Techniques on Stripping Wire - Awesome Tools to Help Electricians

Have you ever wondered "What is the correct way to strip wire?" With so many options of tools available on the market today to cover this task, in addition to the multitude of different techniques to use, the options are almost endless! In this episode, Dustin explores several hand wire strippers as well as discussing proper techniques to make the task much easier for an electrician to understand.

00:11 - Intro
01:45 - For #8 wire
01:57 - Klein Curve HD
02:30 - Klein Needle Nose Combination pliers
02:38 - Milwaukee Stripping Pliers
03:20 - Example of use
03:40 - The Angle approach
05:17 - The Left handed assist
06:23 - The way I bend hooks
07:55 - The Milwaukee M18 Stripper
09:20 - Stripping large conductors by hand
10:05 - Use of the M18 Stripper
12:10 - Sponsor message
12:30 - The End.

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With hand powered wire strippers being one of the more common tools us electricians carry and use on a daily basis, it makes sense to pick one that suits the individual's style, size, etc. A smaller pair tends to be a bit more nimble, but larger pairs tend to have more options and range of wire sizes. Ergonomics should also come into play when making your choice, as the average electrician will spend a vast amount of time stripping and making up wires. A small ergonomic pair of strippers ranging from 8-16 solid and 10-18 stranded that also have the capability to cut and thread 6-32 & 8-32 screws (as sometimes the screws to attach the device to the box are too long) are the best. As far as additional options, try some out to see if any are useful to you. Some are available with crimpers, some have built in reamers on the nose to ream smaller sizes of EMT, as well as needle-nose pliers with stripping holes in the jaws. There are even Hybrid pliers that combine the best parts of strippers, needle-nose and lineman type pliers into one tool!

In regards to technique, if you can remember and practice a few simple rules of thumb, you will master the art of wire stripping relatively quickly and easily! First, tilt your strippers toward you BEFORE you bite down on the insulation. THEN, while still biting down on the insulation, tip your strippers away from you creating a small gap in the insulation. Now, just use your thumb or finger to push the strippers away from you off the end of the wire! Done! Also, make sure to use the wire bending loop/hole on the strippers themselves and use your other hand to hold onto the wire being looped. This will result in a much cleaner and tighter loop that you can install around the screw of your device.

As with many tools in today's market, wire stripping has become something that you can do with a power tool. This powered option makes the process of stripping larger feeder type cables much quicker, easier, consistent and efficient. The Milwaukee 18v cordless wire stripper that Dustin tests here is capable of stripping 1/0 to 500 KCMIL and has a manual depth adjustment to set your strip length for up to 3 inches. This tool is awesome and will make the chore of stripping and installing feeder wires almost enjoyable!

If all else fails, you can just revert to the old school ways of doing things and use your razor knife to strip the cable. A couple simple ways of doing this. You can strip off a linear slice down the cable at the length you desire (making sure not to dig into the copper conductor), then run your knife around the cable (again ensuring you do not dig into the copper conductor) and pull off the insulation. Another variant of this would be to ring your knife around the conductor first, THEN slice horizontally. Either option has been the way we have stripped cable for years and continue to do so to this day!

#electrician #electrical #electricity