How To Use Ferrule And Stop? [Inc. Without A Crimper]

Are you planning to use stainless steel cables on your railing and want to know whether to use a ferrule and stop to help install them? You've come to the right place, for we have researched this question and have the answer for you.

Here are the steps to follow to secure a stainless-steel cable with a ferrule:

Insert the stainless-steel cable into one end of the ferrule.
Loop the cable and insert the end on the opposite side of the ferrule.
Crimp the ferrule.

In this post, we'll learn more about how to crimp a ferrule. We will also cover installing a ferrule on a wire rope and a ferrule for wires in the areas below. Without further ado, let's dive in!

What Is A Ferrule? How Do You Use Them?

Ferrules—also known as eyelets or grommets—are narrow rings for fastening, joining, reinforcement, or sealing. Ferrules are a common component of modern industry.

There are many products that you see every day that use ferrules to fasten or join their components.

The metal tip of a paintbrush that holds the bristles together and in place is a type of ferrule.
The tip of the brake cables of a bicycle is a ferrule.
Traditionally made of ivory, a pool cue tip is also a ferrule.
Even the aglets of your shoelaces are a type of ferrule.

The primary design of a ferrule is that it should have a wide enough opening for the object or objects that it will bind. Next, it should be made of a material that can compress the object or items within its ring.

Compression can come from heat, like in the case of aglets, or force, like metal sleeves.

Ferrules In Home Construction

Ferrules in home construction often involve fastening a wire rope or creating a loop. A ferrule with this function also makes use of a stop unless the opposite end of the wire rope also ends in a ferrule.

A stop is also a type of ferrule that you place at the tip of a wire rope to prevent it from unraveling.

Ferrules in home construction are often compressed using a swaging or crimping tool. However, you can improvise a method to compress a ferrule if you do not have a proper crimping tool with you.

Compressing a ferrule without a crimping tool should only be done for light applications that are not critical.

How Do You Crimp A Wire Ferrule Manually?

A wire ferrule is like an aglet that is made of conductive metal. There are wire ferrules that have an insulated tip. This type is helpful for wires that can benefit from dual insulation.

A wire ferrule helps protect stripped wires. Any external force that can damage the wires goes to the wire ferrule instead.

A wire ferrule also improves the connectivity of the wire because the wire ferrule keeps the cables in a single location. It also makes it easier to connect the wire to a bolt-on connection like the wires of your HVAC or thermostat.

Ruikarhop wire ferrules are available on Amazon.

Here are the simple steps to crimp your wire using a crimping tool made for wire ferrules:

Crimping A Wire Ferrule

Strip your wire as usual. You can use a wire stripper to create a cleaner strip. Ensure that the wire you strip is the same length as the wire ferrule.
After stripping, get a wire ferrule with a hole close to the wire's diameter. In most cases, a wire ferrule that has an equal diameter as the wire before stripping is the best wire ferrule match.
Insert the wire into the wire ferrule.
Insert the wire ferrule with wire inside into the crimper. Pick the hole in the crimper that matches the diameter of the wire ferrule.
Squeeze the crimper until you completely crimp the wire ferrule.
Remove the wire with the wire ferrule from the crimper. The wire is now ready.

Check out this wire stripping tool on Amazon.

How Do You Crimp/Swage A Ferrule With A Manual Swage Tool?

A ferrule for wire ropes has a barrel shape with two merging holes. It can be made of aluminum or copper—soft metals that you can compress with a tool to grip the wire rope.

It is important to note here that you should only use the wire rope that you crimp this way in light-duty applications.

See this 1/16-inch crimping loop on Amazon.

Preparing The Wire Rope

Check if the wire rope has any coating. Remove the coating on the part of the wire rope that you will crimp. Never crimp a wire rope with a covering.

The covering will add to the thickness of the wire that the ferrule will grip.

However, when the covering eventually falls apart, the grip of the ferrule will become loose and compromise the safety of the wire rope.

Installing The Ferrule

Insert the wire rope into the ferrule.
Make a loop with the wire rope, then reinsert the end into the ferrule to complete the loop.
Insert a thimble into the loop and press it to the ferrule. The wire rope thimble protects the wire rope from damage when you hook it.
Pull the wire rope to tighten the loop around the thimble. Leave a space equal to the thickness of your wire rope between the thimble and ferrule.
Adjust the tip of the wire rope so it will end up inside the ferrule. Adjust the loop if you need to maintain the distance between the thimble and the ferrule.

See these stainless steel thimbles on Amazon.

Locking The Ferrule

Insert the ferrule into the swage tool or crimping tool. Pick the correct hole in the crimping device or the proper diameter of the slot for the swage tool.
Squeeze the crimping tool until the ferrule locks on the wire rope.
Insert the opposite end of the wire rope into the stop ferrule. This is to prevent the opposite end of the wire rope from unraveling over time.
Insert the stop into the crimping tool.
Squeeze the crimping tool until the stop ferrule locks on the opposite tip of the wire rope.

This crimping tool is available on Amazon.

How Do You Swage A Ferrule With A Hydraulic Swage Tool?

A hydraulic swage tool is a swage or crimping tool that uses a hydraulic mechanism to multiply the force generated by the user.

Hydraulic swage tools have the advantage of providing more force to crimp ferrules. This type of swage tool allows you to crimp a ferrule that you wouldn't be able to crimp using a mechanical or manual crimping tool.

Here are the steps on how to use a hydraulic crimping tool or swage tool:

Crimping A Ferrule Using A Hydraulic Swage Tool

Follow the instructions from the sections "Preparing The Wire Rope" and "Installing The Ferrule."
Get a pair that matches the size or diameter of the ferrule.
Install the die pair into the hydraulic swage tool.
Turn the knob of the tool to "On." Insert the ferrule into the center.
Pump the handle lightly until both jaws of the tool grip the ferrule. Start counting how many times you pump the tool from this point.
Continue crimping the ferrule by pumping the tool. You should be able to crimp or tighten the ferrule four to five times. This should be tight enough for a firm grip.
Turn the dial to the "Off" position to release the ferrule.

- If you have a wide ferrule and one crimp is enough, yes, it is enough. However, if you use the wire rope on an application constantly under a large amount of force, you can crimp the ferrule one more time in another location.

This hydraulic wire crimper is available on Amazon.

How Do You Crimp A Ferrule Without A Crimper?

Crimping a ferrule without a crimper is possible. Yet, you should never use the resulting ferrule for anything critical, fragile, or valuable.

Crimping a ferrule without a tool will produce a grip. However, since this crimp did not come from a large amount of force, the hold will not be as strong as a crimp from a crimping tool.

Moreover, the crimp will not grip all the sides of the wire rope. Hence, it will not be a complete grip.

Here are the steps you can follow to crimp a ferrule without a crimping tool:

Crimping A Ferrule Without A Crimping Tool

Prepare your ferrule by following the instructions from the sections "Preparing The Wire Rope" and "Installing The Ferrule."
Place the ferrule between the jaws of the pliers.
Squeeze the pliers until the ferrule grips the wire rope.

Conclusion

There are different tools that you can use to crimp a ferrule. The one you should use depends on the purpose of the ferrule and the strength of the grip you need.

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