Insulation ON or OFF?

Ok so after a few days I am wondering - does it make more sense to leave the insulation ON the smaller wires? For example, when I've stripped down extension cords or connector cables, I end up with 2 small insulated wires - stripping the insulation off those is really time consuming and isnt yielding a whole lot of copper, in the sense that I can only really strip a few inches and then I have to cut the wire. What ends up happening is the longer the stripped piece, the more copper ends up coming off with the insulation and I have a mess of copper hairs everywhere.

What to do?

Just strip off the heavy plastic and leave the very last layer of insulation? I know yards pay more for the bare wire but it doesnt seem very effective.



Any advice is appreciated!

I used to strip ALL cords I found but my hands just cannot take that any more so unless its bare bright or the think cable from monitors I turn it in insulated. but, thats just my preference you'll have to decide for yourself if you want to strip.

I dont strip cords. My yard pays me 38% for power cords which is about $1 a pound so I dont bother. I do strip degausing cables and anything solid wire.

Buy one of these. No more hairs. And you can do entire sections of wire without cutting it down every few inches.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MANUAL-WIRE-...#ht_2314wt_938

I tend to strip all wires but I am not into large quantities yet and I have the time so do what ever you want but I would strongly recommend the same machine which IdahoScrapper posted above me...

well i get .70 for ins. and 2.75 for stripped. i usually do strip it, but since school, i havent had much time.

the machine doesnt tend to work well on braided wire (those copper fibers go everywhere and the wire breaks and has to be reset into that manual machine). i own one and i can only use it effectively for solid core wire. SO... my braided gets sold as is, and solid core will all be stripped

1075 as in all hands?

So. AZ prices
#1 Ins wire $3.00 lb
#1 copper $3.35 lb
#2 Ins wire $1.15 lb
#2 copper $3.05 lb

I try and strip everything. I sit out in my man-cave, watch tv, drink beer and strip wire. Its amazing how much can be stripped during a football game!

Originally Posted by Filthy

the machine doesnt tend to work well on braided wire (those copper fibers go everywhere and the wire breaks and has to be reset into that manual machine). i own one and i can only use it effectively for solid core wire. SO... my braided gets sold as is, and solid core will all be stripped

That's what I thought when I first used it. The key is to set the blade deep enough to cut the insulation and be easy to pull apart, but not so deep it catches the wire and causes problems. Another tip is to use your hand to hold the wire low on the incoming side, so it doesn't ride up into the blade.

1075 as in all hands?

What did I miss,,???

i like to strip wire as much as the next scrapper...but i usually keep it to 12 gauge or larger. Especially if your doing it by hand.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

What did I miss,,???

I Googled it. Seems to be a firefighter term.

1075 is the FDNY "10" code for an all hands working fire, just thought it was an interesting screen name, from a FF's persepective.

I use the "wire zipper" which is very similar to the one listed above. http://www.thewirezipper.com/ The nice thing about it is you can manually apply pressure and get a "feel" for when you are cutting through insulation vs. the strands. After a while, you can get very good at adjusting the amount of pressure from the cutting wheel so that you only score the insulation, nothing else. Now, no wire is safe from me, including stranded.

Originally Posted by jonnyjeb

I use the "wire zipper" which is very similar to the one listed above. http://www.thewirezipper.com/

Cheers for the reply JJ, i did go onto the site but the video link kept on crashing Firefox?

Originally Posted by jonnyjeb

The nice thing about it is you can manually apply pressure and get a "feel" for when you are cutting through insulation vs. the strands. After a while, you can get very good at adjusting the amount of pressure from the cutting wheel so that you only score the insulation, nothing else.

Yes i appreciate what you are saying mate.

Originally Posted by jonnyjeb

Now, no wire is safe from me, including stranded.

Ahh the stranded stuff is what you call the very thin cable, ie from toasters, power cables, and the like, am i correct?

Be Lucky