Suggestion for wire stripper for small gauges

[tooki]

So your approach of trying and sending back is not likely to be 100% fruitful, because you will always find some wire that a particular stripper isn’t good for.

It's actually a small range of wire I'm interested in - 20-30awg would be great if it Just Worked. And I wouldn't resent paying for quality. But I'm not going to swallow an £80 tool that doesn't do the basics that its advertising says it will.

You’re missing my point.

AWG isn’t the only criterion. As I said, factors like the ratio of insulation diameter to conductor diameter, and the exact insulation material matter. PVC from one company won’t behave exactly the same as all PVC from other companies. Cross-linked (irradiated) insulator is much tougher than the same material without cross-linking. One manufacturer may have slightly thinner or thicker insulation than another. Some has a very smooth surface, others more textured. Some insulations are foamed, others are dense. Some insulation adheres to the conductors more than others. (This may be down to insulation material, or to processing.) The angle of the strand twisting will affect ease of stripping — the tighter twist of expensive wires takes a little more force to overcome.

So your expectation that all wires of a given gauge range, even if we limit ourselves to the “easy” insulation materials, will strip perfectly in a given stripper with no exceptions is just not realistic. It’s possible that you simply have wires that don’t work well in that particular stripper. A wire that works great in one stripper may work poorly in another and vice versa. It’s just how it is.

And consider that your modest range of 20-30AWG means a range of about 0.25-0.8mm diameter, over a 3:1 ratio. It’s kind of a miracle that automatic strippers work at all, never mind with larger ranges.

As it happens I spent the afternoon and a lot of wire fine tuning the 12 40 200, and it will now do UTP without breaking a strand but leaves the insulation ragged.

Here’s a tip I use when I need a very clean, especially non-ragged cut on the insulation: squeeze the handles on the Knipex (either MultiStrip 10 or PreciStrip 16 in my case; should work with yours too) until the blades come down, but do not start to pull back. Grip the wire tightly and rotate the tool back and forth 90 degrees each way a few times. This will score the insulation. Then squeeze to strip. The scoring gives a much cleaner, squarer cut.

I think only a thermal stripper can really handle eccentric insulation while guaranteeing no conductor damage.

Got one. Never managed to successfully strip any wire. In fact, now you remind me I've been meaning to list it in Buy & Sell

That is remarkable. I found thermal strippers to be somewhat slow to use, but quite effective. They do require a particular technique, which is very simple, but must be used.  (The ones I got to use, at my old workplace, were low temperature ones, so I did not try them on PTFE, Kapton, or other challenging insulation materials, just PVC.)

What model are yours?

[Analog Kid]

Wow, that was a great deal indeed!!

So maybe my quest here isn't so ridiculous after all, eh?

[coppice]

The stripmaster lite is certainly not in the $30 ballpark however. It costs $100 and is probably worth that (nowadays). When I purchased 10 years ago, it was closer to $40.

You sure about that? I remember looking at the Stripmaster products nearly a decade ago and finding that the Lite cost about $100 and the big ones (especially the “custom” line) being significantly more than that, like $300+.

The Stripmasters used to be quite cheap. I've seen professional wire-men using a variety of tools for stripping fine single core and stranded wires for various kinds of electronics, but the Stripmaster has been the most common. Especially in defence work, where the cables all have to be temperature tolerant, and thermal strippers don't really cut it. There have been quite a few clones over the years. Some have been just as good as the original, while others are junk.

[tooki]

Wow, that was a great deal indeed!!

So maybe my quest here isn't so ridiculous after all, eh?

It isn’t 2014 anymore, as it turns out. (And sometimes things are on special deals.) Everyone’s recommendations are based on what you can buy now. So unless you have a time machine with which to go back in time and avail yourself of long-gone good deals, you should knock it off with your shitty, smug attitude.

[tooki]

The stripmaster lite is certainly not in the $30 ballpark however. It costs $100 and is probably worth that (nowadays). When I purchased 10 years ago, it was closer to $40.

You sure about that? I remember looking at the Stripmaster products nearly a decade ago and finding that the Lite cost about $100 and the big ones (especially the “custom” line) being significantly more than that, like $300+.

The Stripmasters used to be quite cheap. I've seen professional wire-men using a variety of tools for stripping fine single core and stranded wires for various kinds of electronics, but the Stripmaster has been the most common. Especially in defence work, where the cables all have to be temperature tolerant, and thermal strippers don't really cut it. There have been quite a few clones over the years. Some have been just as good as the original, while others are junk.

I’ve mostly seen Stripmasters in mil-spec/aerospace training videos. I haven’t seen anyone use them in the wild, and I’ve yet find someone who told me they liked working with them. I have encountered old strippers of that type (but different brands) and tried them briefly, but didn’t care for them.

As for thermal: the only insulation I can think of that thermal doesn’t work for are ones with fibers, like fiberglass or woven cotton, and silicone. Every thermal stripper manufacturer right now has models or settings for Teflon, Kapton, etc. It’s odd that you mention defense as an area where thermal “doesn’t cut it” because military and aerospace are exactly where I have seen thermal used the most! (In fact, they often specify it.)

[PlainName]

I think only a thermal stripper can really handle eccentric insulation while guaranteeing no conductor damage.

Got one. Never managed to successfully strip any wire. In fact, now you remind me I've been meaning to list it in Buy & Sell

That is remarkable. I found thermal strippers to be somewhat slow to use, but quite effective. They do require a particular technique, which is very simple, but must be used.  (The ones I got to use, at my old workplace, were low temperature ones, so I did not try them on PTFE, Kapton, or other challenging insulation materials, just PVC.)

What model are yours?

Patco PTS-3

[Analog Kid]

Wow, that was a great deal indeed!!

So maybe my quest here isn't so ridiculous after all, eh?

It isn’t 2014 anymore, as it turns out. (And sometimes things are on special deals.)

Wellll, if it's available on a "special deal" (which apparently happens from time to time nowadays, not 2014), then it's available, no?

So unless you have a time machine with which to go back in time and avail yourself of long-gone good deals, you should knock it off with your shitty, smug attitude.

Shitty smug attitude? Right back atcha.

[coppice]

I’ve mostly seen Stripmasters in mil-spec/aerospace training videos. I haven’t seen anyone use them in the wild, and I’ve yet find someone who told me they liked working with them. I have encountered old strippers of that type (but different brands) and tried them briefly, but didn’t care for them.

Its a long time since I've worked in defence, but the Strripmasters were the normal thing to use at that time. Some people used thermal strippers, but not many. You need to be really careful about fume extraction with some of the high temperature insulations. They can be nasty. Its fumes that got PTFE banned from most airborne applications.

[tooki]

Wow, that was a great deal indeed!!

So maybe my quest here isn't so ridiculous after all, eh?

It isn’t 2014 anymore, as it turns out. (And sometimes things are on special deals.)

Wellll, if it's available on a "special deal" (which apparently happens from time time nowadays, not 2014), then it's available, no?

Um, no? If someone here knew of a special going on right now, they would tell you!

If someone here chimes in with an awesome deal on a great tool, I’ll be just as happy for you as you will. But it seems unlikely to happen, given how electronics tools have been getting more expensive lately in general. And the occurrence of past sales is no promise of future ones. For example, many of the best deals are clearance sales, which by definition are not recurring on a given item. (At least not for items like electronics tools, which aren’t seasonal like clothes or Halloween candy.)

As I told you before: nobody is withholding good deals from you. Everyone is giving you advice based on what they know. So you really need to stop being so rude and ungrateful to all of us.

So unless you have a time machine with which to go back in time and avail yourself of long-gone good deals, you should knock it off with your shitty, smug attitude.

Shitty smug attitude? Right back atcha.

You reap what you sow. Your attitude is awful, and I’m not the only one to notice it. And even so, we keep helping because we like solving problems. You just need to be receptive to what we are saying and be appreciative of the information you are getting. Not this “HA! I CAUGHT YOU IN A LIE!” attitude you keep trotting out.

[tooki]

I’ve mostly seen Stripmasters in mil-spec/aerospace training videos. I haven’t seen anyone use them in the wild, and I’ve yet find someone who told me they liked working with them. I have encountered old strippers of that type (but different brands) and tried them briefly, but didn’t care for them.

Its a long time since I've worked in defence, but the Strripmasters were the normal thing to use at that time. Some people used thermal strippers, but not many. You need to be really careful about fume extraction with some of the high temperature insulations. They can be nasty. Its fumes that got PTFE banned from most airborne applications.

Thanks for the reply. That makes total sense.

What is puzzling is that some military and aerospace manuals explicitly say “no mechanical stripping”, at least for certain high-reliability assemblies, which I would interpret to preclude stripmasters. So that leaves what, thermal, laser, and for enameled magnet wire, chemical?

[tooki]

I think only a thermal stripper can really handle eccentric insulation while guaranteeing no conductor damage.

Got one. Never managed to successfully strip any wire. In fact, now you remind me I've been meaning to list it in Buy & Sell

That is remarkable. I found thermal strippers to be somewhat slow to use, but quite effective. They do require a particular technique, which is very simple, but must be used.  (The ones I got to use, at my old workplace, were low temperature ones, so I did not try them on PTFE, Kapton, or other challenging insulation materials, just PVC.)

What model are yours?

Patco PTS-3

What went wrong?

There’s precious little information (reviews, etc) of the Patco products online, so I’m curious.

[PlainName]

Not used them since I first got them and tried them, which is a couple of years back. AFAIR, they either didn't cut the insulation or had it come off like melted marshmallow. Superficially that sounds like they were either too cold or too hot for the particular insulation, but when I get a new toy I spend quite some time learning the ins and outs so that when I need to use it I can Just Do It instead of wasting time learning about it then. So I am fairly sure I was diligent in trying to get them working for me.

Maybe I'm just not cut out as a wireman

[Electro Fan]

Search on Amazon for Knoweasy Automatic Wire Stripper

They sell two models.  one for 10-24 AWG under $10 and one for 7-32 AWG under $20.  Quality on each TBD. 

Function, price, quality.  Might be a pick 2.

[coppice]

I’ve mostly seen Stripmasters in mil-spec/aerospace training videos. I haven’t seen anyone use them in the wild, and I’ve yet find someone who told me they liked working with them. I have encountered old strippers of that type (but different brands) and tried them briefly, but didn’t care for them.

Its a long time since I've worked in defence, but the Strripmasters were the normal thing to use at that time. Some people used thermal strippers, but not many. You need to be really careful about fume extraction with some of the high temperature insulations. They can be nasty. Its fumes that got PTFE banned from most airborne applications.

Thanks for the reply. That makes total sense.

What is puzzling is that some military and aerospace manuals explicitly say “no mechanical stripping”, at least for certain high-reliability assemblies, which I would interpret to preclude stripmasters. So that leaves what, thermal, laser, and for enameled magnet wire, chemical?

Maybe the military have changed their rules. I don't know why they would. It seems like the only argument against the stripmaster approach would be if it can be found to nick wires. It doesn't, if you follow the rules for their use. There used to be published figures about nick performance, showing no real difference between the robustness of a wire stripped with a stripmaster and stripped thermally. Perhaps they found people use the wrong hole in the stripmaster too often, and cause nicks. I always wondered why there were not compact stripmasters for just one wire size. A wireman will spend hours working on a loom that has only one type of wire in it, and a more compact tool would be easier to get into tight spaces.

In military systems most of the wiring is crimped, unless its point to point on a board. Thermal strippers used to often leave a smear of molten insulation on the supposedly bare wire. With soldering that usually gets removed OK. With crimping it can be merged into the crimp. I don't know if that problem has been fixed with more recent thermal designs. If military customers are insisting on thermal strippers I assume it has.

[PlainName]

Not automatic but looks interesting. Anyone used the Weicon Precision S?

[tooki]

Yeah. Works OK, but I didn’t care for it because the minimum strip length of 5mm is too long.

[PlainName]

They all seem to have minimum 5mm except the CK style. I think I will have to accept that trimming the end after strip is going to be de rigueur for any non-CK.

Does it require much effort to strip? The CK fails on that because it feels like it will pull the other end of the wire off whatever it's soldered to.

[tooki]

They all seem to have minimum 5mm except the CK style. I think I will have to accept that trimming the end after strip is going to be de rigueur for any non-CK.

Does it require much effort to strip? The CK fails on that because it feels like it will pull the other end of the wire off whatever it's soldered to.

The MultiStrip 10 is about 3mm. I recently used it, with some layers of tape added to reduce strip length by fractions of the “steps” available, to achieve a 2.7mm strip length for Micro Fit 3.0 contacts. (And it was repeatable: I did over 100 contacts, and every one came out perfect.)

The CK-style strippers are unmatched in this regard, having stepless strip length adjustment all the way down to essentially zero.

As for effort, I honestly don’t remember, I only tried it briefly 3 or 4 years ago.

The CK shouldn’t require that much effort. Make sure you’re using it correctly: not set too tight (remember, the AWG markings are for solid wire, so for stranded you must go up one size!), don’t squeeze excessively hard, and do a quarter turn left and a quarter turn right to completely cut the insulation before pulling back. I usually try to relax my grip ever so slightly before pulling back. That avoids the blades touching the copper, which increases effort dramatically.

[PlainName]

The CK shouldn’t require that much effort. Make sure you’re using it correctly

I may well not be

But it is quite old so the blade could be getting blunt now. I will ensure I follow your instructions and check if that's any better.

[unseenninja]

My weapon of choice for fine wires. Engineer PA-14. Goes from 34 AWG to 22 AWG. Sharp and accurate. Available on Amazon.

[armandine2]

these Miller Ripley no nick strippers are not adjustable so soon become even more pricey 

download the instruction sheet for the range info

https://ripley-tools.com/product/nn/

[PlainName]

The CK shouldn’t require that much effort. Make sure you’re using it correctly

I may well not be

Nah, no difference. But...

I found the Knipex 12 40 200, with Kynar single-core when using fingers to stop the wire being pulled through, would easily strip to basically zero length. OK, not literally zero but actually shorter than the CK on minimum.

[MarkL]

these Miller Ripley no nick strippers are not adjustable so soon become even more pricey 

download the instruction sheet for the range info

https://ripley-tools.com/product/nn/

I have these, and I also have the older style pictured below which work much better.

They used to be made by Clauss under the same brand name "No-Nik".  The tool changed manufacturer's hands a couple of times, changed in design, and the only thing that remains is the "No-Nik" name, which unfortunately is a misnomer.  The new design tends to gouge the conductor, but the old design truly does not nick it.

The old version is not adjustable either, but is a great tool, IMO.  You can still find them on ebay for various diameters in the range of $5 to $20.  Tool #NN012 (0.012") is perfect for 30AWG, and handles any insulation type.

[Analog Kid]

I'm quite pleased to report that I received my $0.99 strippers (automatic) from AliExpress today, and it gives me even greater pleasure to stick my tongue out at @tooki and the other naysayers and say "You were wrong! Wrong wrong wrong!".

Because the very first time I tested my new toy, on a piece of 30-gauge wire-wrap wire, it stripped the wire perfectly. (I really didn't expect that.) Here are the results:




Thus proving that yes, it is possible to obtain a pair of automatic wire strippers capable of stripping small wire (down to 30 AWG) without spending an arm and a leg. Both stranded and solid.

To qualify this assertion and make it crystal-clear: this suits my purposes as a hobbyist. I am not claiming that this tool is appropriate for production, or for critical work, although it may be suitable for that. The point is that this tool suits my purposes perfectly. Which was always the point of this exercise.
Another side to this story: This morning I got an email from AliExpress stating that this item had been delivered, which was odd, since the expected delivery date (here in the US) was the 11th of this month. Here's part of that email:



Which made me wonder: did Ali have access to a time machine? (today's date being the 5th of the month) At first I thought this notification was just a mistake, and the item was still in transit. I tried using the "Track order" link in the email, but no joy, no actual tracking info available.

But then I went out to my mailbox and, lo and behold, there was this little package. So I guess that notification was just screwed up by using the expected delivery date instead of the actual date. So no harm, no foul. I mean, it was delivered way ahead of schedule.

Regarding the tool itself: it's pretty dead-simple, a plastic body with a couple levers and two straight cutters in the jaw. Not sure how long it'll last but it feels solid enough. And it works! And it only cost me a buck!

Here's the tool: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832730717604.html

[ebastler]

Here's the tool: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832730717604.html

The page shows three different models. I assume it's the "LB1" version which you got? Offered at 8.79€ for me, so 10x the price you quoted, but that's still cheap.

However, it looks a lot like the Knipex knock-off wich was mentioned earlier in this thread. Several Amazon reviews describe how that one literally fell apart after a dozen operations. But maybe using it specifically on thin wire is fine, provided it keeps its precision for a reasonable time.

What's the insluation material on your AWG30 wire? You mentioned wire-wrap wire, so is it Kynar or some other material which is tougher than PVC?