Teflon Strippers

[p2pAmps]

Guys,

What strippers are you using for Teflon 20 AWG?  The ones I have are barely ok and I want something that gives a super clean cut and strip.  I looked at these and wondered if any of you owned them and are they worth the price tag.

Thanks,
Mike

http://www.carbideprocessors.com/insulation-strippers-for-teflon-coated-wire/

FYI, I did read this thread:
http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=4245.msg36841#msg36841

Just wondered if I missed something.  The Lowes stripper I have now don't do as good a job as I want but they are just ok

[Ed_Chambley]

I use teledyne stripall.  Most strippers will work for a little bit.  Here is the one I have listed on ebay.  I have 2 of the same.  One I found at a yard sale for $4 and the other I got from Steve at Apexjr.com.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kinetics-TELEDYNE-STRIPALL-Wire-Stripper-TW-1-120V-60W-with-spare-blade-set-/122362730283?hash=item1c7d63172b:g:jnsAAOSwLEtYlQhQ

Also, the heat tips are being made by a reseller in Ebay and he sells them cheap.  The reason for the heat is if you like to use single strand it will not nick the wire.  It is the nick where it will break.

If you plan to continue using PTFE, it is worth the money.  Plus, it makes a very clean cut.

[sluckey]

I use red Klein 11046 Wire Stripper/Cutter for 16-26 AWG Stranded Wire. When they get to a point where they will not consistently make a clean strip, I give them to my electrician brother and buy a new stripper. I've been successfully using these with Teflon wire for about 30 years.

The key is sharp, sharp, sharp cutters that are accurately sized. Even that expensive stripper you linked will fail on Teflon wire if the blades get rusty or become dull, nicked, etc.

And... Not all Teflon wire is the same. I use high quality mil-spec wire. Most of it is 19 strand and it strips nicely. Aircraft wire is often only 7 strands and it does not always strip cleanly, but a little practice with the Klein will give good results.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-11047-Stripper-Cutter/dp/B0000302WS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1487776036&sr=8-7&keywords=klein%2Bwire%2Bstripper&th=1

[p2pAmps]

I use red Klein 11046 Wire Stripper/Cutter for 16-26 AWG Stranded Wire. When they get to a point where they will not consistently make a clean strip, I give them to my electrician brother and buy a new stripper. I've been successfully using these with Teflon wire for about 30 years.

The key is sharp, sharp, sharp cutters that are accurately sized. Even that expensive stripper you linked will fail on Teflon wire if the blades get rusty or become dull, nicked, etc.

And... Not all Teflon wire is the same. I use high quality mil-spec wire. Most of it is 19 strand and it strips nicely. Aircraft wire is often only 7 strands and it does not always strip cleanly, but a little practice with the Klein will give good results.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-11047-Stripper-Cutter/dp/B0000302WS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1487776036&sr=8-7&keywords=klein%2Bwire%2Bstripper&th=1

I like the price of the Kleins a lot :)

[p2pAmps]

I use teledyne stripall.  Most strippers will work for a little bit.  Here is the one I have listed on ebay.  I have 2 of the same.  One I found at a yard sale for $4 and the other I got from Steve at Apexjr.com.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kinetics-TELEDYNE-STRIPALL-Wire-Stripper-TW-1-120V-60W-with-spare-blade-set-/122362730283?hash=item1c7d63172b:g:jnsAAOSwLEtYlQhQ

Also, the heat tips are being made by a reseller in Ebay and he sells them cheap.  The reason for the heat is if you like to use single strand it will not nick the wire.  It is the nick where it will break.

If you plan to continue using PTFE, it is worth the money.  Plus, it makes a very clean cut.

I have seen the heat stripper but have never seen one on person or used one. 

[p2pAmps]

I use red Klein 11046 Wire Stripper/Cutter for 16-26 AWG Stranded Wire. When they get to a point where they will not consistently make a clean strip, I give them to my electrician brother and buy a new stripper. I've been successfully using these with Teflon wire for about 30 years.

The key is sharp, sharp, sharp cutters that are accurately sized. Even that expensive stripper you linked will fail on Teflon wire if the blades get rusty or become dull, nicked, etc.

And... Not all Teflon wire is the same. I use high quality mil-spec wire. Most of it is 19 strand and it strips nicely. Aircraft wire is often only 7 strands and it does not always strip cleanly, but a little practice with the Klein will give good results.

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-11047-Stripper-Cutter/dp/B0000302WS/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1487776036&sr=8-7&keywords=klein%2Bwire%2Bstripper&th=1

Ok Steve, I ordered the Kleins for 15 bucks.  15 bucks and your recommendation is good enough for me.  If they suck you owe be a brewski!

[sluckey]

I also have a heat stripper that is part of my Pace soldering/desoldering station. Very nice, but I seldom use it because it has to be used with a foot switch. The Klein has served me well. Just keep it clean and a light coat of oil between sessions.

[DummyLoad]

http://www.kleintools.com/catalog/standard-wire-stripperscutters/wire-strippercutter-16-26-awg-stranded


same as sluckey and others.


love them. need a new set tho - 20AWG slot isn't cutting clean any longer...

i use solid wire: got a hold of some dark green 20AWG from apex jr. that just wouldn't strip - it was like the teflon insulation was glued to conductor. ended up tossing the remnants of a 50ft roll in the recycle bin. 


--pete

[pompeiisneaks]

I too have the klein yellow ones, love em.  Sadly the ones I have don't go small enough for the RG-174 so I have to use a cheaper set I have around that do.  I also am now using a purpose bought stripper for RG-174 that cleans the outer sheath, some of the shielding, and then the tip, but I digress :) (and damn that thing was like 22 bucks!)

~Phil

[sluckey]

Got used to the Kleins yet? A technique I use is a fairly firm pressure to cut then I relax my grip a bit to actually strip the cut insulation. Doesn't take much practice to develop the feel. And know that different wires will require a slightly different variation of this technique.

I'm sure you will be stripping more wire than me from here on out. You'll develop your own technique. This may give you a good starting point. I have plenty of wire so I don't try to be stingy with it. I always make a test strip, sometimes two or three trials until I am comfortable with the stripper action and that particular wire. Only then do I get serious and start cutting things to length.

One more idea... You may have noticed that I use a simple color code on the tube side of the board... blue for plates, yellow for cathodes and green for grids. When I'm stripping those, I always strip all the greens , then move to the yellows, and then move to the blues. Not necessarily in that order, but you get the picture. This gives a more consistently clean strip.

After stripping a couple rolls of Teflon, going back to plastic or cloth is a breeze. Stripping transformer wires and power cords is eazy-peazy! 

[BetterOffShred]

I just did all my heater wires and used Teflon for the first time.. Yeah it's definitely more difficult to strip!  I have a couple types of strippers including the Kleins.. I think Klein in general makes fantastic hand tools.  I have a set of G&B branded strippers which are really my favorites but they are just comparable to the Klein.
-Brett

[Ed_Chambley]

I have used all kinds and keep some Kline strippers too.  What is it the heat strippers folks don't care for? The Teledyne stripall I find them fast and very easy to use.  It is not like it takes any time to heat and I have filed a groove in my main ones so I don't even have to twist them.  Just close and pull and always a very clean edge with absolutely no nicking of the wire.

I guess spending $75 to $100 upfront may be an issue for some, but after I bought a couple that dulled on me and I replaced them I think I am now ahead in money.

It is probably the cord I guess.  If I had to say the major problem it would be the electrical cord, but I mounted a electrical box to my right under my bench and keep them hanging there all the time.

[shooter]

What is it the heat strippers folks don't care for?

I had a pace station like Steve while I was in the Navy, I wasn't a drummer so I never got comfortable hitting the foot-switch and pulling

Also in field work they are useless, I'll keep my Kline strippers and ecelite needle nose pliers n cutters

[BetterOffShred]

For me it's just volume.   I strip like 10 wires a week right now, but if I were making a living repairing stuff and stripping wires all the time, yeah I'd probably throw down for a heated job and never look back!  It's hard to argue with that Klein price point for a hobbyist.   
-Brett

[sluckey]

The Kleins are less than $12 at Home Depot. They seem to always be in stock when I need a new stripper. Electricians have known the secret of Kleins for at least 50 years. My yellow stripper is about that old! 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Wire-Stripper-Cutter-11046/100630720

[p2pAmps]

The Kleins are less than $12 at Home Depot. They seem to always be in stock when I need a new stripper. Electricians have known the secret of Kleins for at least 50 years. My yellow stripper is about that old! 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Wire-Stripper-Cutter-11046/100630720

Ok, I got my Kleins from Home Depot and they rock!  I got the red ones

[sluckey]

Now that you know about them get the yellow one for all your house wiring needs.

[PRR]

> the yellow one for all your house wiring needs.

I hadn't realized Klein offered too many choices.

Yes, red is for electronics and yellow is for houses. But it doesn't stop there....

Red 11046 $12 = 26-16
Yellow 11045 $12 = 18-10
Yellow 11048 $17 = 14-10
Blue curve 11055 $19 = 18-10 Sol, 20-12 Str
Blue curve 11057 $21 = 20-30 Sol, 22-32 Str, 6-32, 8-32
Yellow curve K1412 $25 = NMC 14/2 12/2, 14, 12, 6-32, 8-32

The difference Sol or Str is small, but sometimes works better. (They put the same copper in a given gauge, but stranded is bulkier, so the nip should be bigger.)

6-32 and 8-32 screws are sizes that Doug sells, so you can bulk-buy a longer size and shorten to taste, if you do not mind a burr.

[G._Hoffman]

A little late to the party here, but I'm using a Patco PTS-30 thermal stripper.  It's not TOO expensive ($125), and does an impeccable job. 

Best of all, it will strip Teflon insulated shielded cable without damaging the shield, and for me that is enough to make it worth while.


Gabriel

[PRR]

The PATCO is good for many chores.

[G._Hoffman]

The PATCO is good for many chores.

I go back and forth with it - I love how well it works, but the cable is such a pain.  So I use it until I'm sick of it, then I go back to my Klein until I get sick of the frayed insulation, and I go back to the PATCO!


Gabriel

[PRR]

> What strippers are you....

IT manager at this electrical supply house bursts in on pilot fish and reams him out for visiting forbidden Web sites. Seems the word stripper triggered an alarm on the company's filtering software. Baffled fish - who was researching wire-stripping tools - stammers, "I was just looking at Ideal strippers." Boss thunders, "I don't care what your ideal stripper looks like, you're not visiting that site again!"

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2479963/shark-tank--politically-incorrect.html

[shooter]

 
shoulda seen the sites that popped up 15yrs back when I was looking for gold shower heads
I was so freaked I unplugged the computer.  I told my wife she would have to pick from what Lowes could order

[PRR]

> looking for gold shower heads  ....  I was so freaked I unplugged the computer.

I know what you saw.

Oddly, at this moment on this PC, that phrase brings up bathtub plumbing, not the other thing. Even if I add "-en". Even though I have SafeSearch OFF. (Hey, can't offend me.) But I know in the past quite innocent searches have fetched eye-popping images.

I was getting one surplus catalog, called the tool "ecdysiasts", "...to reveal wire, not flesh. Which may still give you a charge, depending upon your hookup!!"

[sluckey]

Y'all don't even want to look up pearl necklace!

[shooter]

 
15yrs ago I was naïve, the internet FIXED that

[Ed_Chambley]

Y'all don't even want to look up pearl necklace!

https://youtu.be/Ne3XojNonEU