The old timer who pointed out my crimp error at a hangar in Tucson

I was working on a Cessna 172 at a small FBO in Tucson about 2 years ago. This retired guy who used to do avionics for the Air Force walked over and watched me crimp a D-sub pin for a minute. He just said 'your die is set one notch too tight, you're crushing the barrel.' I checked my manual, he was right. Has anyone else had a random stranger spot a mistake you'd been making for months?

3 comments

3 Comments

murray.robert11d ago

Did that old timer charge you a consulting fee for fixing your whole career?

troyknight11d ago

Nah, he just charged me in life lessons and a handshake.

colethomas11d ago

And that's the thing about those old guys, they don't charge you but they do make you feel like an idiot for a second. @troyknight got off easy with just a handshake. Though I gotta say, you probably weren't making the mistake for months. Your die might have been fine on thicker wire, and that old timer just caught you on a thinner gauge crimp where the barrel collapsed a little more. I had a guy do the same thing to me with a coax connector once, and I'd only been doing it wrong for about three days but it felt like forever.