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What is this tool?

YY1

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Found near the alley behind where I work.

Has "standard" drill chuck shank but it's plastic.

Looks like it might be for a "one way" safety fastener.



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Interesting.

There was a newly set light pole in the vicinity.
 
And everyone wonders why there are so many stripped screws and broken off wires these days...
 
And everyone wonders why there are so many stripped screws and broken off wires these days...
They break off at the base of that bell if you put the least amount of torque on them.. If they were made of metal then Id keep them..
 
Not what I was getting at.. nobody can use a hand screw driver anymore, has to be a cordless. I've wired more houses that carter has liver pills, but I'd never use a cordless putting Marr connectors on wires.
 
I got cha... I always put all ceiling fans together with screw drivers.. I only use a drill to install switches and receptacles.. Those 6/32 screws in these new plastic blue boxes suck. The old fiber boxes were easy to use and install switches.. I used to install them with just a whirlybird screw driver.. Just incase you dont know what a whirlybird is... Here ya go.. The only use for this screw driver now is plates..


klein-tools-slotted-screwdrivers-670-3-64_1000.jpg
 
Found near the alley behind where I work.

Has "standard" drill chuck shank but it's plastic.

Looks like it might be for a "one way" safety fastener.



View attachment 1013363 View attachment 1013364
Won't find those tools over here....wire nuts are not considered kosher for use on anything mains powered. :poke:

BTW...not going to delve into the world of 'Crappy Electrical' here. :lol:
 
Yep wire nut tool. I never used one back in my EC days but it probably could prevent Carpal Tunnel over the course of 30-40 years.
Wire nuts have been used safely for decades on branch circuits. Not used on main circuits.
I have used those swivel screwin devices for switches and plates and what not. Ya the plastic boxes aren't threaded like the fiber ones.
I do have a swivel wire nut tool but never used it either.
 
Won't find those tools over here....wire nuts are not considered kosher for use on anything mains powered. :poke:

BTW...not going to delve into the world of 'Crappy Electrical' here. :lol:
Do you still solder your connections? Thats what we did 80 years ago before the wire nut was invented.:D
 
Do you still solder your connections? Thats what we did 80 years ago before the wire nut was invented.:D
I have went into some older houses I would assume from the late 50's to early 60's that had connections crimped and they had a rubber diaper over the connections. That was some old wiring.. I also went into a house turned restaurant where they still had knob and tube style wiring in the attic. I came into the electrical trade in 1991 so wire nuts were already a main stay.
 
I started in the trade in 1980. Rewired many a house that had Knob and Tube. My grandfather was in the trade before they had electric drills and wired houses with Knob and Tube. Bored the holes with a brace and bit. That had to take forever.
 
Do you still solder your connections? Thats what we did 80 years ago before the wire nut was invented.:D
I solder connections when required for ELV installations ....that is 0-50Volts. I have not soldered a mains connection since I was an apprentice....all our main Neutral connections are crimped, and we also use Inline shear bolts where required. Screw terminal connectors are the weapon of choice for smaller mains connections....a more positive (see what I did there) connection for prevention of arcing.

Shear bolt connector ..
36720320.jpg


Strip of screw connectors...
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Crimp lugs...
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The same Hex crimp tool that I use for bigger lugs...
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Wire nuts are a no-no for Sparkies downunder. :D
 
I started in the trade in 1980. Rewired many a house that had Knob and Tube. My grandfather was in the trade before they had electric drills and wired houses with Knob and Tube. Bored the holes with a brace and bit. That had to take forever.
I bet... Wow I bet that man was strong as an OX.. I mean those older houses and the rough cut timber **** is hard as a rock. And to use a hand crank drill would have sucked hard core. And I thought I had it bad when my hole hog would pin my hand against a stud..
 
Absolutely nothing wrong with wire nuts.

also, nothing wrong with the tool. if you go full gorilla with it, I’m sure you’ll have issues. Like most tools, it’s all in the operator.

the old copper crimps with the diaper are called “p taps”. At least, that’s what we call them, in the trade.
 
I solder connections when required for ELV installations ....that is 0-50Volts. I have not soldered a mains connection since I was an apprentice....all our main Neutral connections are crimped, and we also use Inline shear bolts where required. Screw terminal connectors are the weapon of choice for smaller mains connections....a more positive (see what I did there) connection for prevention of arcing.

Shear bolt connector ..
View attachment 1013457

Strip of screw connectors...
View attachment 1013455

Crimp lugs...
View attachment 1013458

The same Hex crimp tool that I use for bigger lugs...
View attachment 1013456

Wire nuts are a no-no for Sparkies downunder. :D
Well we use stuff like that here.. However its only for service or hooking stuff up in transformers but branch circuits (smaller 12 and 10 gauge wires) its hard to fit those style connectors in small 4 inch metal boxes.. So wirenuts are they way to go.
 
Absolutely nothing wrong with wire nuts.

also, nothing wrong with the tool. if you go full gorilla with it, I’m sure you’ll have issues. Like most tools, it’s all in the operator.

the old copper crimps with the diaper are called “p taps”. At least, that’s what we call them, in the trade.
Never came across many of the P-taps since I started doing it but have ran into quite a bit of the old asbestos coated wire.. As far as that tool goes though I have snapped them off even with the lowest torque setting on my Milwakee.. I throw them away and use my hands.. I can depend on them. :)
 
Ya we those type of connection for larger branch circuits #8 and #6. Wire nut for #14, 12 and 10 gauge.
Compression terminals for main circuits.
 
I started in the trade in 1980. Rewired many a house that had Knob and Tube. My grandfather was in the trade before they had electric drills and wired houses with Knob and Tube. Bored the holes with a brace and bit. That had to take forever.
You'll have to explain what "knob and Tube" is to me.
Do you mean steel conduit and bell end flares?

When I started (many years after you in 1982 :D) my apprenticeship, I had some jobs that were still in steel conduit, and some were in wood casing section. Both were widespread in this country. Around the 1970's more houses were being wired in TPS cables...previously they had been rubber sheathed, and prior to that (in the 1920's onwards) the cables were fabric sheathed. Those fabric cables were fine until they were moved, then the insulation crumbled....meaning a re-wire. The rubber went through several evolutions....some of it actually fizzes like a firework fuse these days if it is moved when live. All of that cable must be removed now if found, as it actually presents a real fire danger with people drawing more current than they ever did 50+ years ago.
Any house over around 50 years old here also needs to be electrically inspected for any old cables before Insurance Companies will take on the risk. I re-wired a 3-story house that was built in the 1930's a few years ago....took myself and a good apprentice 3 weeks to completely do the job. There were cables buried everywhere.
 
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