I have been pricing wire strippers- the kind that hold the wire and pull the plastic insulation off and found a $10.00 model at Harbor Freight, for all those needing such a tool. I priced them at Lowes and Home Depot and this beats all of them. Just type in wire strippers in the search box at the Harbor Freight website and it comes up (yellow handle).
Cedarwoodron
LION bought a cheap one. Him then went out and bought a better one.
Also check to see if it will handle the smallest gage wire that you will want to strip. The cheap one did not go small enough. Even my good one gives trouble sometimes, so I may be in the market for the best one I can find. That means going to a repuatable electricians supply house.
Or you can just bite the wire with your teeth and strip it that way. Doesent work so good if you hafe fangs instead of cutting teath, but that is the way it is.
ROAR
For decoder and other small gauge wire, which is usually around 28 gauge, I use my fingernails instead of a wire stripper. The Harbor Freight stripper is good for larger gauge (16 or larger) wire.
Let us know how they work.
Like LION, I bought a cheap set, then a good set, then a better set.
Enjoy
Paul
Ron,
I looked at the $10 wire stripper you mentioned. It does not compare to the $25 Ideal Stripmaster you can pick up at Lowes. I have 10-12 wire stripers(my Dad was an electrician), and still I wound up buying the Ideal Stripmaster based on what Randy Rinker mentioned in a post years ago. Give the H/F one try - But I have found that quality tools are not cheap. My Stripmaster can cut into the insulation on my #14 bus, spread the insulation(without nicking the copper) so I can solder a feeder to the bus.
I am not saying H/F tools are all bad - I have their $20 air brush, and while it is not equal to my Badger Patriot - I would suggest it to someone who is starting out.
Jim
Bought the best for $10 on clearance at K-mart. On E-bay you can buy Kleins for arround $15 new.
I use my old pair of Xuron rail nippers for a wire stripper in the smaller gauges, 22 AWG and smaller. It became my backup rail nipper in the first place, because I used it to cut something a little too hard and managed to notch the jaws in a couple of spots. Turns out with a little practice I can strip the smaller wires better than with my electrician’s stripper. I’ve even thought of trying to put a range of notches in it’s jaws to make it more versatile. YMMV [;)]
My cheepie (China) didn’t last too long. Went to Radio Shack and for arond $18 got a better one (Tiawan). It has held up for what I have used it for, not all modeling. It will get a better test once i get started on a new layout.
Have fun,
Richard
You’ve heard that you get what you pay for? I look at it a little differently… You don’t always get what you pay for, but you NEVER get what you don’t pay for.
Jim & other posters, Well, I am trying to save a buck, but for ten dollars, if it turns out to be faulty harbor freight will gladly refund the cost within 30 days. If the strippers work, I save, and if not, then I can still have another option w/o overspending. Note, they look identical to the one Micro Mark shows online! Cedarwoodron
Just lost my “good 'ol” Klein stripper at my last job (someone will find it up in a ceiling tile someday) Bummer had it for 16 years, using a backup Ideal one, OK but not the same. looked at home centers, the variey of the Klein tools are lesser quality, if even close, and Loew’s changed to Southwire brand a poor cheap knockoff. Off to the Supply house to replace the klein. The Ideal, smaller guage 18-28 works great for all our smaller needs though. That one doesn’t go to W**k w/ me, stays on the workbench.
The Sear’s Craftman ones appear to be made by Ideal, and will share that tool warrantee.
The Ideal is the way to go, mine is from 1988. [tup] You will own it for life.
My neighbor bought that Harbor Freight stripper…I guess it would be okay for model railroading, but you do get what you pay for. He threw his in the pond, wasn’t worth the gas to go get a refund.
Well, I will give it (the harbor freight one) a whirl around the dance floor…but my main use for this would be for track wiring- the larger wire gauges. As I am now a firm believer in using 28 and 32 awg wire (from computer ribbon cables repurposed and split apart) for my engine, car and structure wiring, I use more precise tools- teeth, xacto knives, etc. Sorry Lion, but i still have my original choppers. And Jim…that whirl is NOT a polka (even though I remember how from my misspent youth in Mpls)!!![:D]
Cedarwoodron
This is especially true with tools. Why scrimp to save a little now, when you’ll pay for it later on? Why not buy tools that will give you years of faithful service, instead of buying cheap tools now, then more expensive ones later?
This is a tool where I wouldn’t scrimp, because it can cause problems that become a PITA to diagnose later. I have an Xcelite 104CG that I use for my other hobbies (vacuum tube audio, R/C helicopters), and once you nick a few thin wires too deeply with cheap strippers and then can’t understand why the circuit (including DCC, sound, lights) is working intermittently, you’ll learn to love a high-quality hand tool.
And bonus: Made in USA.
Bruce
Spend the money on a very good set of wire strippers ($25) and soldering iron ($60). I finally got the Ideal stripper and a Zytronic 168 temp controlled soldering iron/station. Best investments in tools and wish I hadn’t wasted so much money on cheap tools. You won’t be sorry.
-Bob
I took a piece of the smallest wire I use to Radio Shack and asked the clerk to show me their stripper would work on it. He handed me the stripper, It worked perfectly, so I bought it.
That is why I really prefer brick and mortar stores over mail order and internet vendors.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3932546
That is the problem at Home Depot- I first went there, as I saw higher priced (and presumably more durable) wire strippers on their website, thinking that they might have at least one of those in-store, but found nothing but the simple pliers-type. Then I saw the Harbor Freight ones on their website and will go there. If Micro-Mark is selling the exact same ones at twice the price (19.98), well then, are those also not good quality?
I will buy the Harbor Freight ones and report back…
Cedarwoodron
i usually just use diagonal cutters. T strippers are a bit more precise and can cut wire as well
Which brand are you recommending/suggesting? I looked up the Ideal flavor online and they look to be $34 on up.
Concerning the cheaper brand (Harbor Freight et al) strippers, I notice that the more expensive units have a piece notched at the wire gripping side of the tool, and the notches are sized to grip various sizes of wire, whereas the less expensive flavors seem to have a one size fits all arrangement. I don’t know if that makes the tool better or not.
And for whatever it is worth, I also bought one of the look alike tools (not Harbor Freight, but a similar tool discount store). In my opinion, it is junk.