I wound up using the open flame approach, and it worked just fine.
We keep a butane lighter around for lighting the fireplace, and that became my tool of choice.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions.
Rich
Alton Junction
jjdamnit Hello all, If you are going to solder the wire, one method I learned as a bench technician was to "tin" the wire without stripping the insulation. The heat from the soldering iron will melt the insulation back while tinning the wire simultaneously. Practice this a few times to see how the insulation reacts to the heat. The now tinned and "stripped" wire can be trimmed to length as close to the insulation as needed. Hope this helps.
Hello all,
If you are going to solder the wire, one method I learned as a bench technician was to "tin" the wire without stripping the insulation.
The heat from the soldering iron will melt the insulation back while tinning the wire simultaneously.
Practice this a few times to see how the insulation reacts to the heat.
The now tinned and "stripped" wire can be trimmed to length as close to the insulation as needed.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
Thumbnail seems fine.
In the 1960's when I wired US Navy submarine periscopes, we stripped Teflon coated wire with a thermal device that plugged into a resistance solder iron controller. We had to use a vent hood also.
I just Googled the issue. Many types of wire strippers out there for Teflon wire..
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
We used to launch solid fuel model rockets using a short piece of nichrome wire between two small aligator clips as the igniter.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
Well there was the time my friend was demonstrating using his digital multimeter at school in physics class, forgetting he had two small pieces of phone wire wrapped around the probes to plug in to a breadboard. He sticks the probes in a nearby outlet, after making sure the meter was set to a proper range, and the two little bits of wire contacted each other - POOF!.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker That would be like taking a piece of that #30 wire and sticking it in a light socket (DO NOT DO THAT!!!), it will pretty much vaporize.
That would be like taking a piece of that #30 wire and sticking it in a light socket (DO NOT DO THAT!!!), it will pretty much vaporize.
How about forgetting that you had a clip lead hot-to-ground downstream of a 70 amp breaker you turned on?
Turns out it only vaporizes a little section of the wire. Right where there's a new hole through the insulation. Hey, a wire nut and it's as good as new, right?
Oh, yeah. The breaker didn't trip. Guess the fault was cleared pretty darn quickly.
Ed
You MIGHT potentially set the insulation on fire if you're really stupid about it, but even that is unlikely as it will MELT from the temperature of something designed to ignite paper or wood, but it needs a much higher temperature to burn. ANd copper, you're not even going to soften that with a lighter. The steel wool trick works because you are passing enough current through a fine enough piece of wire that you are eceeding the current carrying capacity of the wire. That would be like taking a piece of that #30 wire and sticking it in a light socket (DO NOT DO THAT!!!), it will pretty much vaporize. Or say you had a piece of said wire running between the front and rear pickups of a loco, and the loco derailed so that that wire was no across the rails, and you had a 5 amp DCC system with no circuit protection at all - 15V 5A passing through that wire would make the copper heat up to glowing, melting the insulation and anything around it and easily getting hot enough to ignight some paper or fine wood shavings before finally melting and breaking the circuit. Same as the steel wool trick.
Who had slot cars? I know I'm not the only one who would put pieces of steel wool across the track and squeeze the controller and watch the steel wool burn..
I can assure you, nothing like that happened. It is a split second touch of the flame to the end of the wire and then you pull off the insulation on the end of the wire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5o2drU65UM
Be careful because wire does burn. Remember the old Boy Scout trick for starting a fire using an old SOS pad and a battery?
I found a YouTube video where a guy used his cigarette lighter to strip the insulation off a thin stranded wire. No way. Way.
He held the flame under the end of the wire for a split second, then used his thumb and index finger to remove the insulation. A perfectly clean "cut".
I'm not a smoker, so I used a butane fireplace lighter. Voila!
I appreciate all of the suggestions.
The fingernail solution certainly has appeal.
I found a Klein wire stripper on the Home Depot web site that will handle 32 AWG wire, but a few of the customer reviews cast doubt on its effective with such small wire.
I will let you all know what solution I settle on. Thank you, everyone.
BATMAN I got a small wire stripper, in my Christmas stocking last year, however, before that I would turn it ever so lightly with surgeons touch on a blade just to score it, and that made for a nice clean break when I put my thumb nail into it.
I got a small wire stripper, in my Christmas stocking last year, however, before that I would turn it ever so lightly with surgeons touch on a blade just to score it, and that made for a nice clean break when I put my thumb nail into it.
When rotated, a stripper (wow, that sounds sorta naughty) can score the wire. Which can allow it to break at that point, either now or later. Not sayin' it will, but be careful. The vibration in a locomotive MIGHT be enough.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I have Klein strippers that go down to 30 and that is pretty close but sometimes I use my thumbnail since it can strip away the insulation but can't really cut the wire.
When I was in high school we built electronics projects using "wire wrap sockets" for fragile ICs that could be easily damaged by heat. I believe the wire used in "wire wrap" assembly was 30 gauge. We had a special tool to strip this wire that worked great. It looked a little like a vegetable peeler.
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If you search for wire wrap tools you might find something that will work.
That is my best idea.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Thumbnail strippers are great. Generally come packaged together in both right- and left-handed models. Washable, no lubrication necessary (though some operators have been know to get "lubricated"). Price per set is variable, consult experienced parents regarding probable cost. Not available on-line.
Thumbnail method for me too.
Martin Myers
I've used a Jonard ST-450 for "small" wire. Range is 26 to 36.
I do it the same way as Mel. Always works, no tool to misplace.
Attuvian Certainly can't beat high-tech, Mel!
Certainly can't beat high-tech, Mel!
wirewrap wire is 30 gauge. the tool has an opening with a slit to strip the insulation.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
This is #30 TFE Teflon.
richhotrain Specifically, this is Teflon insulated 32 AWG silver plated copper stranded wire consisting of 7 strands of 40 AWG per conductor. I will just be stripping off the ends. I will have some extra length to play with. Rich
Specifically, this is Teflon insulated 32 AWG silver plated copper stranded wire consisting of 7 strands of 40 AWG per conductor. I will just be stripping off the ends. I will have some extra length to play with.
Teflon and stranded makes it a tougher job (no pun intended). But with the stranded you can lose one or even two and not be torpedoed. Soldering it later?
Here's an idea: cut a groove in a flat piece of wood (the harder, the better), depth about 3/4 the diameter of the insulated wire. Scrape off the teflon with a new #11 blade or plane it off with a #17 chisel, held upside down, bevel flush with the wood surface.
I feel your pain. I have a pair of wire strippers that start at 25 and will go to 80 gauge. Got it at my LHS.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
Rich, can you be specific about the wire in question?
I've had two cases. 1) Thin magnet wire used in N-scale signal masts. I stripped that with the back of a #11 Xacto blade. 2) Flat ribbon cable with 10 thin conductors. I tried separating the wires and stripping the insulation as above. No luck. Thicker, softer PVC insulation. I gave up and bought special breakout boards. Attach normal 10-pin connector to ribbon, plug connector into board, attach wires to screw terminals on the outboard side. Wimp out, I know. But it saved a lot of headaches.