The arrival of PEX in the plumbing industry revolutionized so many things for contractors and workability. It competes with other plumbing materials like copper and other polymers. The way it changed the business competition also changed the tools that were required.
While professional plumbers use brand new PEX crimping or cinching tools, you or any other DIY guy may not find that suitable to work with. That’s because tools are expensive!
To cut the expense of tools without compromising the perfect finish of the end product is what we are aiming for in this article. We will utilize common hand tools to do crimping and cinching jobs.
That said, now let us look into the homemade tools that can help you in crimping or clamping PEX pipes.
Don’t know the difference between Crimp vs Clamp Tool? Read this…
How to Crimp PEX Without Tool?
Understand the basics first; the crimping tool is for cutting or pressing purposes. The crimp has a set of teeth on its edges that you can use for cutting, pulling, or pressing.
Keep the image of the teeth or edges in your mind, and you will understand the crimp that you are going to customize for the home tasks in the future.
Remember, you are not a professional, so the DIY thing is temporary. The tools are imperative, and you need them to have a permanent solution to your problem.
Cutting
The cutting part is easy as you can utilize any domestic tool for cutting purposes. When you need to cut a polymer, you need the special PEX tools to have a quality cut. So, what to do when it is not there? Well, it’s simple, improvise.
Look around you and find a hand saw, or the best option, a pair of cutters with a strong and sharp edge. Utilize the tool that suits your need. The crimp tool of a PEX pipe is the advanced form of a cutter.
A saw can also do the work if you have the necessary skill to use it straight without flexing it. If the saw is flexing, then your cut won’t be clean.
Pressing
If you do not have the necessary tool, you can use the electrical crimpers of the appropriate size, ½” or ¾.” However, if you do not have a crimper related to any other craft, you have to improvise.
Get a garden cutter or a pair of strong pliers. The basic idea is to have a strong handled tool for the purpose at hand.
Find a flexible metal wire that revolves and bends easily around any object. Make sure that the metal wires are durable and robust and do not get cut by simple bending.
Twist the wire around one edge of the blade so that there is a gap between the bends. It should be just like a set of strong teeth. Repeat the other side’s process as well, and the DIY crimping tool is ready for the task at hand.
The edges should on both sides be able to fit into each other when you close the mouth shut. Use any type of glue or adhesive material so that the metal wire remains in place and is not disturbed during the crimping process. However, we strongly recommend using crimp rings as this kind of metal wire won’t give you a permanent solution.
The crimping can also be achieved with tools that have teeth to hold on to. Wrenches can be utilized, but it requires excellent force and technique when you are pressing something. Normal pliers with teeth can also fulfill the purpose, but they must have a strong squeeze handle.
How To Clamp PEX Without Tool?
A clamping tool is used to hold two things together. Clamps are normal tools for holding something tightly together; however, the PEX pipe has a specialized tool for clamping purposes.
If you do not have the necessary tool, you can go to the market and collect metallic clamp rings of various sizes. The size, along with the thickness or thinness does have an impact.
The rings should be thick enough to hold firm under pressure and thin enough so that you can squeeze them. Get multiple rings, if possible, and choose the one that gets around the surface perfectly that you want to secure.
Strong metal wire can also be used and improvised into ring clamps. You must have seen professional plumbers use rubber bands to hold something tight, though the improvised clamps are just a temporary option and not a durable solution.
When the rings are set properly and in place, use the crimping tool to secure the surface’s grip. Use the tool on the ring to have a tight knot. You can utilize a plier to do that.
You see that homemade tools are not a bad option, but you have to put your mind to it. If you can improvise small tools yourself, you can do many things that you find daunting.
Safety
Always remember that dealing with any sort of tool is not an easy affair. You have to be vigilant with your tool making and usage.
Safety measures include your gloves, mask, and glasses—glove to protect your hand from any chemical or physical action, and glasses to protect your eyes. A mask is imperative to keep out any chemicals that may get mixed in the atmosphere around your work zone.
Conclusion
That said, the tools that you improvised are not a permanent option. It clarifies your concepts regarding the tools, but the best choice is the real thing.
Durability by handmade tools is luck, and many professionals, even though they can improvise, claim to go for the real thing. The tools are handy for an urgent need but replace them with the real device as soon as possible.
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