Has anyone here used the F209 spades and crimped them on a power cable? I have tried two different crimping tools and none are working properly due to the immense force required and the thickness of the barrel.
I already googled but can’t seem to find a definitive answer.
Ummm I had those spades (209cu - copper) supplied with a Furutech plug and I just used a normal crimping tool from the hardware store and put them in crimp bucket and squeezed hard. Not even a decent long handled one, just these. The Lobster. About $25.
If you struggle, then buy ones with longer handles. The longer the handle, the less force required.
I’ve installed them on a number of power cables but I used a hydraulic crimper. I had bought one years back (just a basic style one you can probably get on amazon etc) to redo some large gauge car wiring/grounds. Luckily it had small enough dies, so gave it a shot & it worked great and makes a nice, even pressure, 6 sided crimp.
That is absolutely better but also about 20x more expensive if bought new. Standard crimpers like the Lobster still meet both NEC and JIS code for contact bonding. The Lobster won’t even let you open the jaws once you start closing them until they are fully shut. Once you start, you are committed… or very very tired and out of breath.
I have tried something similar but the barrel is so large that it doesn’t fit inside the 5.5 setting. In a Furutech instruction video they use 10mm or 8 I believe but I can’t find the tool with similar pressing beak. All that I find that are similar are very expensive.
That looks to be 4mm or higher. I don’t remeber the Furutech ferrule size. You might want to check.
The DPS wire is already 4mm square so the spades are definitely bigger than that.
Edit:
The spade barrels are 8mm
It’s almost certainly going to fit. How easy it will be to crimp a wire that thick with a hand operated short lever crimp tool is another matter.
Unless you are crimping loads of cables for a home cinema or something, I’d be tempted to ask if they can crimp it for you at the hardware store or at your dealer.
Does it matter that it doesn’t have round molds but hexagon shaped pressing beak? The spades have round barrels.
They are supposed to be hexagonal onto round ferrules. It’s correct. When selecting the correct size, it’s general to choose the crimp size to the inner diameter of the ferrule, not the outer diameter.
This type of crimping tool usually (maybe always) does a hexagonal crimp. As long as you select the correct size it should be fine.
Yes, that looks just like the one I have 
Do you have access to a bench vice?
Or a G clamp, place crimping too in place, then use said device to squeeze together the crimper?
Just a thought?
Good idea haha but I don’t have one. I ordered the tool from the pic. Will report back how it goes
It works well, once you get the hang of it, though slightly awkward with one person. I found positioning the spade in the tool with just enough pressure to hold it & then inserting the wire/confirming correct position before crimping worked best.
The wire size is: 11AWG / 4.02 Sq.mm
The spades specs from Furutech’s website are:
・Specified for wire diameters up to 4mm (8AWG)
・Dimensions: 8mm ± 0.1mm (W) x 25mm ± 0.1mm overall length
Should I select a crimp size of 4 sq. mm in this case?
Been there, done that! Like you, I found the spades very, very difficult to crimp. The only thing that worked for me in the end was to go down a setting on the crimper so more force was applied. It is extremely fiddly, especially when the other two wires are right next to the one you are crimping. I found taping something around these is a good idea to keep the freshly stripped wires neat and tidy/free from oils on your skin.
Why don’t you ask Furutech, they should know. I’ve never used those crimps, so I couldn’t say for sure.
There are two crimp measurement methods. The crimp gun will use one of them.
Whether the crimp plates show AWG, mm2, or just mm will generally indicate which method is appropriate.
