atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring JackRapid Punchdown Tool

They're worth the expense in my opinion.

Especially useful when putting jacks on underneath work surfaces in cubes. Just lay in the wires and snap you're done. Takes half the time.

Harris was the original maker (red) and they were bought by Fluke who changed the colors to blue and yellow. I was not aware that Leviton had one...
It all depends what brand of jacks you prefer..since I use Leviton, I went out and bought the JackRapid with Leviton die, and it saves me a ton of time.

With the proper die, JackRapid also works well with Systimax jacks. :thumb:

The company I work for now is high on using Panduit...doubt if it's even possible to manufacture a termination tool for a two-part jack.

I rarely have to work with Panduit, but I have the tools for both the older cat 3/cat 5 and the newer cat 5e/cat 6 jacks, they fit nicely on a keychain

I have a JackRapid tool for the Systimax MGS400 jacks. It works great and never had a failure.

I have three of them, I never install a cat5 or 6 cable without using one. (Fluke owns Harris and they OEM Levitons tool.)

This is my point exactly. At $$$ per tool at what point does it make financial sense...I haven't used my Leviton Rapid Jack for over three years. The companies I have worked for and/or the customers don't use jacks that my $$$ tool is compatible with.

What's the $$$ of a 110 Punch Tool?

Don't misunderstand, I love the Rapid Jack, but what good is it if you don't use it?

It seems to me, that if you have 1 flat-rate job, and the jackrapid saves you about 1-hr of time on that 1 job, it should in essence pay for itself. Everything after that is just gravy. The leviton version doesn't seem that expensive. No clue how much the other jackrapids cost, but can't imagine they are too out of line.

Unless you buy the tool to crimp one jack and never use it again, I'm not sure how much of a waste it is. I'm sure you have other tools you bought for a job that never see the light of day but once every few years.

Besides, for me, any tool that is reasonably priced (or has a high rate of return), that ALSO makes my life significantly easier when I do use it, is worth it. Plus you get to say you have one.

The first job I used it on had 120 drops. At a 30 second per jack savings (low estimate) it saved one hour labor. I have used it for over 2000 jacks since then so it has paid for itself many times over.