I used an old pair of pliers, rounded off the top jaw and welded two pieces of quarter inch rod to the bottom jaw.
It works great. But as the wire gets tighter it gets tougher to crimp. The tuning fork tool has the handle angled about thirty degrees off from the line of the fork. This makes it more efficient to use and easier on the operator.
When I get some time I want to make a really trick one that will do three times the work as easy as the fork does. I've made it in my mind, just haven't taken the time to form, cut, and weld. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Oh, the tuning fork will allow one to pull a fence so much tighter than any crimp style ever could. Leverage, think "Atlas" moving the world.