ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Sidecutters as Strippers

Bill,
Us guys using side-cutters as strippers is one thing, a DIY-type person doing the same thing with the same tool, is another.
We use the same tools, day in, day out and are used to how these tools work.
The problem with nicked and broken wires, is a wholly understated thing, where you and I would cut the end off the wire and start again (If we did happen to nick a wire strand!), this is often not the case with the DIY person, as in, near enough is good enough.
This line of thinking, burns houses down.

Gunther,
My Klien sideys don't have a stripping notch in them either, I just know the RIGHT amount of pressure to put on them to strip a given wire!.
Experience tells me this.

Have used T-Strippers for the >20 years of Field work (Ideal's Yellow handle type for #18 to #10 - and newer includes #8, and the Red handle type for #24 to #18).

Also have seen others use Sidecutters, etc. without any damage to the Conductors - and with equal ease and speed.

To me, if the Installer is confortable with a given method and it does not cause damage to the Conductors, there's no reason for me to demand a change.

Now, if the Installer is knicking the Conductor using either stripping method (strippers or cutters), then we have a problem which must be rectified!

As to the DIY shows demonstrating stripping methods to the General Public via Sidecutters, that's really uncalled for!
It takes practice and a learned "feel" to strip wire - even using designed Strippers!

I feel the DIY shows should push more towards doing the best job possible, in order to pass on a more "pride full" installation idea to the DIY'ers, but that's probably a pipe dream!
My Wife watches some of the popular DIY shows, and the stuff I see and hear really makes me angry!
Have enough fuel to fire off many, many threads of the subject matter, just from the past week of being home and the DIY shows on in the background.

??? How did I twist this topic into a DIY show tirade???

Anyhow, I use T-Strippers, but if others use alternate tools for stripping small gauge Conductors (excluding skilsaws and routers ..), and they are getting good results, that's cool with me!
I have tried stripping with cutters, but it felt unnatural - plus took me for ever to ruin a piece of #12 Solid! - so I choose to use Strippers.

Like one of the members mentioned (I think it was Ryan_J), after the spring is taken out and thrown as far away as possible, then the hacksaw removes those two finger pinching clips which held the spring, the T-Strippers are very sweet!

Also have used the "Automatic" stripper (the strip and slide thingees). It was nice for some limited stuff - such as stripping for device terminations, but after much usage the stripper fell apart! That, and it weighed about 10 times as much as basic strippers, so it never caught on for me.
I see others using these with success, and that's good!

Scott35

P.S. Although I do not use Screwdrivers as Cold Chisles, I do have a certain "'Big Bertha" Klien straight blade screwdriver that has only turned 2 or 3 screws in it's lifetime! It works great for prying up Walkerduct J-Box covers, removing caps in Walkerduct, and similar stuff.

Oh, and I am a "Die-Hard Pretwister", which has resulted in a shiny Copper coating on the grip faces of my Linemans' pliers!

S.E.T.

Scott35,
You too?!, How do you get that stuff off?.
I twist a lot of hard-drawn copper with my Kliens and some sparkies comment that they look like they are copper plated!.

Scott: I knew I couldn't be the only one that does that (with the spring and hacksaw). The people I worked with took one look at my "hacked-up" strippers and shook their head in disbelief, but they strip very well and very fast, don't they?

My Kliens have a stripping hole in them ..
Bang!!!! oh look a nice hole for stripping cable.

My Pliers are good for the job and work just fine thanks.

Now if i had to make up boards or cabinets all day i would use my stripper, after a good spray with multi, they do not fit on my belt and are resigned to a bucket in my Ute along with just about everything else i have just had to buy because someone told me i needed to.
CW

i had met an industrial engineer once , who worked for McDonalds, while wiring a drive thru.

they actually calculate the amount of human movement necessary to accomplish any given task

the concept can be applied to our toolage as well

a good focus would be something repetitive, as in making up boxes...

I use a lot of tails, and we make them up ourselves. We use the tool that cuts and strips in one squeeze of the hand. These are a big help in fatigue and time. My ex partner used sidecutters and has been doing so for 30 yrs. He is one of the best mechanics I have ever worked with, but he has problems with his hand now. That in itself might be a good reason for changing over to the strippers.

Pierre

I recall reading that the first wire stripper was invented by accident--one involving a bang, some sparks and a notch in the pliers. (I think it's in the literature from Ideal somewhere...)

Trumpy: Try scraping off the copper with your screwdriver-chisel

No disrespect intended here but what else would they say.

They are in the business of selling tools after all.

I am sure they would like to sell me a KO remover so I will not use my screwdriver and side cutters to do the same.

Bob