snopercod
Well Known Member
I mentioned on the Taxi Testing thread that a Nicopress sleeve on my rudder cable let go on me during taxi testing. After searching the forum, I didn't find any information on properly crimping those sleeves, so I thought maybe folks could learn something from my foolish mistake. That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger ![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Here is the 3/32" copper sleeve that failed on me.:
Here is the $54 A-T-S tool (which I have since tossed in the trash) that I originally used to make that bad crimp. I freely admit that I may have not used the tool properly somehow but you can see that it only indents the sleeve on one side by design:
Here is the proper tool for crimping Nicopress sleeves ($325 Locoloc hand swager) which a friend loaned me (go/nogo gauge not shown):
Here are the 3/32" tin plated Nicopress sleeves which are recommended for use on stainless cables:
...and here is what good crimps are supposed to look like:
Notice that I used two crimps in series, which some folks say reduces the strength of the assembly. I accepted the possibility of a minor reduction in the 920 lb. breaking strength in favor of the redundancy. I'm funny that way. Flame away...
Here is the 3/32" copper sleeve that failed on me.:
![sUuoko.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F924%2FsUuoko.jpg&hash=0136cd46adba56d84d2f38bdf349571a)
Here is the $54 A-T-S tool (which I have since tossed in the trash) that I originally used to make that bad crimp. I freely admit that I may have not used the tool properly somehow but you can see that it only indents the sleeve on one side by design:
![VTtuTo.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F922%2FVTtuTo.jpg&hash=f1b4858bafff3c359a74bd9237a38f49)
Here is the proper tool for crimping Nicopress sleeves ($325 Locoloc hand swager) which a friend loaned me (go/nogo gauge not shown):
![eH5JPK.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F924%2FeH5JPK.jpg&hash=66564b9d2520a6afb5dc1353118c1c4e)
Here are the 3/32" tin plated Nicopress sleeves which are recommended for use on stainless cables:
![wMu0wL.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F923%2FwMu0wL.jpg&hash=84c242e712a6e607ded9a6598118f177)
...and here is what good crimps are supposed to look like:
![cFMFn7.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F923%2FcFMFn7.jpg&hash=ac3f77ff26772163db0819612a98b28c)
Notice that I used two crimps in series, which some folks say reduces the strength of the assembly. I accepted the possibility of a minor reduction in the 920 lb. breaking strength in favor of the redundancy. I'm funny that way. Flame away...
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