Using my Draper Expert ratchet crimper

[PaulRainbow]

But the OP says "Which side should the wire side of crimp terminals be located when using this tool?

Yes, and the picture i linked to is of the same tool as the OP and the same tool as i have had in the past.

The jaw with the coloured dots on is not symmetrical so I'm presuming there's a right side and a wrong side to have the wire approaching the tool.

Unless you can also look at the tool from the other side you cannot tell if the jaws are symmetrical. The discussion is not about whether the top and bottom halves of the dies are symmetrical, but whether the back and from are the same.

So there is obviously a difference on his version of the Draper Expert crimp tool. Maybe the manufacturer has changed the design or the tool is sourced from different manufacturers who have different ideas. Maybe it's a matter of luck which one you happen to get.

I doubt it very much that he has a one of die set, they've been the same for at least a decade, but who knows. Would be useful if the OP posted a picture of the other side.

The main takeaway from this discussion seems to be to check which type you've got and use them accordingly.

Indeed.

 

[alahol2]

alahol2 said:

The jaw with the coloured dots on is not symmetrical so I'm presuming there's a right side and a wrong side to have the wire approaching the tool.

Unless you can also look at the tool from the other side you cannot tell if the jaws are symmetrical. The discussion is not about whether the top and bottom halves of the dies are symmetrical, but whether the back and from are the same.

That's not what I said:
That's a quote from the OP.

Which side should the wire side of crimp terminals be located when using this tool? The jaw with the coloured dots on is not symmetrical so I'm presuming there's a right side and a wrong side to have the wire approaching the tool.

To (hopefully) avoid confusion, I'm aware that the opposing jaws are different. That's not a problem. There's a small difference between sides of the jaw with the dots and that's troubling me. This doesn't seem to have a manual in the Draper Tools database.

Presumably he is looking at the unit and can tell that the die is not symmetrical

 

[TSB240]

Ops Tool is different to yours Paul.

It has no adjustability on the die loading like yours.

Yours clearly has variable clamping adjustment on the handle and has equal dies.

I recall using both types of tools when professionally panel building some years ago.

Yep there are two versions one which can be used either way round with equal sided dies.

The other with different die sets and a wire can only be crimped from one side.

Which side for crimp or wire will depend upon which way the die sets have been fitted!

Typically the smaller diameter die set crimps the stripped wire. The larger diameter crimps the unstripped wire and crimp.

Hope this puts this one to bed!

 

[cpedw]

Here are pictures of my tool (ooer). The pic in the OP was lifted from Draper's website. Silly me not noticing that it's not exactly the same as mine.

My tool has the pressure adjustment and I'm hoping you can see in the detail of the jaw that the two sides of the jaw with dots are different shapes as well as different sizes. I measured the gaps each side for the yellow dot: 4.3mm dot side and 3.2 plain side when fully closed. The others are too small to measure easily with my calipers.

It's been interesting to watch the discussion develop, with added confusion from at least two very similar but not identical versions around. Hopefully TSB240's conclusion is almost the last word.