Good sidecutters?

[dreamcat4]

i think the sensible thing to realize is that coper stranded is so soft and spring like it probably does not need thread locker most times.

Steel wires otoh are maybe different consideration.

I would expect you may want thread locker on single core wire.

To answer well what torque to use on undocumented stuff is to look at similar sized terminals and wire guages etc from several manufacturers who does specify the torque values. And then come up with some sensible range based on comparing between those. As a rough guideline. You might want to add an extra 20% or margin to have an extra buffer of safety without going too far and over torquing.

This would then be a very sensible 'best efforts' approach and perhaps more thorough than most would expect.

 

Also once you have come up with your own typical values it's going to be something you will remember and feel more confident about over and over. Assuming that you are not doing just for some 1 off job. Ideally there should be some blog page somewhere by an experienced electrician who already has done all this research. And made simple with easy to follow common examples. For the types that are most common

 

[coppercone2]

to do testing you would need to pass alot of current through it and monitor the thermals

and idk how to check for long term loosening, that would probobly involve a thermal cycler

[tooki]

After using them at my new work for a couple of months, I decided to pick up an Erem for myself. (I went for the 532E, full flush, since I already have decent semiflush cutters.) I have a bunch of Knipex, but Erem's precision is just on a totally different level.

The 522/522E (semiflush) are probably ideal for everyday use. Erem's "semiflush" is far closer to flush than to other companies'.

[Doctorandus_P]

I have a few EREM577E sidecutters, which are probably 20+ years old, and had seen some occasional abuse and gross overloads, but also normal wear as these were second hand and ex-factory use, and were therefore a bit blunt.

Just over a year ago I bought a stereo microscope, and with it I could see really well how blunt my Erem pliers had become over all those years.
So I spent about half an hour to resharpen them by hand on a simple whetstone, which was pretty easy because these are flush cutters and therefore flat on the outside.
I also de burred them my making a bevel with a 800 grit whetstone, which is maybe 50 um with. My Erem pliers are now very close to new quality.

According to https://docs.rs-online.com/bb08/0900766b80eb4d3c.pdf Erem also has a re sharpening service.

An unexpected but very handy feature is removal of wood splinters from your skin. You can cut through the upper layer of your skin (which has no nerves) just deep enough to grab the upper part of a splinter and pull it out.


Also:
Probably been said before, but worth repeating:
Always make sure you have a set of cheap or other more robust side cutters right next to your precision cutters to prevent temptations of abusing the high quality Erems for stuff they are not designed for.

[helius]

Xuron 2175 Maxi-Shear semi-flush are excellent "robust" cutters, and also cheap at around $12 new.

[dreamcat4]

get the jacket stripping tool dude, its 4$

you need to buy the home depot electrical isle out when you do this (with the more expensive brands). Its still cheaper then a electrician. There is little bullshit there to waste money on.

That means
-get the little tightening wrenches for galvinzied tubing.
-get the insulated drivers
-get the insulated tools
-get the good flash light
-get the jacket stripper

Hey I live in the UK here. And cannot access Home Depot website. So perhaps you can point out and identify (by image), which of these tools you were referring to? Thank you.

https://www.google.com/search?q=home+depot+jacket+stripping+tool

[helius]

I think he's referring to Ideal 45-025, 'Lil Ripper'
As mentioned before there are many tools that can be used to strip THHN.

[Monkeh]

I think he's referring to Ideal 45-025, 'Lil Ripper'
As mentioned before there are many tools that can be used to strip THHN.

When did THHN come into it?