare.

The 1 ga was the easiest and the grip was excellant. I soldered the terminal end as a secondary attachment.

So far, for the $45 ish I spent it appears to do as advertised. The only downside I can see is that it takes 3 hands to do the crimping... the wire always wants to leave the terminal end while you are pumping the hydraulics. After writting this I am thinking that maybe I should solder the wire to the terminal then crimp it...

 

What i did was put the lug in snug, then put the wire in. Was easy that way.