I need some kind of device to strip the plastic coating off long lengths of #14 insulated, solid, copper wire like you wire homes with . The wire was salvaged from several dumpsters at homes under construction. Presently, I am using an Exacto knife and just shaving off the insulation much like you would peel a carrot and have managed to already draw blood. These cable slitters advertised in catalogs seem to be about right but only for ...duh... cable... not what I'm trying to strip.
Larry
It's called a fire.
At least that is what one of my contractor customers did to salvage the copper.
Bought his boat with the proceeds.
HTH
Lew
That would only make the situation worse. I'm not cleaning up the wire to sell as scrap. I'm using the wire to make wall sculptures and it must be reasonably clean to braze.
Larry
Yeah, that's a _great_ idea (rolls eyes).
Depends on how many miles of wires you're talking, but this would be simple enough to rig something up for. Tubing, squeeze it down to an oval, slit the tubing for a blade, and pull the wire through. No muss, no fuss.
Thanks, Dave, I thought of something like that but just thought I'd ask around and see if someone had actually made/bought something. I have, probably, about 20 lbs. of the stuff.
Larry
Either way, you want to move the wire past the blade, not the other way around. Safer and more predictable/adjustable. For only 20 pounds of wire, a little fiddling around as you go isn't the end of the world.
Let us know what you end up doing. Also, rec.crafts.metalworking might have some ideas. See you there, perhaps?
Dave Hinz
Time for "Plan B".
Use a standard electrician's wire stripper such as one made by Ideal or equal.
Operates by squeezing the handles together which cuts the insulation, then moves it down the wire..
Got a Frys Electronics or equal in your area?
If not any decent industrial electrical wholesaler will probably handle your business as a cash sale.
Cut of a piece of wire, say 24"-36", then strip a couple of inches off one end.
Move down the wire a couple of inches and repeat.
It's a PITA, but I've don it to get bare wire.
HTH
Lew
Will this do?
how about drilling a hole through a piece of wood that's spilt on the top half above the hole. insert and secure a box cutter blade so the tip just extends into the hole far enough to slit the insulation. pull the wire through and Bob's you uncle.
w/insulation I have is 7/64 " but the lower limit on your suggestion is
5/32" I may have to go ahead and get the thing. Larry
Thanks,Mike, I'm was going to cobble something together just about like you suggested when the phone rang and I got distracted...damn attorney was calling..
Larry
I made a nylon adapter (triangle block with a small v notch) for this unit & screwed it to the top - works great on the smallest cables/wire you'll ever find.
Well I rigged something that works a WHOLE lot better than just wittlin' off the insulation. I really appreciate all of you offering to hold my hand. FWIW here is what I did. First I clamped a piece of L-shaped picture frame on the work bench and cut a v-groove just so the insulation was above the wood. You have to kind of round over the entrance end of the groove and take all the kinks and bends out of the wire and stretch it across the room. Strip back about 8" from the wire and position the stripped portion in the groove. Press the flat of the cutter(Exacto knife) flat against the bare wire at about a 30 deg horizontal angle with your right hand and pull the wire through with your left. I could strip about a foot or more at a time. I tried to clamp the blade down on the wire but that didn't work. I may have already mentioned here a while back what I was doing with the wire but here it is again...
You figgered somethin' out already, but just for posterior. What I did was clamp the absolute crap out of one end of the wire in my vise, then stretch out about 30' or so of it, tight. I ran a dullish butcher knife across it drawknife style while I had my son hold tension on the wire. Then I peeled the remaining insulation off in long strips. It worked great.
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