Help! I can't strip telfon insulated hookup wire

[luap77]

Hi all,

I've purchashed some 24 gauge (0.91mm) teflon insulated wire for wiring up my stompbox projects. The problem is...I can't strip it! I've tried all sorts of wire strippers (automatic self adjusting type and manual type) and they just slip off the insulation without actually stripping it; just get a bunch of scratches instead! If I use a smaller hole/wire size in the tool to get a better grip, then I just cut into the wire inside. Please help me  !!! 

[jlullo]

where do you it from luap?  i'm having a hard time finding any 24 gague wire

[luap77]

I'm located in Australia. I purchased the wire on eBay as surplus military spec wire.

http://cgi.ebay.com/50-24-AWG-Silver-Kapton-Teflon-Wire-Blue_W0QQitemZ290046910792QQihZ019QQcategoryZ32833QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Paul E

[John Lyons]

I have a similar problem. I have a pair of auto strippers that work fine for some of my teflon wire. But then I have some #20 wire that either cuts or only frays the insulation. I've seen a few posts about buying quality strippers and how they do work. I've been looking for Klein 11062 strippers as they are made so they wont cut wire but wil strip the insulation off. The knives never touch the wire, just the insulation. No knicks to the wire etc. Problem is that they are $40.

Teflon is a pain to work with stripping wise(until you find the right tool) but it's great as far a not burning through insulation with your iron! Not to mention shrinking insulation.

[luap77]

I tried strippers that retail here for >$40 and they still didn't work. Is there a neat trick to stripping teflon wire that I'm missing?

[Shannon]

I don't have any wire strippers and I what I did to strip some teflon wire I had was to just cut the teflon with a sharp kitchen knife around the wire until I could just slip it off with some pliers. That would be a pain to do all the time though... luckily I only had to do it about 4 times for what I needed.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

http://www.logwell.com/tech/shdwe/teflon_wire.html for too much about teflon wire.
I don't know if heating the wire with a heat gun would make the insulation soft enough for a normal stripper (I doubt it though).. anyone?

[KerryF]

I use a box cutter for some harder to strip things.  Just cut a tiny bit around the shielding in a circle (just do the surface, these things are sharp and if you give any pressure they cut right through), and then pull it off with plyers or your finger nails to get in the cut part.

[Processaurus]

Yeah, the teflon is hard, I usually just use it where I need to, like where the insulation melting or shrinking could cause problems, or if something may need to be resoldered a couple times.  To strip it, I use the good sharp pair of wire strippers, hold the free end of the wire with some needle nose pliers, and cut it down to the wire, and then rotate the strippers 90 degrees around the wire, so that it cuts the rest of the insulation that didn't get cut the first time.  Usually then you can pull it and it will break the last little connected bits, without nicking the wire.

[John Lyons]

I still think a good pair of Professional strippers is the key. Look at the Klein, or Ideal websites.

[ErikMiller]

Euthymia pedals are all wired with 24ga. stranded teflon (I picked up literally 5 miles of it from Quinn's), so I have gotten pretty good at it.

What I do is use an Ideal 45-121, which you can get at Home Depot. Then just use the next smaller aperture. My 24 ga. strips just fine in the 26 hole without cutting wire.

There's a bit of "feel" involved; it works better if you first clamp down on the handles to cut through the insulation, then let up just a little before you actually strip the insulation.

I've found the purchase of teflon hookup wire to be kind of addictive. I have at least half a dozen colors of each size from 24 to 20 ga. Then 2 colors at 18 and coax for inputs. Being able to solder coax without worrying about melting through the inner insulation is heaven.

[luap77]

Thanks to all who replied.

I've tried the razor blade method and am not too happpy with it. I initially get a very nicely stripped wire, but then get breakages of the outer conductors (after applying moderate fatigue) that have been slightly nicked by the blade.

I think I'll be ordering some good quality wire stippers designed for teflon - afterall, this stompbox caper is rather addictive & I can't see myself getting out of it any time soon. Good strippers will certainly make life easier.

Paul E

[John Lyons]

So which Strippers are you going with since you already tried some of the better ones? ($40 range)


John

[luap77]

These ones:


https://www.tselectronic.com/paladin/1115p.html?tse_Session=54f4442aa2940f633e81822f6db01fff

or, these:

http://www.service.kleintools.com/cgi-bin/lansaweb?procfun+KD01+KD01025+PRD+ENG+FUNCPARMS+KD01YYCTN(P0020):1+KD01YYPRD(A0150):11065

or, these:

http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/4440-0006


Once I break the bank...

Paul E

[Rick]

Yeah, you gotta' love this wire when you get used to it. I use the #24 guage for most stomps and it is only great, thin, strong, flexable as hell, doesn't take up much room in the box because of these attributes. As said already you do need a good wire stripper. I do have a Klein and it's a very good precision tool that works very well with this wire. There are other good strippers out there at maybe $20 but, try not to go too cheap on this. I believe I paid about $30 CDN for the tool, but it was worth it. Cheap crappy strippers are just that and a good one will put a smile on your face and last you a long time! javascript:void(0);
icon_eek

[boogietube]

Good strippers will certainly make life easier.

On the eyes!! We should all get out more!
lol

[luap77]

Too right boogietube! Was waiting for somebody to point that out 

Anyway...I've just come up with a method that works really well for me. I simply made a "V" out of nichrome heating/resistance wire and connected the wire to a 12V 5A power supply. The wire is kept at red hot and the teflon wire is simply rotated 360 degrees in the bottom of the red-hot "V" whilst applying downward pressure. This makes a neat "cut" in the insulation, which can then be removed by hand (pinch the cut channel between the opposing fingernails of the thumb and index fingers and slide it off). Gives me a perfect stripped wire EVERY time. Try it, it's so simple, fast and it works!

Hope this helps somebody.

Paul E

[edheitz]

I use teflon wire almost exclusively. A $13 (US) Ideal model 45-121 works great for me (sizes 16-26 AWG). I'm starting to use a lot more 28 & 30 AWG now and looking for a good stripper for that (which is how I found this topic here). I'm probably getting a $100 thermal stripper for that Patco PTS-30 which is made for teflon wire (hotter than other thermal strippers) That basically works exactly as luap77's homemade one.