Crimping Basics
Pictured above from left are:
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The C1-2 is for 14 gauge wire or smaller. Use the 1-2 slot in your crimp tool.
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The C2-3 is for 12.5 to 16 gauge wire hi-tensile wire. Use the 2-3 slot in your crimp tool.
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The C2L (long) is for 12.5 to 16 gauge hi-tensile wire, Use the 2-3 slot in your crimp tool.
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The C3-4 is for 10.5 gauge smooth wire and also 14 gauge barbed wire. Use the 3-4 slot in your crimp tool.
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The C4-5 is for 9 gauge smooth wire (brace wire) and 12.5 gauge barbed wire. Use the 4-5 slot in your crimp tool.
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The CT4 is an open tap (not shown above) is an open tap for electrical connections only. Use the 3-4 slot.
I was at a customer's farm recently looking at some of the fencing he had put up. It looked great with the exception of his crimps. It was his first adventure with hi-tensile wire and he just didn't know better. So here is a basic illustration of how to load the crimp into the tool. In the photo above, this is a C2L crimp. The crimp sleeve needs to stand upright in the slot as shown - not flat. You use the corresponding slot in the tool. ie: a C23 or C2L uses the 2-3 slot. The photo below shows the crimp sleeve after it has been crimped.
The tool used in these pics is the Hayes EZC, Easy Crimp Tool. It has a 2-3 slot and also a 3-4 slot for the open taps. We are using a C2L sleeve above in the 2-3 slot.
The crimp above is a C2L, notice two crimp bites in the sleeve.
Crimps for hi-tensile wire come in several different sizes and strengths. The ones we offer have a grit applied on the inside of the barrel, so that once crimped they have a very positive hold with slippage a real rarity. STRENGTH NOTE: Most of the hi-tensile wire out there has a breaking strength of from 1000 to 1500 pounds, based on the PSI rating of the wire. For example, we use a lot of 180,000 psi mininum wire. It has a breaking strength of 1358 pounds. The C23 short crimp sleeve has a breaking strength of 900 pounds, so I would recommend using 2 of these. Our C2L long crimp has a holding power of 1500 pounds, so one of these will exceed the wire strength. We do not recommend using the smooth single barrel sleeves. These utilize a modified bolt cutter that has had the jaws ground down to make the crimp. Normally, these will slip on hi-tensile wire. They may work on rusty barbed wire.
Hope this helps in answering any questions on Crimping, but as always, please feel free to call us anytime. 417-741-1230
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