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wire strippers

Greg Smith
 

I have a number of 'standard' wire strippers to do anything from 8 to 24 size.  However, they are for stripping the end of wires.  Are there wire strippers for taking out just  a section of the sheath so I can add feeders to a long power buss?  I have tried doing it with a pocket knife.  It works but is time consuming and it does scratch/nick the wire.
Greg

Paul O <pomilian@...>
 

Greg, the style of wire stripper is exactly what you need.
Simply do a Google search for wire strippers; they’re made by a number of manufacturers.

Paul O

In case the photo doesn’t come through, the link is below:


On Nov 22, 2019, at 5:08 PM, Greg Smith <gcscls@...> wrote:

I have a number of 'standard' wire strippers to do anything from 8 to 24 size.  However, they are for stripping the end of wires.  Are there wire strippers for taking out just  a section of the sheath so I can add feeders to a long power buss?  I have tried doing it with a pocket knife.  It works but is time consuming and it does scratch/nick the wire.
Greg

Vincent Ficca
 

Hi Greg:


The wire strip I use is Klein tools 11061 wire stripper.  I use it to strip solid and stranded wire.  It works great on my layout bus wires that are stranded #12 and #14 gauge wire.  I solder all my track drops to the bus wire.
The wire strip does a gread job of stripping the wire in the middle and at the ends.  Small wire gauge I have done are telephone wire and CAT 5e 24/4 which I use for wiring my Tortoise switch machines, signaling etc..  Wire stripper will remove the cover of the CAT 5e wire and expose the 4 pair of wires, which I then remove with the same wire stripper. I remove the individual wire cover, exposing the solid wire for inserting into the wire holes at the end of the tortoise switch machine for soldering,  The other ends go into euro wire terminals.  FYI, I am building a large layout, so I have a lot of wirestripping done and to do.
I appreciate seeing the email question, because it remind me to order two more of the wire spripper on Amazon for $19.97 each, plus taxes. Free shipping with Amazon prime.
It is worth trying.

Vince

On Fri, Nov 22, 2019 at 5:08 PM Greg Smith <gcscls@...> wrote:
I have a number of 'standard' wire strippers to do anything from 8 to 24 size.  However, they are for stripping the end of wires.  Are there wire strippers for taking out just  a section of the sheath so I can add feeders to a long power buss?  I have tried doing it with a pocket knife.  It works but is time consuming and it does scratch/nick the wire.
Greg

Allan AE2V
 

Hi Greg,

The wire stripper I show on my website at the link below will strip a wire in the middle of it.

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track_2.htm#a26

I use it to expose wire in the middle of a bus run.  Obviously, in the middle, you can't remove the insulation.  It cuts the insulation and pushes it to one side.

Allan Gartner
Wiring for DCC

Carl
 

Hi Gang:

Why strip the wires at all? You could use Insulation Displacement Connectors ( Suitcase Connectors ) or Insulation Displacement Screw Terminals:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Insulation-Displacement-Screw-Terminals/

I've wire a whole layout with these and they were great to work with. NMRA hosted a clinic on these at the Salt Lake City Convention last summer.

Best wishes, Carl.

On 11/23/2019 8:56 AM, wirefordcc wrote:

Hi Greg,

The wire stripper I show on my website at the link below will strip a wire in the middle of it.

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track_2.htm#a26

I use it to expose wire in the middle of a bus run.  Obviously, in the middle, you can't remove the insulation.  It cuts the insulation and pushes it to one side.

Allan Gartner
Wiring for DCC

Blair
 

Carl
$.  At least in my case, stripping, wrapping, soldering costs me the $ of the solder - orders of magnitude less than even the cheapest suitcases.  Besides, I already bought the solder and the irons, years ago, so it's "free".  For hundreds of connections, it's worth it to learn robust soldering techniques.  I'd rather spend my RR budget elsewhere.

However, I do realize that's not everyone's take on the matter.  YMMV.
Blair

On 2019-11-23 9:05, Carl wrote:

Hi Gang:

Why strip the wires at all? You could use Insulation Displacement Connectors ( Suitcase Connectors ) or Insulation Displacement Screw Terminals:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Insulation-Displacement-Screw-Terminals/

I've wire a whole layout with these and they were great to work with. NMRA hosted a clinic on these at the Salt Lake City Convention last summer.

Best wishes, Carl.

On 11/23/2019 8:56 AM, wirefordcc wrote:
Hi Greg,

The wire stripper I show on my website at the link below will strip a wire in the middle of it.

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track_2.htm#a26

I use it to expose wire in the middle of a bus run.  Obviously, in the middle, you can't remove the insulation.  It cuts the insulation and pushes it to one side.

Allan Gartner
Wiring for DCC

Ken Harstine
 

Vessel make a stripper that will probably do what you want.  It does not remove the insulation but if the insulation is compliant it will expose a section.

https://www.vesseltools.com/handtools/wirestrippers/3000-series-detail

I have had my for more than 30 years.

Best

Ken Harstine

thomasmclae
 

We have a 3000 Sqft layout at the club with soldering only inside control panels, turnout motor pigtails and track drops.
All buss wires connect to terminal strips between each table, with local power branching off with spade logs stacked on the terminal strips.
Track drops go to terminal strips within 6 inches, then fed to control panels with crimped spade lugs.

When we had some track drops backward and miss labeled, swapping connections took less than 1 minutes to unscrew and move wires. And no solder drippings either.
More options are available than melting metal.

Thomas
DeSoto, TX

Greg Harter
 

Our club (25 years+) uses solder for track drops and some track joiners.  We have seen a few instances where (unsoldered) track joiners stop conducting electricity.  All other connections on the layout are with 12-wire nylon connectors(between 8-foot tables), Tortoise screw connectors, and of course many suitcase connectors.  The 12 wires conduct electricity for track buss, Tortoise buss, and accessory buss.

We have a large HO layout, four mainlines, two levels connected via a helix, and operate on DC and DCC.  We have DCC detector boards where mainlines are connected which will not permit crossovers to operate if both lines are not on the same current.  Easy to use and we have had no problems with this system, has been in operation for several years.

Greg Harter
Columbus Area Railroad Club
Columbus, Indiana

Don Batman <donbatman1952@...>
 

I use Vice Grip brand automatic stripper for this. Think it came from
Lowes. Just feed the wire in and squeeze handles .

Dale Muir
 

Hi Vince,

 

Thanks for the tip. I bought a Klein 11061 wire stripper based on your recommendation. It works great on all wire sizes, solid and stranded. It removes the sheath from multi-strand cable without cutting or nicking the wire inside. I strip the middle of solid 12 and 14 gauge bus wires for soldering track leads. I'm throwing out my old Radio Shack stripper.

 

This tool is worth every penny.

 

Dale Muir

Geneva, IL

 

From: w4dccqa@groups.io [mailto:w4dccqa@groups.io] On Behalf Of Vincent Ficca
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2019 10:14 PM
To: w4dccqa@groups.io
Subject: Re: [w4dccqa] wire strippers

 

Hi Greg:

 

 

The wire strip I use is Klein tools 11061 wire stripper.  I use it to strip solid and stranded wire.  It works great on my layout bus wires that are stranded #12 and #14 gauge wire.  I solder all my track drops to the bus wire.

The wire strip does a gread job of stripping the wire in the middle and at the ends.  Small wire gauge I have done are telephone wire and CAT 5e 24/4 which I use for wiring my Tortoise switch machines, signaling etc..  Wire stripper will remove the cover of the CAT 5e wire and expose the 4 pair of wires, which I then remove with the same wire stripper. I remove the individual wire cover, exposing the solid wire for inserting into the wire holes at the end of the tortoise switch machine for soldering,  The other ends go into euro wire terminals.  FYI, I am building a large layout, so I have a lot of wirestripping done and to do.

I appreciate seeing the email question, because it remind me to order two more of the wire spripper on Amazon for $19.97 each, plus taxes. Free shipping with Amazon prime.

It is worth trying.

 

Vince

 

On Fri, Nov 22, 2019 at 5:08 PM Greg Smith <gcscls@...> wrote:

I have a number of 'standard' wire strippers to do anything from 8 to 24 size.  However, they are for stripping the end of wires.  Are there wire strippers for taking out just  a section of the sheath so I can add feeders to a long power buss?  I have tried doing it with a pocket knife.  It works but is time consuming and it does scratch/nick the wire.
Greg

Ken Harstine
 

I pretty much do the same thing as you but use bare copper grounding
wire in what is essentially a knob and tube system.   No need to strip. 
I use nylon cable clamps to keep the wires separated. 
https://www.electriduct.com/Nylon-Cable-Clamps.html

Regards,

Ken Harstine

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