Members SuperAmerMetal Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 Does anybody know a good way to strip off the insulation on thin wiring? Whenever I try to do it with wires below 26 gauge or so, I end up breaking the wire, or I need to use a razor blade. Is there some kind of trick to it? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ENdtime Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 Im assuming you will be soldering this.. So if you are soldering, just use the tip of the iron to burn off the coating, and the wire will be in perfect condition.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members olgluefoot Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 Im assuming you will be soldering this.. So if you are soldering, just use the tip of the iron to burn off the coating, and the wire will be in perfect condition.. Yup. Just melt it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 i usually take a razor and cut toward the end of the wire flatwise-- i.e.-- i cut off one side of the insulation, and then fold it back and cut the rest off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grunge782 Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 NOO on the burning idea....bad fumes make dumb guy newholland has the right idea. Or you can get a really good insulation stripper, mine has no problem handling very small wires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pink freud Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SuperAmerMetal Posted January 7, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 Those break wires all the time when I use them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 I have a very small box-cutter...and I mean SMALL....that I gently cut a circle around the wire, and strip it off. If you make a complete circumcision, it comes right off. Almost any sharp razor/box blade work. Your touch will dictate success, but I have found it more accurate than strippers, which work great for larger wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 9ball Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 i bought a set of wire strippers 22 to 30awg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ENdtime Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 NOO on the burning idea....bad fumes make dumb guynewholland has the right idea.Or you can get a really good insulation stripper, mine has no problem handling very small wires LOL.. The fumes from the wire will not harm you.. Come on, its a minuscule amount.. I guarentee you are exposed to worse stuff on a daily basis walking the street .. And 26 gauge wire is very thin and I have yet to find a pair of strippers that consistently strip the wire without ever damaging the wire in the process. Sometimes sure, but not everytime and I have some great wire strippers. Burning it off is pretty much 100% clean everytime.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SuperAmerMetal Posted January 7, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 i bought a set of wire strippers 22 to 30awg. oh wow, I've never seen a set that small Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MightyThor Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 I do it with my teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 9ball Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 And 26 gauge wire is very thin and I have yet to find a pair of strippers that consistently strip the wire without ever damaging the wire in the process. Sometimes sure, but not everytime and I have some great wire strippers. Burning it off is pretty much 100% clean everytime.. i have a small blue point set that works fine. you just give it a twist back and fourth before you pull the insulation off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 9ball Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 oh wow, I've never seen a set that small i got them at school they have them there for the electronics program i think. they're blue points. i think you can get them on the internet. or ones for that size anyways. i used to have a hell of a time with those razor blades too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 LOL.. The fumes from the wire will not harm you.. Come on, its a minuscule amount.. I guarentee you are exposed to worse stuff on a daily basis walking the street .. And 26 gauge wire is very thin and I have yet to find a pair of strippers that consistently strip the wire without ever damaging the wire in the process. Sometimes sure, but not everytime and I have some great wire strippers. Burning it off is pretty much 100% clean everytime.. It's not like you have to create a huge plastic black fireball, right? Just melt it a little bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grunge782 Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 LOL.. The fumes from the wire will not harm you.. Come on, its a minuscule amount.. I guarentee you are exposed to worse stuff on a daily basis walking the street .. And 26 gauge wire is very thin and I have yet to find a pair of strippers that consistently strip the wire without ever damaging the wire in the process. Sometimes sure, but not everytime and I have some great wire strippers. Burning it off is pretty much 100% clean everytime.. Maybe, but I'd rather not take the risk If it is VERY well ventilated and I'm wearing my mask, then I would. But I haven't had that hard of a time stripping it so for me I haven't had a need to. I also don't want to ruin my tips or the mess with it. w/e works for you, id just rather hold on to as many braincells as I have left:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikey383 Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 What works best? Depending on what insulation it is, your thumbnail. Just pinch the wire hard with your thumbnail and pull. It doesn't as well on the softer MTW insulation as it does on stuff with harder insulation, but it still works. Or, you can just use a regular set of wire strippers that have the cutter on them and very gently dig the cutter blades into the wire and pull. You want to squeeze just enough to dig into the insulation and not the wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tele62 Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 Teeth quite honestly work best for me when the wire's too small for my strippers. EDIT: ^ Taken out of the context, that sentence is :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_gunslinger Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 I do it with my teeth. Same here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 30awg is used for wirewrapping, for prototyping circuits. You may also see it on production boards, with tacked on wires and/or components for circuit corrections or engineering changes that slip past production design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cookie Monster Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 I use a much smaller set of these. I just pinch enough where it barely touches the insulation, and then I carefully spin it around the wire . As soon as it made a little groove in the insulation, I pinch it and pop it right off without ever touching the wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dreamspace Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 I just use a razorblade and cut down the cable(not across), pull out the wire and cut away the insulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ben J Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 I sort of whittle the casing off with a very sharp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Casey Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 I just use a razorblade and cut down the cable(not across), pull out the wire and cut away the insulation. this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bdubbs Posted January 7, 2010 Members Share Posted January 7, 2010 For that thin you can use your teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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