How do you strip thin wires like the ones for guitar wiring

[wkrantz7]

I been having serious trouble stripping the wires like the ones for pickups and for guitar guts. I have one of those regular strippers (heh) that kinda look like pliers. I'll try to gently cut just the rubber outer portion of the wire but it's very tough to not cut any of the steel wiring inside. I know there are strippers that have different gauges but I could not find any one small enough for guitar wiring at Radio Shack. I damn near made my pickups unusable cutting them so short after try after try so what do you guys do?

[Doctor49]

craft knife or teeth

[tlbonehead]

ya, the teeth sometimes work. Or a stripper that goes as low as 24 gauge.

[briango]

Try one of these...work great.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95124

[CanIBDom]

 

a match or a cig lighter works too

 

 

Or a soldering pencil.

[Kind of Blued]

The wire strippers I got at Wal-Mart have a size small enough for pickup leads.

[Mike Fiasco]

That little notch on the bottle opener of your swiss army knife.

[hecticone]

Just your fingernails.

[PunkKitty]

I carefully use my teeth.

[cratz2]

 

Yep. I use an x-acto to make the tiniest slit in the coating, then use teeth or fingernails to pull it off.

 

 

Never used my teeth, but a knife and fingernails have stripped an AWFUL lot of wire around my place.

[Pope on a Rope]

 

a match or a cig lighter works too

 

 

I use lighters also. It's much quicker and easier than any wire strippers and you don't get strands of wire stuck between your teeth, which really sucks. I did that once and never stripped wires with my teeth again.

[brewgoodbeer]

I guess it depends how desperate you are. When I was real you and desperate, I used my teeth, scissors, or a knife. Now that I am older I have a acquired a few of those things called tools. I have a fixed gauge stripper specifically for 22 and 24 gauge wire. It works like a charm every time. You place the wire in a "v" and the other end loops over your finger. Just pull, not the finger, and it is stripped. They also make them with a cutter for using a wire wrap terminal block. I think they are a couple of bucks and made by Jensen.

[shredtilurded]

 

ya, the teeth sometimes work. Or a stripper that goes as low as 24 gauge.

 

 

Listen to him, my man, he's pre-med.

[tlbonehead]

Listen to him, my man, he's pre-med.

Pre-law.

[Furtive]

 

Try one of these...work great. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95124

 

 

I found something similar. Cheap as hell, but works great.

[shredtilurded]

 

Pre-law.

 

 

haha:wave:

[Alex_SF]

The strippers that look like pliers usually have a scissors-like wire cutter at the base of the jaws. I use that for the wires smaller than the smallest-gauge hole of the strippers. (Or just use a pair of scissors.)

 

Just grip the wire so that the scissors barely score the insulation without cutting through the whole wire, yank on the wire, and presto - the end of the insulation comes right off.

[Bob411]

I've always used a sharp knife. Never thought of burning off the plastic. It doesn't leave some residue, that keeps you from being able to solder it? I always cut through a few strands, so I'm anxious to try this out.

[photon9]

I use a utility knife as well. As long as you use proper technique and a light touch you shouldn't cut through any wire strands or your finger. Once I have the insulation cut I just pull off the excess using the knife. If I'm struggling I use needle nose pliers. No need to use your teeth. Ecch.

[mike42]

There just don't seem to be many strippers that handle small, soft, multi-strand wire very well. I generally use an X-acto blade, but I've been doing it a long time and I guess it's kind of an acquired skill.

 

I usually lay the wire more or less on my left index finger, and then use my right hand to sort of roll the blade over the wire where I want it stripped. Obviously you don't use much pressure or your finger will pay the price. Like someone already said, just enough pressure to score the insulation, and then you can usually pull it off.

 

You might try substituting a piece of mat board or something similar in place of the finger, and then let the blade roll the wire until you're got a score line all around. It just takes a while to develop a "feel" for how hard you can press without nicking the wire.

[EllenGtrGrl]

Either gently with a knife, a wire stripper, or (as long as I clean the tip off afterwords), I'll burn it off with a soldering iron (the flux in the solder usually gets rid of any residue from the burned insulation).

[Doctor49]

 

Pre-law.

 

 

practicing chasing pre-med.

[PanaDP]

pocketknife and thumb

[Superrust]

 

I'll burn it off with a soldering iron (the flux in the solder usually gets rid of any residue from the burned insulation).

 

 

+1 on this. It's what I do and it works great. Doesn't take much to make a small 'nick' where you can then pull the covering off.

[Pope on a Rope]

 

I've always used a sharp knife. Never thought of burning off the plastic. It doesn't leave some residue, that keeps you from being able to solder it? I always cut through a few strands, so I'm anxious to try this out.

 

 

I don't burn it off. I just heat the insulation for a second and pull the softened plastic off with my fingers.