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PennySaved
Penny Collector Member
359 Posts |
 Posted - 10/13/2009 : 12:45:53
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What is the easiest way to strip the plastic coating off of electrical wires/cords without spending a lot of money on the supplies?
Is it worth the time?
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Dumpster Diver
Penny Pincher Member
USA
211 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2009 : 20:01:13
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| Stanley razor knife...put the wire on a work bench and place the blade at an angle and just pull it through. You'll drive yourself crazy with wire strippers on small gauge wire. I strip everything- while watching TV at night and just toss in a bucket. It fills up fast.- Making a small profit while doing something I'd probably do anyway! |
"You're not really gonna throw that out...are you"? |
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aloneibreak
Penny Collector Member
USA
377 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2009 : 20:22:12
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| i take the time to strip everything. but thats pbly why ive got a bigger pile of insulated than clean wire!! |
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson
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Robarons
Penny Collector Member
USA
370 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2009 : 21:17:45
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Thats the way I strip too, but I get discouraged because I am killing my hands doing it this way while some bub around the corner is burning it off via bonfire pit causing all kinds of bad smoke.
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Robber Baron= Robarons |
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DaKnightFall
Penny Sorter Member
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2009 : 21:29:10
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I made a post here about a home made wire stripper i made out of a vacuum cleaner, and a razor blade. :-P
I've yet to take pictures. |
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NinjaPirate
New Member
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2009 : 00:05:48
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I use a box cutter and a pair of gardening gloves.
Place the wire over the razor, press the wire down onto the blade with a good amount of pressure (WHILE WEARING GLOVES!) and pull the wire with your other hand.
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Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. |
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Dumpster Diver
Penny Pincher Member
USA
211 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2009 : 14:20:42
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DaKnightFall... we all want to see these pictures-please post!
I'm always thinking of a better way to do this but my attempts either don't work or are dangerous.  |
"You're not really gonna throw that out...are you"? |
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silversaddle1
Penny Sorter Member
USA
29 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2009 : 16:18:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Robarons
Thats the way I strip too, but I get discouraged because I am killing my hands doing it this way while some bub around the corner is burning it off via bonfire pit causing all kinds of bad smoke.
Burning off the plastic on light gauge braided wire is not a good idea anyway. You lose most of the wire due to the heat of the fire. Either do it by hand, or sell it as-is. We sell all light wire with the plastic on. |
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smc1967
New Member
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2009 : 22:28:54
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what would be wrong heating these cords to a temps that just barly melt away the insulation¿
Understood that twisted copper would be a pain.. it gets all stuck between the braid. |
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DaKnightFall
Penny Sorter Member
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2009 : 23:45:12
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| I have no digital camera, i have friends that do.. maybe someone will throw one away sometime soon. lol |
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country_bumpkin
Penny Sorter Member
USA
57 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2009 : 10:42:24
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quote:
Originally posted by smc1967
what would be wrong heating these cords to a temps that just barly melt away the insulation¿
Understood that twisted copper would be a pain.. it gets all stuck between the braid.
It would be next to impossible to 1) control the heat 2) peel melting insulation without breaking.
There's some guy on Ebay selling a manual bench stripper for $100 that you can adjust to any size wire.
There's an outfit that makes a $150 manual stripper that can go as small as 14 gauge (1/16") I bought a cutting wheel from them to make my own, but never finished it. www.thewirezipper.com |
“He who goes a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing.”
- Benjamin Franklin |
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bruce hylton
Penny Sorter Member
United Arab Emirates
84 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2009 : 14:47:47
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| Why don't you save the time and sell the plastic on the wire? You won't make more than 20 cents an hour no matter how you do it and if you should burn it up, it will cost you. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT |
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smc1967
New Member
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2009 : 06:28:27
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Yeah, good point. I think I can put to together a stripper like the link above: wiresipper. Ill just have to think on it.
Thanks for the push |
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slickeast
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1356 Posts |
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ZigMeister
Penny Sorter Member
USA
42 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2009 : 13:27:00
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| In AZ we need to leave the insulation on the wire. Do you guys leave the plug ends on or cut them off before scrapping? |
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hobo finds
Penny Pincher Member
224 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2009 : 13:32:45
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| I leave them on. |
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smc1967
New Member
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2009 : 22:11:49
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it seems to me, one should be able to drill holes in a alluium bar .5inch thick and 12in long. Attach a sharp edge at the front of the hole and mount at eye level. as you pull down and thru it should come out in separated.
Maybe use a peace of wood stock and tap in a thin razor at the front of the hole. Just enought that a small tip of an edge is touching the wire as it pass thru.
As I type out loud, it dawns on me that adjusting the depth in which the blade cuts in to the insulation should be adjustablle.
I guess it all depends on how much wire your stripping a week. |
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bruce hylton
Penny Sorter Member
United Arab Emirates
84 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2009 : 10:45:36
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| If you are going to the trouble to strip, mount wire stripping pliers in a vice, lift handle, insert wire, and plull wire through by hand or make a winch affair to pull wire with. Several size dies on one stripper. |
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Kurr
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1685 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2009 : 11:20:27
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I strip ALOT of wire for my jewelry, I cut it to manageable 3 foot lengths, The simply use my pocket knife and leg to pull the wire through.
Safe, fast, and easy. |
Selling coppers- 1.4 + shipping or trade, PM me!! ~100.00 (68lbs)Available~
"If my sons did not want wars, there would be none." ~ Gutle Schnaper, Mayer Amschel Rothschilds wife
A number of people are educated beyond, sometimes way beyond, their intelligence. - Tenbears
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DaKnightFall
Penny Sorter Member
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 10/27/2009 : 01:07:14
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My wire stripper is just a vacuum cleaner cover (could be a piece of wood, probably would work better) I then drill a hole the same size as the wire gauge, and then put a razor blade standing straight up "peaking" into the hole where the wire goes, the razor blade is held down with a screw. i can loosen the screw, and slide the razor in and out to adjust to the wire coating depth. I then thread the wire threw the hole and pull. the razor makes a nice long slit from one end of the wire to the other. Then i strip one end of the wire with basic wire strippers and start pulling on the copper in the direction of the slit the device made. The copper in the wire slides nicely along the long slit down the insulation, peeling free.
I swear i will take pictures even a video one day. We decided to come up with a contraption one day when we had a lonnnnnnng vacuum cleaner wire. our first response was "no way... really? it worked? HOLLY SH%^" |
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NinjaPirate
New Member
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2009 : 18:09:46
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quote:
Originally posted by DaKnightFall
My wire stripper is just a vacuum cleaner cover (could be a piece of wood, probably would work better) I then drill a hole the same size as the wire gauge, and then put a razor blade standing straight up "peaking" into the hole where the wire goes, the razor blade is held down with a screw. i can loosen the screw, and slide the razor in and out to adjust to the wire coating depth. I then thread the wire threw the hole and pull. the razor makes a nice long slit from one end of the wire to the other. Then i strip one end of the wire with basic wire strippers and start pulling on the copper in the direction of the slit the device made. The copper in the wire slides nicely along the long slit down the insulation, peeling free.
I swear i will take pictures even a video one day. We decided to come up with a contraption one day when we had a lonnnnnnng vacuum cleaner wire. our first response was "no way... really? it worked? HOLLY SH%^"
*ahem*
THIS POST SUCKS WITHOUT PICS!!!!
Don't mean to be harsh, but chop chop, dude!!  |
Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. |
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DaKnightFall
Penny Sorter Member
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2009 : 20:12:43
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quote:
Originally posted by NinjaPirate
quote:
Originally posted by DaKnightFall
My wire stripper is just a vacuum cleaner cover (could be a piece of wood, probably would work better) I then drill a hole the same size as the wire gauge, and then put a razor blade standing straight up "peaking" into the hole where the wire goes, the razor blade is held down with a screw. i can loosen the screw, and slide the razor in and out to adjust to the wire coating depth. I then thread the wire threw the hole and pull. the razor makes a nice long slit from one end of the wire to the other. Then i strip one end of the wire with basic wire strippers and start pulling on the copper in the direction of the slit the device made. The copper in the wire slides nicely along the long slit down the insulation, peeling free.
I swear i will take pictures even a video one day. We decided to come up with a contraption one day when we had a lonnnnnnng vacuum cleaner wire. our first response was "no way... really? it worked? HOLLY SH%^"
*ahem*
THIS POST SUCKS WITHOUT PICS!!!!
Don't mean to be harsh, but chop chop, dude!!
I'm still waiting for someone to throw away a working digital camera. lol |
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hobo finds
Penny Pincher Member
224 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2009 : 23:19:58
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| NinjaPirate should send you one! |
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vrbsroma
Penny Collector Member
354 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2009 : 12:06:33
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| Why are we stripping wires? |
As far as I know, it is stated "In God We Trust" on the US dollar. How can I trust this currency if I do not believe in God?
Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
When I give my two cents, they're always copper! |
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DaKnightFall
Penny Sorter Member
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 09:34:28
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| i get less money for Insulated copper wire, than stripped copper wire. |
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vrbsroma
Penny Collector Member
354 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 10:16:12
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| OK, so where's the insulated wire come from? All from job sites? And sold to scrapyards? |
As far as I know, it is stated "In God We Trust" on the US dollar. How can I trust this currency if I do not believe in God?
Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
When I give my two cents, they're always copper! |
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Topic |
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Stripping electrical wires/cords
