At 03:25 PM 8/23/2012, David wrote: >Has anybody got opinions on "automatic" wire strippers such as those >linked below? Are they recommended or just gimmicks? > >Until now I have been using a very old pair of strippers which have a >screw/nut to adjust the width. This is annoying as it is quite hard to >set accurately. > >I am mostly stripping stranded & unstranded thin wire for PCB assembly >and prototyping, but also thicker wire from power supplies etc. Happy >to pay a bit more than =A32.50 for a pair of wire strippers that work. I'm coming to this conversation at a late date -=20 I've been on-site and working very long days for=20 the past week. But I've got an hour or two to=20 kill, and I'm using it to catch up on PIClist email. I don't mean to offend, but most of the tools=20 that I've seen suggested are not much more than=20 toys. The exceptions are the Ideal Stripmaster=20 tools and the OK tools Jonard strippers. Both=20 are excellent tools - the Stripmaster is best=20 suited for larger wire sizes and the Jonard for smaller wire. However, the Jonard tool is a manual tool. It=20 works very well - I love it for stripping 30 AWG Kynar wire-wrap wire. Since we are talking about manual tools now, I=20 thought that I'd mention that the manual wire=20 strippers that I prefer above all others is the=20 model 101S made by Miller. Unfortunately, Miller=20 got bought out several years ago by another=20 company called Ripley and the quality has=20 plummeted. You can find good ones mixed in with=20 all the bad ones -just hold them up to the light=20 and look at the gap between the blades. No light=20 means a very tight gap - those are the ones to=20 purchase. Some of the bad ones are so sloppy=20 that you can slide a piece of paper between the blades. I adjust the Miller 101S so that it properly=20 strips 30 AWG wire. The larger sizes are=20 stripped by closing the blades down so that they=20 just touch the wire insulation, then tighten just=20 a tiny bit more and pull. It takes practice but=20 I can strip pretty much any wire from 10 AWG on=20 up to 30 AWG without adjusting the strippers - or damaging the wire conduct= or. You can see what they look like at Be warned that there are Asain copies that range=20 from useable to truly horrific. What that means=20 is: do NOT purchase these without visually=20 inspecting them and trying them out first. The automatic stripper that I most like is from=20 Paladin or Weidmuller. They both go by the name=20 'Stripax' and are very similar - so much so that=20 the blades are interchangeable between the two (on the older models, at lea= st). These are NOT inexpensive. Look to spend around=20 US $150 for them. But they work better than any=20 other hand-held automatic stripper that I have=20 used on wire sizes from 20 AWG on up to 28 AWG or so. You can see what they look like at=20 =20 - it looks as if the model has changed yet again=20 but I suspect this newest version works just as=20 well the previous two older versions that I have. I use these when I am doing either of two=20 distinct tasks: installing XLR connectors on=20 twisted-pair cable - or - when I am stripping a=20 whole whack of small-diameter wires. They excel when installing XLR connectors onto=20 cable: the tool will strip both conductors at the=20 same time on 20 through 24 AWG twisted-pair=20 cable. It turns out that butting the wire jacket=20 right up tight to the jaws gives the perfect=20 strip length on the wires for soldering onto XLR=20 connectors. Given that I typically install=20 between 1000 to 2000 XLR connectors onto cable=20 each year, that $150 tool cost pays for itself=20 over and over again just in saved time. I also use them for stripping large numbers of=20 small diameter wires in a single sitting. These=20 might be jumper wires for use in bread-boards (I=20 use 24AWG telephone cable from 25 pair on up to=20 200 pair cable left over from install jobs) - or=20 similar. For example, I'm on site right now,=20 sitting in the back hallway at Rogers Arena in=20 Vancouver, BC and I needed to put crimp pins onto=20 a bunch of 24 AWG stranded wires. The Stripax=20 tool stripped all those wires 4 at a time, all=20 with exactly the correct amount of insulation=20 removed and without damaging any of the=20 conductors. It took less time to strip 40=20 conductors than it took to write this paragraph. I've got automated wire cutting and stripping=20 equipment at my shop that gets used all the time=20 for larger jobs. But the two hand tools that=20 I've talked about live both on my bench and in my=20 travel tool kits and they get used ALL the time. dwayne --=20 Dwayne Reid Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax www.trinity-electronics.com Custom Electronics Design and Manufacturing --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .