Anyone recommend a decent automatic wire stripper, mainly for use with electronics projects and automotice work ? (occasional use but frequent)
Time to put the old stanley knife away before I hurt myself trying to splice a wire :)
Thanks
Occasional use but frequent?
Oh, you can hurt yourself with any type of tool if you are inept enough :-)
Are you meaning a hand tool, or the type of electrically powered device that would normally be used in a production environment?
If a hand tool, there are various types available, (most of which I own!) but no one tool that will work equally well with the sizes of cable used on cars, *and* the sizes likely to be encountered on an electronic project.
Post back with a more specific request and I might be able to advise further.
Chris
The first one on that page is s**te. It works but if you over use it or put a cable in that's too big they'll break.
Yup, lasts for ever.
Yes I've got a pair of heavy duty ones at work and they are good but the adjuster doesn't always seem to work too well.
-- Malc
(At this rate we'll soon have recommended everything Maplin has to offer)
I have, I reckon, every type ever made, and only one stands out as being better than the others - and by a big margin. It's not fully automatic in that it has four apertures in the cutters so you do have to guess which one to use - but this isn't difficult. All the universal ones I've tried that attempt to set themselves automatically will let you down at some time by not stripping or even snapping thinnish cable. However, it's also one of the more expensive ones. This is the one I've got :-
There are other makes IIRC that use the same principle and may be cheaper. Gets used for both car and electronics.
Worth noting most of these strippers need at least some space round them to be used which is fine in the workshop but may not always be available when working on a car loom. So a choice is always worth having - like one which works from the end of the cable rather than the side.
Manual size adjustment. If you are stripping alot of the the same sized wire that is OK but with different sizes it isn't as convient as:
I reach for this type one in my tool box in preference to the first. It can be a bit to viscious on really fine wires such as the core of walkperson headphone cable after you have been stripping 2.5mm T&E but that is more down to operator error in not winding the blade tension right down. B-)
fine wires? The second above isn't bothered about wire size a great deal unless very fine. It's not perfect the blade alignment isn't straight, one side grips tighter than the other, but it is an el cheapo one, may even be from Maplins years ago...
Naw, maybe the OP ought to drop into a shop with a selection of wires he normally needs to strip and have a play to see which he prefers.
This may suit your needs.
Such as this one from Maplin for £7.48.
I have the similar/same? one from RS. As you say, can be difficult to use in some situations. Short leads, confined spaces etc. Otherwise they work well. Mike.
Automotive uses a wide range of cable sizes but I've found the cheap tools do a good job for most of the normal wires. Big alternator and starter cables need something more apropriate of course. Cheap tools will break sooner than the better versions so buy another as soon as you've made sure it's what you want. Some will say that makes them the same cost as a better one. However, even the expensive ones will break eventually so (if they're critical) you still need two.
John
I'll second that. Have used numerous wire strippers and always seem to come back to an old but cheap favourite. Many years ago B&Q used to sell a kit that consisted of the top two products on this page:
Stuart
There's little to beat an Abeco powerstrip.
No, intermediate sizes work fine, I just guess (erring on the side of caution obviously) and move to a smaller slot if necessary. But with surprisingly little practice you get to know which slot to use.
I don't know how fine you mean but the inners of phone cable and alarm cable are no problem at all, and some of the wires I've stripped are noticeably thinner than that.
Having said that my range of sizes isn't the same as Maplin's. Peering through the grime I see:
Mine: 0.6 1.2 1.8 2.0 Maplin: 0.51 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.6 3.2
Presumably there's a choice of sizes of cutters depending on which supplier you go to. The Maplin offering looks mechanically *identical* to my 1960s tool, so I suspect they're all the same, with a wide range of (interchangeable) cutter sizes manufactured, but a limited range from any one supplier.
By positioning the wire on the shoulder beside the largest slot, I can cut right through it instead of stripping it (occasionally saving me the trouble of reaching for another tool), but there might not be space for that on a six-slot model.
I might add that in an awkward spot, once you *have* got it in position, it strips without any (further) pulling on the wire.
I'll second that, great tools. Dunno about that one, but the version I've got has two sets of jaws, one for more 'electronics-sized' wires and one for bigger 'electrical-sizes'.
I bought this :
Dan.
Opsy I mean't to delete the frequent bit :)
Quite so. As I only do wire stripping infrequently, I use the side jaw of a pair of pliers like this one:
Ahhh look up inept in the dictionary and there I am with a plaster on lol.
I mean;t something along the lines for use with home diy and car wiring but not electrical a manual tool would be ideal.
I've seen so many on the market after googling and ebaying and was a bit overwheled with the choices out there.
As I say I'll need something that is vuilt to last a lifetime :) mine prefereably, is specifically a automatic wire stripper and not a crimper or anything like that, although aplus if it can. Budget of £15/20 max .... also I something work in cinfined spaces so nothing the size of a chain saw.
P.s I came across
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