When you're installing welding leads, a copper lug is very important for attaching the leads to the welder and the ground clamp. Proper attachement of lugs is a must, as they must take a lot of power, and be well connected to the wire to conduct it well, and because they at the ends of the leads, they also take strain from all the movement they will see during their life time.
Considering this, it's surprising how often I see welders that have lug improperly installed on the leads, most often resulting in the leads pulling partially or fully out of the lugs.
Considering this, it's surprising how often I see welders that have lug improperly installed on the leads, most often resulting in the leads pulling partially or fully out of the lugs.
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It's rather simple and easy, all you need in the way of tools is -
Hammer
large flat head screwdriver
knife
and sometimes you might need some cutters for trimming the wire.
Supplies, all you need is the wire you want to make leads from, and a copper lug for your size wire.
Hammer
large flat head screwdriver
knife
and sometimes you might need some cutters for trimming the wire.
Supplies, all you need is the wire you want to make leads from, and a copper lug for your size wire.
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If you wish to know for sure that your lug will be held forever you can take your cable and lug to most electrical wear house supply's or your local power company and they will have the proper crimper and die that will make a perfect hex crimp that will hold the wire from all sides of the lug. And if you only need a couple done they will do it for free.
Good Luck!
This site is about how to fix/make/design on our own. We could all hire to get the work done, or buy expensive tools.
The method Steven explained could come in useful in emergency situations. If you are a boater like me, you realize that do-it-yourself ability can be a life saver. In an emergency, you never have the perfect tool available.
As a positive suggestion, I keep a old pair of garden pruners, ("anvil" type, not "shear"type) in my workshop for cutting heavy cable. They will cut 000 gauge (10 mm) copper cable smoothly
@shteef and superpants, when has anything on this website been done in a professional manner (aside from critisism) this site is about the backyard builder. doing things a diffrent way to avoid paying lots o money is what its all about. if we all took our stuff to be handled and built and fixed or whatever this site would be called wheretogetthingsdonable.com
I'm not an idiot who's going to try and cut copper cable thicker than 1/2" with a knife. I was stripping the cable with it, if you read it, you would have seen that. Ask any electrician, using a knife for stripping cable is both a good way to do it, and very commonly done.
And secondly, I was taught this method by a professional welder who has been welding for many more years than I've been alive, and he has had great success with this method when done right, as have I. I'm sorry if it isn't the "Shteef approved method".
This isn't for the professional electrician working in an industrial plant or something. A place like that would have the money to buy the high end quickconnect ends for welding leads anyway, and those attach differently.
This is for the guy at home who just got the stuff for his new welder and isn't sure of a good way to attach the wire to the copper lug. Most time I see someone who did that, they stick the wire in the lug and hammer it flat. Resulting in it squishing partially out and not being a good connection, as well as failing prematurely.
As for stripping the wire with a knife, sorry, but my strippers don't fit the large welding leads, and none of the shops around me are about to have strippers that large, and I'm not about to spend $50 or so to get them to order me set, just so I can strip 3 cable ends for my welder. And yes, a knife works fine, and I know plenty of electricians who use a knife for stripping large wire like this.
Advising anyone to crimp a terminal with a screw driver and hammer or de-sleeve wire with a pocket knife is just plain dangerous and wrong. As has been previously been stated it may be fine as a one off when your out in the sticks but it is NEVER the correct way to do it. You could probably peel a banana with a chainsaw, but that doesn't make it correct!
Getting the technique wrong can result in either premature failure of the cable (as the copper is overstressed or sheared by the crimping action, a high resistance joint- resulting in overheating of the joint, poor mechanical strength, where the cable can pull out, or access for moisture for corrosion to form.
There is quite a bit of science and technology behind forming a correct crimp, that is reliable and lasts. I have an Instructable that goes into much more detail if you want to have a look.