Best way to strip long lengths of mains cable?

[Graeme]

I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy, and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation from the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks nicking the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to strip.

Bright ideas?

[damduck-egg]

You may find that heating the insulation with a hair dryer or carefully applied heat gun will soften it enough that you can pull the conductor through the insulation in the same way that you pulled the earth from the sheath. needs a bit of practice ,too cool and the insulation won't give, too hot it loses its strength and breaks into short bits some still stuck to the conductor.

G.Harman

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If it is single strand cable like say 2.5mm TW&E, removing a short length of insulation then clamping the conductor in a vice and pulling on the insulation works over quite long lengths. But I doubt there is any method of removing 70 ft in one go.

[T i m]

What about one of those simple wire strippers that have a blade trapped in an adjustable jaw, held in a vice and then the cable drawn though to pre-slice (to say 75% of the thickness of the insulation) may make the task easier?

Cheers, T i m

[dennis]

Buy it?

[dennis]

Sounds like a job for a 3d printer if he has one.

[Graeme]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

I like that idea and no, not necessary to remove 70 ft in one go. Perhaps combine with the heating to soften idea, which I also like. That should allow a decent length - what I'm trying to avoid is doing a few inches at a time.

[Graeme]

In message , T i m writes

That sounds promising, too.

[Graeme]

In message , dennis@home.?.invalid writes

That would be easiest, but I already have plenty of T&E to use.

[jkn]

At recycling type I've seen jigs with a hole and an (adjustable?) blade just protruding in from the outside. I presume you back off the blade, stick one end of the wire through, then advance the blade until it will nick the insulation enough to make it easily removable.

You then pull the entire length of the cable through, and the insulation just ... falls off.

Let us know how it works if you try something like this.

HTH Jon N

[Adrian Caspersz]

Using strippers an inch at

What's the difference between a nick and a scratch?

Homemade Wire stripper. Fast & Easy!!! (DIY)

Simple DIY Wire Stripper (for Scrapping)

Many other similar vids.

[Andy Burns]

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks (yes I know) buy bare copper wire from the proceeds, and beer with the rest :-P

[F Murtz]

It is possible to do it with a knife, I sharpen the blade in a special way with a slight curve,here is a very rough drawing, the curve is nowhere as pronounced as the drawing shows but may give you the idea, the actual cutting edge rides just above the copper so it does not dig in, I have been doing this successfully for years, takes a bit of practice.

[dennis]

What colours is it? red and black will sell for more than you pay for the new wire.

[John Rumm]

For the individual cores, strip a couple of inches off one end and clamp that in something. Then using a Stanley knife or similar, position the blade on the underside of a bit of the exposed copper such that its facing you and just glancing off the wire. Position a thumb lightly on top of the wire and a bit ahead of the blade. Now pull / wall backwards. You should find it easy to slice the side off the insulation using the wire as a guide. Get the angle right and you won't knick the blade.

[Brian Gaff]

Acetone? Get a team of rats?

Could one ask why one wants to strip it, it would seem more sensible to buy ordinary cable. If its for ham radio aerials the RF won't care about the insulation but you would do better with hard drawn coppy to stop it stretching. As I say a solvent can do it but that amount would not be pretty or cheap or probably fume free either. Brian

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Andy Burns escribió:

Seriously?

I have ~100m each of 2.5mm R, B and G/Y single on reels, bought for a few pennies at a car boot sale. Will never use it all and extra beer tokens are always useful.

[F Murtz]

He probably just wants to destroy something useful for a few cents as scrap copper, in the good old days we would just burn it in a paddock somewhere.

[Graeme]

In message , F Murtz writes

Oh no he doesn't - hence the need to preserve as is (i.e. not burn) and not nick (weaken) the copper. I may have scrapped it as a teenager, but these days, usefulness outweighs scrap value.

When we moved into this house 15 years ago, I found lots of interesting stuff in the shed. Several 3m lengths of unused copper pipe. A large drum of unused T&E. Huge unopened box of nails. Unused lengths of kitchen worktop. Big yellow hydraulic trolley jack. Loadsa stuff.

I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity here. Thank you. I'll report back on wire stripping, and why I want to strip it - and no, amateur radio is not involved.

[Andy Burns]

Sold prices ...