Worth using cable insertion tool on phone socket?

[The Natural Philosopher]

He isn';t doing gigabit ethernet, outside in a street box. He is doing a phone in a nice domestic env.

All any tool has to do is support the wire on either side of the tines of the connector, and get it down to the bottom without spreading the tines.

A credit card with a slot in it is fine for a couple of goes.

Its actually pretty good without a slot in it, as most tines merely groove the card.

Tows screwdrivers accurately placed work well too. One screwdriver is dodgy, as it may well spread the tines if its not very narrow.

But the back of a Stanley knife IS narrow enough..

However I don't like pressing down on the 'sharp edge' ;-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

Neither would I, but in extremis I have.

The only tools that really work are not £7..they are nearer £30 IIRC.

If you have to redo a while patch panel. its worth it.

[R. Mark Clayton]

Well a proper Krone* tool will cost IRO £10-20, however a pack of three once off plastic ones (like your picture) will only set you back about £1.

Otherwise get a thin bit of plastic and saw a small notch in it.

• this will align the wire correctly, push it down securely to the lowest position possible, force the wire into the slot ensuring the insulation is displaced and contact is made and finally snip off any surplus neatly to the correct length.

See

[dennis]

You haven't done many have you? You will be surprised at the difference it makes when you have half a million joints.

I have had whole connector blocks ripped out and replace because somebody has used the wrong tool and wrecked them. They don't take a lot of misuse to make them intermittent.

An IDC joint that is done properly forms a gas tight, long lasting joint. One that isn't gas tight will corrode and fail after a few years at best.

Not with the correct one though.

Credit cards are just about the right size to give an initial working connection and leave you with unreliable wiring in a few years time. If its a temporary bodge then fine.

I suggest the OP pays the 99p for the plastic tool, fits the socket and then throws the plastic tool away.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

I didn't know gas flowed through the telephone socket?

[Brian Sharrock]

Take a deep breath! Hold it ... now, expire....! repeat as necessary ..... until you realise that 'gas', although it includes methane and derivatives, is not limited to the stuff that CORGI adverts refer to . Are you competent ?

[Sucuba Dude]

If it's desperate just pop to B&Q or homebase and get a plastic one for 79p. To fix a mess made of the IDC would be, let me see, vistit charge (£74.99) plus parts. It's your choice - but be warned - the damage is easy to spot if you ram it in with a screwdriver.

[Andy Dingley]

Only if you do them badly. Google for "gas tight" and IDC as to why this is important..

[Bob Eager]

Perhaps he pumps all of his telephone sockets down to a vacuum! :-)

[Bill]

In message , The Natural Philosopher writes

Run out of polite things to say then?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Basically, yes. All a pushdown tool has to do, is to push the wire right down between the IDC jaws whilst not expanding them so as as not to stop hem doing the 'good electrical gas tight bond bit'

here are many ways of achieving this, and IME the most important single factor is to not use an untrained Gibbon who doesn't give a shit to make the connection.

If you must use such unskilled and demotivated labour, use of the correct expensive to0l will probably mean you only get about a 10% failure rate.

An intelligent motivated person can, with care, achieve the same success rate with almost anything else, if the principles are understood.

It just takes about 5 times as long, but its still less time than going down to the local vendor of complex expensive tools.

Like with TV aerial eection, you don;t need the complicated expensive kit to do a simple job well, if you have more brain than a monkey, and sufficient time to get it right.

But here are always those who will tell you that you cannot do the job without a flash tool ;-)

[nightjar]

So have I, which is one reason I would now choose not to.

I wondered how good that one was, given what I'd paid for mine.

Colin Bignell

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've found them totally useless. So bought the correct tool which also trims the excess cable.

[JW]

It often costs more than £20, though I was pleased to find a bargain one in my local B&Q last week for £3.30 (on clearance - half-price). Haven't used it yet (it's a spare) but it claims to be "Krone-compatible". It's this one here:

that B&Q also sell one in the usual price bracket.

For the OP, I would advise he swap the face-plate for one with screw terminals (also available in B&Q) and give us all some peace!

[Bob Eager]

CPC do a Mills one for about 13.50.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

or

[Bob Eager]

known make at rather less than 20 quid!

[dennis]

Toolstation do a Krone tool for £14.52 if you want one.