Penciling ?

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Hendrix said:
I would take a piece of monofilament (fishing line) if you wanted to be absolutely sure you didn't scar the wire, and burn through the insulation by a back and forth motion. It works slick and doesnt take much time.
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That's a nice trick, will have to try it.
 
I ring all the time - not a believer of penciling. And here comes my biggest heretical statement ever - but I truly believe this... Screw that sharp knife crap - Yes, I know it goes against all you have been taught is right and holy... Sharp knives have a time and place - and they have no place on wire insulation IHMO. I have had the same blade in a utility knife for YEARS at a time, and in the rare instance that I change the blade on the thing I'll go run it through Sheetrock to get it started on getting dull enough to work with - I kid you not... Don't get me wrong - I have sharp knives with certain purposes - but my stripper knife in my 'Panel Tools' box is dull as dirt. With a sharp knife it is way too easy to score through the insulation and damage the wire, we are after all only scoring the insulation - which is relatively soft stuff. Ringing the insulation with a dull knife only needs to go <50% through the insulation 25% is just fine - then a quick rip length-wise (along the stranding of the wire) with the tip of the dirt dull knife - peel it of like a banana...

All of you 'sharp' people out there may be horrified - looking for all the wise-tales of the sharp philosophy - which are just fine, and truth-full for cutting many other things - stripping wire is not one of them. And in this case saftey is also not one of them. (while in most cases where a sharp knife is nessesary for safety - this aint.) If whittling hickory or maple - break out that super scarey sharp blade - the one sharp enough to cut copper and most mild steel... For leaving a slight impression on some insulation - a resturaunt steak knife will do - but I would suggest a shorter blade...
 
Hendrix said:
I would take a piece of monofilament (fishing line) if you wanted to be absolutely sure you didn't scar the wire, and burn through the insulation by a back and forth motion. It works slick and doesnt take much time.
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I like it! An alternative to thermal strippers... Like say a soldering gun with a blade tip - or a real thermal stripper.... (most are only made for bench use...)
 
e57 said:
I like it! An alternative to thermal strippers... Like say a soldering gun with a blade tip - or a real thermal stripper.... (most are only made for bench use...)
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a strand from extension cord wire works better and it is much more likely to be in the truck unless you have habit of wetting a hook on the way home !
 
e57 said:
I have had the same blade in a utility knife for YEARS at a time,
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I keep at least one package of a 100 new blades in the truck and change them often. I cannot stand a dull utility blade.


All of you 'sharp' people out there may be horrified - looking for all the wise-tales of the sharp philosophy - which are just fine, and truth-full for cutting many other things - stripping wire is not one of them. And in this case saftey is also not one of them.
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That is what is known as an opinion not a fact.:) If it works good for you great but it would not work well for me.
 
iwire said:
I cannot stand a dull utility blade.
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Nor can I for most things - but stripping wire is not one of them.

So you have 100 blades for one knife, I have 8 utility knives in various grades and states of blade in them - one just for serrated (which are awesome when really dull ;)).
 
Jerry Brown said:
Is it legal to ring the wire now when stripping bigger conductors???
That is what someone younger than I in the trade told me.
I was taught to pencil the wire...

Thanks:confused:
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Well everyone has there own way as you can see by the post,

I was taught to pencil the wire do i pencil no i dont i ring it around with a razor blade everyday 600 volts or less works fine .

Unless you use a chain saw you should be ok copper or alu .


On high voltage 15 kv above or med voltage 4160 volts different stuff we use a spiral cutter for jacket and semi con we use a spiral on all cables you adjust it for insulation thickness and the blade is not going to score your copper or aluminum wire .

Now you pencil HV cables between lug and insulation you round off the end with special type emory cloth and then you clean with a special wipe after shape edges and any air gaps must be taking care of on these cables we do it everyday .

Now watch your power company splice cables they dont clean it and they dont pencil they dont care because it will last a very long time do it the way you like its fine .
 
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Regularkevin said:
I was taught to do a light ring and then slit from the end of cable to the ring. From that point you can remove the insulation without dinging the conductor inside.
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That's what I do. I ring gently enough to not feel the strands, slit ring to tip, and peel the insulation off around the wire by gripping one side of the slit with the side of my pliers and twisting them like a sardine-can key. Takes about 10 seconds.
 
LarryFine said:
That's what I do. I ring gently enough to not feel the strands, slit ring to tip, and peel the insulation off around the wire by gripping one side of the slit with the side of my pliers and twisting them like a sardine-can key. Takes about 10 seconds.
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Same school I went to.
 
we have one at work that is an aluminum cross with four interchangeable heads for different wire sizes. It slips over the wire and you rotate it clockwise to cut the insulation off. It's niiiiiiice.:roll: Right now we have 4/0 , 1/0, #4, & 250 MCM heads in it
 
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I am a ringer...have always been.

I strictly use these blades, they last forever because the chances of you actually hitting the wire are pretty nil, and that is what dulls the blade, the edge rides on top of the wire and the blades grabs and cuts the jacket,etc...

I usually change them out because I have broken the tip off.....but they are stilll razor sharp.

In 25+ years I have bought perhaps 5-6 pkgs, and that is only because I wind up giving them out to my help.

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-11-961-5-Pack-Regular-Blade/dp/B00002X20R
 
LarryFine said:
That's what I do. I ring gently enough to not feel the strands, slit ring to tip, and peel the insulation off around the wire by gripping one side of the slit with the side of my pliers and twisting them like a sardine-can key. Takes about 10 seconds.
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This is what I have always done as well.
UF cable is sometimes a pain.To get the outter sheath off with out damageing the Insulation on the wire. I usually score it down the center,
pull apart.pencil a little off the end. then twist with needle noses.
 
Well heres what we use on cable stripping
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These tools are adjustable they cut straight or diagonal spiral cutting you can use on a regular conductor but mostly on MV or HV cables theywork from 1/2 dia to 2 inch dia cable any size you got .

The one on the right we use mostly for straight cuts only the other one we use for spiral cuts .
 
ohmhead said:
Well heres what we use on cable stripping
3500-4.gif
3500-6.gif



These tools are adjustable they cut straight or diagonal spiral cutting you can use on a regular conductor but mostly on MV or HV cables theywork from 1/2 dia to 2 inch dia cable any size you got .

The one on the right we use mostly for straight cuts only the other one we use for spiral cuts .
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The one on the left we use for insulation removal and the one on the right for semicon removal. It is about $400 for the set.
 
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