crimping shroud cables

[sailor1]

want to replace the shrouds on my 84 mac 22. I know they're 1/8" 1x19 strand t316 stainless steel cables, I can get them on Amazon pretty cheap. For crimping, will either one of these work? from what i read, I should use copper sleeves and not aluminum.

[kurz]

I have the blue one. Works pretty well. Just watch that you have the crimps (yes copper not alu) the goe with the tool.

I think the red one is not easy to use on board.

[Ixneigh]

I like the red version which I had for a while. But not any more. Last ones I made, I went to our local West Marine and used theirs. Their price was more than buying it online, but they have a rigging bench, vice, and assorted other stuff I might need. The boats only got 5 wires anyway. I need to make up a head stay soon to replace mine which was damaged by colliding with a BIG RED channel marker on a perfectly clear day.
Having a crimper which securely bolted down makes the operation much easier.

As an aside, Bluewayer Yachts should have those cables in stock, and their prices seem reasonable. I’ve gone oversized wire thats the only reason I made mine up myself. Oh and I needed special thimbles in the lower ends.
Ix

[kurz]

For me it's worth to crimp it myself.

You can learn calmly at home, how do loops etc.

If you have to repair underway you have all you need.

[OverEasy]

Hi All!

I sorta feel both Ixneigh and Kurz have good points.
It depends on what your doing and why as to the ‘buy’, ‘rent’ or ‘get already made’.

Looped end cables with thimble eyes work perfectly well.
They can be personally made, made for you or bought premade.

As far as getting tooling to do one’s own it’s a matter of preference.
Now I like tools and I like DIY.
My problems are /is becoming a matter of how many more times am I gonna use it, when will I need to use it, where am I gonna keep it, and then the inevitable aspect of “Where in Hades did I put the dark thing!”

Once I get a tool like these I find that it opens up the ability to do other projects that I might have hesitated on doing.
That gets to my other problem… more projects in queue than budget or time!

There is another type of cable termination that I like which is threaded ferule compression fittings.
No crimping tool required, just two standard wrenches!

These are available for a variety of end types and uses.
They are also re-usable… at least for several re-uses anyhow.

It comes back to a cost/benefit/usage thing…

Best Regards,
Over Easy