Called BS on those flaring tools for coax until I tried one

I was dead set that a $10 compression tool and a steady hand was all you needed. Then a job last Thursday in a crawlspace with zero room to move forced me to borrow a neighbor's $60 flaring kit. Those connections actually held signal strength where my hand flares always dropped 3 dB.

3 comments

3 Comments

kellyjones1d agoMost Upvoted

You just described my exact crawlspace nightmare from last month, didn't you? I had a similar experience where I was twisting and sweating trying to get a clean flare on a RG6 line in a tight corner, and after three tries it still failed. Bought a $50 flaring tool the next day and the first connection was perfect, no signal loss at all. It's crazy how much easier it is when you don't have to fight the tool itself.

miles_roberts1d ago

Oh man, that crawlspace work changes everything, doesn't it? This is exactly the kind of thing I've noticed in a lot of areas, not just cable tools. Seems like there's a pattern where you get by just fine with the basic method until you hit that one situation where the cheap way just plain won't work. Then you buy the better tool and suddenly you wonder why you didn't do it sooner. It's like the whole world is designed to teach us that having the right gear for the job isn't about showing off, it's about not fighting the job itself.

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casey68221h ago

I used to think spending more was just showing off, but that crawlspace story really changed my mind.

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