Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Wire strippers
npelov:
I ordered wire strippers from dealextreme.com and they work fine for bigger cables, but I needed strippers for small cables (something to replace my teeth :)).
So I picked old cutters and grinded them to desired shape. And because I didn't have flat cutters to sacrifice I grinded those to be flat on the one side. They work pretty well. Better than I expected.
If you don't have strippers like these I highly recommend making them. The cutters only cost $2. and it took me more time to write this post than to make them.
mariush:
My first wire stripper was one that looked like this : http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/irwin-6-inch-vde-wire-stripper
They're just OK, not very good for thin wires because as you have to squeeze the handle to go through the insulation, you can also cut the thin wires. The one i bought was branded Black & Decker and was probably 5$.
Later, I found a "parrot" wire stripper from the same Black & Decker company for about 10-15$ .. obviously it's not made by them, they probably just rebrand it so probably any eBay one will work reasonably well. Here's an example of one that looks very very similar to mine: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOMATIC-WIRE-STRIPPERS-PARROT-TYPE-JAW-/121059285324
This one works much better, even for thin wires.
robrenz:
Nice job :-+ You can do more precisely and easily by using a tapered diamond mandrel.
Gently closing the cutters on the spinning mandrel at the right axial location for the diameter you want will generate a nice round tapered hole. Just grind deeper with the mandrel to get larger holes.
nanofrog:
Nice. :)
I use a Pressmaster Embla.
Different blade cartridges makes it extremely versatile (3x different blade cartridges available), and the cost is reasonable as a result IMHO (frame w/ 1set of general purpose straight blades <grey cartridge> can be had for ~$54 in the US from here). Other cartridges are for large wire (red; 10-5AWG) and Teflon (blue; 28-10AWG). At least based on the pricing here, $125 gets you a stripper system that can do most anything you'd ever need for bench use IMHO.
Gets rebranded a lot, such as Wiha and Xcelite for example (quite a bit of markup vs. Waytek though @ ~$90 for the exact same tool). At least Pressmaster's own label is more available in Europe from what I understand, so that could help on pricing.
georges80:
Yep, I have the Xcelite branded version (which I bought for ~$50 or so a whole bunch of years ago). Works really well for teflon insulated wire which I use for most hookup/test leads on my bench (I use high strand silicone for power test leads - but that is easily "stripped" with fingernails...). I'm still on the original teflon cartridge and still sharp as can be.
Highly recommended for teflon.
I have an Ideal Stripmaster (10 - 22 AWG jaw) for standard insulation, especially when doing vehicle accessory wiring etc.
I prefer a sized stripper to minimize nicking of wire (solid or typically stranded) versus a side cutter - but will use one of those if desperate.
cheers,
george.
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