DIY Swaging

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pcatterall

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If that is what it is called!! I have moved the position of my pushpit rails and the guard wire (5mm?) is now too long. I guess that the wire rope has to be shortened at the 'eye' end there are 2 to do. Is this a job I should do/ a good skill to learn? or am I beter off just to post them off to an expert. I think that I need a tool too crimp the swage, is this an outlay worthwhile ( say for when my mast falls down) !!

Thanks
 
NO! If you crimp it has to be done with a hydraulic press and better rolled.The system that uses bolts tightened cant get the pressure.Could be mast overboard or you overboard!!

Best are norsmann terminals or staylock dont cost a lot more for 5mm, they are strong and can be greased and checked swaged ends can be badly pressed and wires broken

To put the mast back up you can use rope in place of bottle screws attached to spliced eye
 
It depends on what you mean.

True "swaging" involves the use of a machine, either hand or electrically powered, but it is not really a DIY piece of kit. It is a complex machine and expensive. In this process, a stainless steel fitting (fork, eye or threaded stud for a bottlescrew) has a socket about 75mm long which is crushed onto the wire.

Talurit swaging involves bending the wire round a thimble and securing the end with a copper ferrule, which is crushed on. Again the kit to do this makes it a job for the pros.

There is another type of ferrule advertised in certain on-line chandlers and the kit to do it is simple, but not cheap. you would need to do a lot of them to save the cost of getting a rigger to do the job.

Finally Norseman or Staylock terminals are used by professionals and PBOs alike. They are fairly easy to apply providing you have the means to cut the wire cleanly. The terminals seem costly at first sight, but the main bit can be re-used when you renew the wire. I have seen statements to the effect that they are for "emergency or temporary repairs only" but that is a load of old bull. I have yet to see a forestay on a boat equiped with furling gear that is terminated at one end in any other way. My own rigging was done this way ten years ago and the five main wires will be renewed next year re-using the fittings, so I will only need to buy 50 metres of 6mm wire plus 10 new conical inserts for the fittings.
 
splice in loops at the ends - that would be a useful skill.

I swaged mine on the l;ast boat but the tool I used was definitely not normal diy kit. and to be honest, once swaged you cant get them out through the guard rail poles (name escapes me for the mo) if you ever want to. stalok are a much better job.
 
I bought a fantastic Nicopress tool, looks like bolt crops, at a boat jumble .Ive done hundreds of thimble wrapround crimps with copper ferrules. Only up to 6mm though. Ive also got an old book that shows you how to put the end of wire in a tapered socket, splay the wires apart and pour in molten zinc. Havnt tried that one yet though.And bulldog grips are fine.Even seen em on cranes.Not aesthetically pleasing though.
 
I had a problem to solve when i had to replace a stanchion, and a swaged end would not fit thru the hole in the stanchion, it could not be drilled bigger as it had a fitted sleeve, so i ended up having to have one end swaged and the other end left without a fitting, so i could thread it thru once on the boat and then fitted a stalock fitting to finish it off. As long as you have a clean cut and you can fit the conical bit and not make a mess of the strands then it is quite a simple task to do...
 
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use a norsmann or staylock and b safe, sound advise.

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very expensive though... Stalock have apparently changed the design and stopped building cones for the older type, thus as everyone comes to replace the wire thinking this time will be cheaper; They are going to have to replace the whole lot.. again. At around 4x the cost of a swage, I can't see the point. It would be cheaper in the long run to buy your own hydraulic swager and keep it for life. I am sure it will pay for itself if you do a few jobs around the yard.
 
Thanks guys lots of good advice as usuall I am interested in the 'stay lock' idea. Anyone know of the best stockists? when cutting is this best performed with good wire cutters or by taping the end and using a fine hacksaw?
Thanks again.
 
I have a Nicopress tool.

When I bought it I deliberately bought a head which only goes up to 4mm. I think it would be very dificult but not impossible to use above that size.
It was not cheep to buy but I find it extremely usefull. I used to use it for dinghy stuff.

I have used it often for guardrails both plastic coated and plain wire with copper ferules.
I do the crimping on the boat straight on the pullpit.
Then, after threading through the stantions I crimp the rear eye a under 4" short of the pushpit.
A binding is used to tie the rear eyes to the pushpit. I use hard eyes at both ends and have no shackles.
The binding allows it to be tightened and it can easily be cut in an emergency. This also makes sure that they are the correct length and there is nothing to come loose.

I think this is the most cost effective way.

I do have a gauge to calibrate the crimping tool to the correct compression and I do this at fairly frequent intervals.

I also have a hydraulic one but find the mechanical crimper more convienent to use on board a craft for guardrails.

A Falco C7 will JUST cut 4mm wire.

I am only commenting about sweging for guardrails.

For my own boat's 1 x 19, 8mm rigging I use hydraulic roller sweged fittings at the top end and Petersen 'Hi-MOD' compression terminals at the bottom for all the standing rigging and the backstay insulators. ( Petersen terminals are are made in the UK)

Iain
 
If that is the case, I can see a lot of people re-using their old cones. From memory, Sta-lok only "recommend" new cones each time. It also strikes me that they might be called money grabbing bar stewards, if it is true.
 
I recently bought Sta-lok fittings here. Service was good and delivery excellent, especially when I made a mistake over measurements and they replaced with no hassle.

On guardwires I have re-used the cones over and over. Best to add silicone sealant when making them up: this prevents water ingress and they remain corrosion free. The only problem is that after the first deformation the cones work-harden and become brittle, causing them to snap the second time around. You could anneal them before use but I find they work just as well in two or three pieces.
 
I use an Ormiston hand swaging tool to put the copper ferules on wires up to 4mm. Does the job very well as far as I can see. It is not completely idiot proof and can be hard work for the larger sizes but has paid for itself and allows the work to be done on site.
 
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If that is the case, I can see a lot of people re-using their old cones. From memory, Sta-lok only "recommend" new cones each time. It also strikes me that they might be called money grabbing bar stewards, if it is true.

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I got the info from this months PBO. In their "how to spend money at Beaulieu" article they make a passing reference. Probably an oversight as sta-lok advertise with IPC.

There is a photo of a bucket full of cut off sta-lok fittings and the author warns, careful if you buy these as the cones are no longer available. It was a wake up call for me as sta-lok was something I had considered, I wont now if they play games like that.
 
I'd give them call before deciding. I had a quick look at their site, and it made no mention of replacement cones being different. I would have though that they would mention it, otherwise, you could easily order new cones, fit them in incompactible fittings, and have a rig failure. That would do their (rather good) reputation no good at all.
 
My first job (aged about 10) was making the rigging for my father´s boats. All with a Talurit 25ton press. Shrouds and rope tailed halyards. 3p an end IFIRR. I now use a bottle jack (20t) in a frame for up to 5mm. 7x19 as it goes round the thimbles. More than that I would use Stayloc or Norsman with 1x19. I bought a bolt-up type crimper. Useless- except in the jack frame.If you think you might do a few, the bottle jack frame cost me less than the bolt up jobby. But unless you understand the process properly, stick to pros. or Norsman/Stayloc
In the West catalogue, they make a dfference between rigging terminals and lifeline fittings and not to mix them or the swages.
Andrew
 
I have just replaced my lower backstays and a guard rail using Norseman terminals from S3i. Cutting with a hacksaw worked (after wrapping in insulation tape) but I had to trim the individual strands a bit. I then tried using my Dremel with a reinforced cut off wheel and this gave a very neat cut.
 
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