A commonly used electrical tool used by both hobbyists and electricians, wire strippers are used to remove the protective insulation or plastic sheath of a wire to gain access and repair it. It looks similar to a plier and does the same functions.
There are several fast techniques to use wire strippers correctly and help you get the most out of this tool. With wire strippers, you can not only strip a wire but also use it to splice and connect other wires or terminals, cut, bend and size wires, and make loops.
1. Determine the wire gauge and match the wire
To strip a wire, first, you need to find the correct notch on your wire stripper to match the gauge of the wire to be stripped. Wire strippers have different sized notches to coincide with different gauges of a wire. The gauge wire number increases as the diameter decreases; for instance, a 10 gauge wire has a larger diameter than a 16 gauge wire.
The gauge designation of the wire can be found printed on the outermost sheath that binds the wires together. If gauge designation is not marked on the outer covering, stick the wire into a notch and gently squeeze the handle to see if it fits.
Matching a wire with a notch is essential. If you choose a bigger notch, it will be tough to get a grip on the insulation and you will have a hard time stripping it. On the contrary, if you choose a smaller notch, there are chances that you will damage your wire.
2. Place the wire in the notch and twist
Once the wire is matched with the notch, place the wire and slowly clamp down the handles together until they can go no farther. Gently rotate the wire within the hole in one direction and back till the insulation is cut all the way through and all the way around the wire.
3. Strip the insulation
The final step is to pull the stripper toward the end of the wire to strip the protective sheath from the wire.
What else can you do with a wire stripper?
A wire stripper is almost like a ‘one in all’ tool and has numerous other functions as mentioned below.
Cut a wire: You could use a knife or scissors to cut a wire, but it is a slow process, and using a wire stripper is easier (with insulation on or off) and will save time and your wire.
Bending and straightening a wire: Another wire stripper hack is to hold and bend wires. You can also use the notch hole to straighten the wires as well.
Make hooks: A wire stripper can also be used to bend hooks in wires so that the wire can be attached to screw terminals to have better contact.
Use as pliers: The blunt end of the wire strippers can also be used as a plier to fasten or loosen nuts and screws.
Stripping a wire with a wire stripper is an important skill to have for all professional electrical jobs or DIY wiring projects. To take a look at our wide range of affordable wire strippers, visit our website.