Terminal Connectors DIY Style

I collect off cuts of copper pipe so I can manufacture terminal lugs. These lugs are heavy duty and gratantee to be solid copper. Good quality commercial product are expensive. You only need short length to make terminl lugs, so it is a great way to re-purpose pipe that is little use elsewhere.

1. Find a diameter of pipe that alllows the stripped wire to fit as close a possibe inside the copper tube.
   You can open out the pipe a little by working it with a punch or metal rod.
2. Squash the end flat in a vice while still in a longer length.
   Do not cut to size until the last step.
3. Hammer the flatten end of the copper pipe to make it spread wider.
   Copper is malleable and will flatten outwards with continued hammering.
   This will allow for a larger hole to be drilled to take a biger diameter stud.
4. Drill a small diameter hole, say 3mm, in the middle of the flat area, and then
   a larger hole to fix the required stud size. Near the end of drilling the larger hole,
   run the drill in reverse. It will drill slowly, but will not grab the job and destroy the product.
5. Now file and sand the end to debur and polish the copper.
6. The final step is to cut off the end of the pipe to make the finished terminal lug.