I am doing some decoder work and building a control panel. What tools are you using to strip the tiny short wires with out cutting the wire?
I normally use fine gauge wire strippers. If the wire is too small (like 28 or 30 gauge) for it, I use an old pair of wire cutters that has some pretty good dents in the blades.
One way I’ve used is to just put the wire on a piece of wood and use the soldering iron to pull the sheathing off. That way you don’t nick the wires.
I hold the wire with a pair of needle-nosed pliers and make four light cuts around the insulation with an Xacto knife, then I just pull the insulation off.
I gave up smoking almost 4 years and 20 pounds ago but a small lighter will work. A Zippo may be overkill though.
I use diagonal cutters like I have for 45 years.
I use my thumbnail. It is tough enough to cut the insulation but neven nicks the wire.
I second the thumbnail. Give it a try. Works better than you’d think [:)]
Check this unit out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mjj3G5x5_Q
I’m often times a “klutz” when it comes to delicate electrical work, but this tool certainly makes wire stripping an effortless breeze! I purchased mine at a family owned electronics store, but from my understanding this model and similar units are commonly available in the electronics tools sections of tech and hardware stores.
Decoder wire I just use a thumbnail. ANything #22 or heavier, the Ideal wire stripper is simply the best. That one they advertise with the cold heat soldering gun is just as worthless as the cold heat thing.
–Randy
Art, count me in on the thumbnail tool. I tried it with several tools, but one day in desparation I ‘pinched’ the wire between the thumbnail and the ‘pointy’ finger, gave it a pull and it came right off.
Jarrell
Art,
I bought a wire stripper at my LHS that works great on small decoder wires. It is adjustable for various guages. It is a General No. 69 Wire Stipper and it’s ‘Made in USA’.
CN Charlie
Another vote for the thumbnail.
It’s the only tool you’ll never misplace.
Eric
For #22 and larger, I have a wire stripper that I acquired many years ago that holds the wire and strips it with a single squeeze. For #24 and smaller, and for enameled wire, I favor the hot end of my soldering tool.
Unfortunately, my thumbnail is no longer suitable - all of my nails have a tendency to chip and split.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
This is what I do too, you can pull the insulation right off. Sometimes, a single cut plus the use of your finger nail will do the trick.
Hi!
I’ve got various wire strippers (LOVE the Klein automatic) that handle pretty much all the wiring situations I have with the layout. For the really fine wires on locos, I use - or attempt to use - my fingernails and pinch off the shielding. If that doesn’t work, I’ll GENTLY make a cut with a new blade, and then pinch it off.
Of course like every other thing we do, this takes some practice and patience, and I would experiment on spare wire segments before I did anything critical.
Mobilman44
I use the smallest slot on my wire stripper. It’s still a little too big, so instead of having the stripper perpendicular to the wire, after I put the wire in I give it a 90-degree twist. This pinches the wire just enough to hold the insulation while letting the wire through.
When I was younger, I had a small chip between two teeth. It was a perfect wedge, and it made a great wire stripper. Sadly, some dentist repaired it somewhere along the line.
When I was in the military (communications specialist), we had an electric wire stripper. It looked like a soldering iron, but had two separate sides like a soldering gun. At the ends of each side was a small plate that had a small notch in the center. When the two sides were pressed together, with the wire in the two notches, they heated up. It worked great, but when you’re in a shop full of techs, they were fought over like the Coke bottle in the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy”.
Marion, that hot wire stripper is made by Pace and was the stripper of choice when absolutely NO nicks were tolerated. I had to leave it behind when I retired. Very expensive.
[:)]
Teeth. I’m surprised that only one other person has used teeth. I did it that way for years. I used to kid my dentist by asking him to not mess with my wire-cutting teeth, please, upon which he would roll his eyes way up. As my other teeth deteriorated with age, the ones I used for wire stripping remained healthy and strong, but I had to give them up when I replaced all my teeth for full dentures. My wife, who used to work for a dentist, told me, “Don’t even ask about adjusting the dentures to do that!”
[:)] [:)]