This is topic Wire Strippers in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 06-19-2002, 04:22 PM:
I'm going to purchase a pair of wire strippers for various uses, but they have about 10 different ones to choose from. The main difference is the range of sizes they handle. So that I (hopefully) don't have to purchase another pair in a year or three, what size wires would I be likely to run into working as a tech? thx.------------------
This one time, at Projection Camp, I stuck a xenon bulb....
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-19-2002, 04:34 PM:
Ken, for a general purpose wire stripper, stay with the Greenlee brand. Stay away from those el-cheapos from Radio Shack. Greenlee makes green handled ones and red handle ones. One of the green handle strippers have stripping holes (precision, I might add) from AWG 14 to AWG 26. The red ones handle larger wire.
I am sure there are brands out there that are equally good, but I stick with Greenlee products.
Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 06-19-2002, 04:48 PM:
Hello, Ken,I have been very fond of the Palladin automatic stripper. It is like a pliers with the stripper out the end. I have used mine for booth and organ installations for many years and they are still sharp.
The adjustment is very simple, one of three settings for the type of wire you are using. Small, medium or large. The amount of insulation it removes is easily determined by how far you insert the wire into the end of the stripper. This tool does not nick the wires regardless of the insulation on it.
Happy shopping, KEN
Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 06-19-2002, 04:53 PM:
So 14-26 is a good range for general purposes and for the booth?
Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-19-2002, 06:01 PM:
8-guage would be about the biggest wire you might run across in a projection booth. Some crazy person might use that for a subwoofer run. 14-guage is real common for speakers and such. The smallest wire you might strip would be phone wire or CAT-5 wire. I have found that el-cheapo RCA cords are pretty thin. 20-guage is phone wire so 26-guage is real thin.So 26 is good for the smallest wire but you want to be able to strip down to 8-guage as well. But heck, I'd get both strippers Paul recommended.
Posted by Steven Pickles (Member # 785) on 06-19-2002, 08:33 PM:
Ken,If you run across 30 gauge wire (for any wire-wrapping of pins) Radio Shack produces a cheap and good solution for about $8. It's called a "Wire Wrap Tool."
Paul,
Other than that, I share the same sentiments about Radio Shack products... complete crap.
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 06-19-2002, 10:12 PM:
<dons flameresistant suit>I know that wire stippers are the "proper" way of doing things and required for certain work, but most of the time I do better with a good pair of dikes, inserting my first finger between the handles to make an open fixed V wedge, and then eyeballing where to place the wire. I've checked wire that I've stripped that way, and only rarely do I nick the conductor(s). It does sometimes stretch the insulation unless I score it.
I'd spend money on many other tools before a spending on a wire stripper. YMMV.
BTW, there may be complete tool sets that can be picked up cheap. There are a lot of retired hams and commercial radio engineers that are dying off, and typically the family hasn't a clue on how to sell the tools.
Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 06-19-2002, 10:35 PM:
Ian, why would you strip CAT-5? The crimp connectors are supposed to pierce through the insulation.
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-19-2002, 11:49 PM:
CAT 5? That crap is so damn flimsy that most wire strippers will knick it severely. I just use my thumb nail to strip that stuff.
Posted by Don Sneed (Member # 955) on 06-20-2002, 03:12 PM:
I use the Radio Shack cheapos due to I have a bad habit of leaving tools on the job or it gets ripped off, so the Radio shach cheapees are good for me, I usually get all m tools & test equipment from Contact East, the have a great selection of tools, when I go do a new install I always buy two wire strippers since I know I will lose one, 14-26 ga is the one I buy....
Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 06-21-2002, 12:05 AM:
12-gauge is common for speaker runs too. I use 10 for subwoofers.Contrary to popular opinion, none of the dikes I know are very tech-savvy. I wouldn't trust them to strip wires for me. 
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-21-2002, 01:12 AM:
Manny, I think you got "Dikes" mistook for "Dykes".... 
(or vice versa)
Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-21-2002, 01:34 AM:
Oh come on Paul, I use my nails up to 14 guage and then my teeth up to 4/0! After that, I call in the Marines! 
>>> Phil
Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 06-21-2002, 10:12 AM:
Phil, I was almost embarrassed to say it, so I am glad you did first. I have been using my front teeth as the perfect wire cutters since I was a kid putting together Heathkit amps. You can feel the exact depth you need to bit in order to get a perfect strip and never knick the wire. Right up to 18awg is no problem. It's fast (you never have to find the wire cutters....you've got em built in!) and
it's clean (the insulation doesn't fly all over the room).
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 06-21-2002, 10:22 AM:
I used to use my teeth and had this perfect spot between my right upper K-9 and the next tooth over. Then one day the dentist said "what's this funny knick right here"? and when I explained, he "suggested" that I not do that anymore. So now I use strippers. I like to have two sets around as I haven't found one unit that goes from 8 ga to 26. Spend the money and buy a nice pair. It's always good to have decent tools. They make the job so much easier.------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/
Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 06-21-2002, 11:50 AM:
Phil, Frank, and Greg, look up the original definition of "geek" sometime. Youse guys might have a new profession waiting for you...
Posted by Don Sneed (Member # 955) on 06-21-2002, 02:57 PM:
Hey Greg..."You Are Correct Sir".....I think we all start out stripping wires with our teeth, especially the 22 -26ga. When I started doing sound work (25 years ago)the techs then kept telling me to stop that, I was young, didn't listen to them, it was faster to use teeth than strippers....then after a few years my front teeths started to get loose...now I lost my two front teeth because of this, I now wear simi-false teeth...I know why I lost them, it was because of stripping wires with my teeth.....EVERYONE OUT THERE DOING THIS...STOP IT NOW !!! I only wish I would have listen to the techs instead of doing it my way...I now head up the service & installation team....I preach this to all my crew....Don't do it,learn to use wire strippers....by the way...my false teeth cost me over $3,000.00...it is not worth it to strip wire this way, you will regret it someday...believe me !!! Save your teeth !!
Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 06-21-2002, 08:57 PM:
Don, no one ever told me not to use my teeth as wire strippers. Seriously no one ever did....they would just stand there looking on in amazment and then ask me to show them how to do it. I never considered it was bad for my teeth, and I have been doing it for a long, long time. But I certainly will heed your warning. And as long as we are on preventatives, the theatre I first worked in used to give the staff all the popcorn and soda you could consume for free, as long as you kept the same cup and popcorn box (you had to pay for you first soda and popcorn). Needless to say I lived on soda pop and popcorn day in and day out. The fact that I now have bordline Type II Diabeties may or may not be due to the fact that I drank gallons of what was basically high sugar water on a daily basis for three years when I was young (which is when the damage begins).
But the real problem is that I love cold soda so I would always fill the cup with ice and then add the soda. After the soda was finished I would chew the ice. So my warning, like Don's is DON'T DO IT. even if they give it to you free. Chewing ice will cause all your filling to eventually crack and need replacement, some teeth even needing root canal, due to the different rates of contraction of the metal as opposed to the tooth enamel. It cost LOTS of money, time and worse, lots of pain to fix the damage. OK, it's not quite film-tech stuff, but I call it "job related risk" being in close proximity to those concession stands.
Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 06-21-2002, 09:04 PM:
Jerry, I wear my GEEK pin with pride. While I was becoming facinated with film and technology, the guys with the COOL pins were spending all their time standing around not doing very much (other than trying to look cool). GEEK has done me very well, thank you, which is more than I can say cool has ever done for anyone.
Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 06-21-2002, 09:14 PM:
I don't think Jerry is talking about the "geek" you're thinking of.
Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-22-2002, 12:52 AM:
Ummm... guys, go re-read my post. I was just teasing my friend Paul. Like someone can really strip 4/0 wire with their teeth! OH PLEEEEEZZZZEE! I DO NOT and don't recommend stripping wire with one's teeth and/or finger or toe nails! I have for many years used the dike (dyke?) method that Jerry describes.
>>> Phil
Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 06-22-2002, 02:28 AM:
Upon reading my above post, I though it could be misunderstood. I would like to say I am not now or have ever been a dyke. (PC statement follows) There is not anything wrong with being a such a person. In my post, I am referring to a tool, diagonal-type cutters, used to strip the insulation from electrical conductors (wires).
>>> Phil
Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 06-22-2002, 04:58 AM:
Once when I was a lot younger and a whole lot stupider, I was working on my parents dishwasher, anyway my trusty T stripper was out of reach, so rather than get up I stuck the bit of wire between my teeth,and then discovered that this particular wire had some current of the alternating variety on it..... Needless to say I've never stripped wires with my teeth again.
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-22-2002, 12:12 PM:
I, too, have used my teeth to strip wire many times. But that is not politically correct.
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 06-22-2002, 12:15 PM:
Was it wire you were using your teeth to strip?
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-22-2002, 12:32 PM:
Yup! But some of that stuff is hard on the jaw bone. Hard on the teeth, too!
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-22-2002, 04:58 PM:
Personally, I use el-cheapo Xcelite wire stripers (without the spring)...buy them by the stack and change as often as use so dictates. I use them up to #10...for larger sizes, I switch to my cable cutters (Berner Neumans)Steve
------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-24-2002, 04:40 AM:
Pete: I know of a washing machine engineer who did what you did, but did not have such a lucky escape.The householder (whose sister told me this anecdote) had let him in and then gone out to the corner shop while he replaced the pump on her washing machine. When she came back he was dead on the floor, still holding the mains cable in one hand and with extensive burns around his mouth. The householder was a qualified first aider and attempted to resuscitate him, but without success.
So human teeth may well be the best wire strippers ever invented, but only when there's nothing connected to the other end...
Posted by Brian Tristam Williams (Member # 1235) on 07-04-2002, 07:00 PM:
I didn't notice anyone mention those ratchet-type wire-strippers. You pull the handles together and the wire is stripped. The only type I'll use - when they're out, I have to use scissors and my teeth. 