9 out of 10 DIYers Don't Know All (5 Wire Stripper Features)

I have five important wire stripper tips that I want to share with you today hey and be sure to stick around to the end for some bonus tips which will have you stripping wires and making terminations like a pro now I've been a licensed electrician for 38 years and I've used many different types of wire strippers over that period of time but I keep coming back to this simple and popular design used by most professionals now these ones here are made by ideal but you can get similar strippers with the same features from many other brands so this video will apply to those as well tip number one wire size now wire strippers are designed to strip a variety of different size wires now as you can see these will strip number 10 through number 18 solid wire and number 12 through number 20 stranded wire now I find this size range to be a great choice for residential wiring they'll strip number 12 and number 14 gauge lighting and receptacle circuits and they'll strip number 10 gauge wires used for 30 amp circuits for things like clothes dryers or water heaters but they'll also strip smaller gauge fixture wires so this size pretty much has you covered around the home now when we're using these strippers we need to make sure we're using the cutter that matches not only the wire size but also the wire type for example the cutter for number 12 solid is the same one used for number 14 stranded if you get this wrong you'll have a difficult time removing the insulation or possibly even damaging the wire you're trying to strip so we need to pay attention to the markings to get the best results tip number two Loop holes the little holes that you see in your strippers are actually designed for the purpose of making terminal Loops or j-hooks there's one on each side so it's in the correct location no matter which way you hold your strippers to use these you simply insert your wire into the hole and bend your hook now this is a very handy feature if you're using the screw terminals on your electrical devices tip number three screw Cutters now these strippers along with most others come with the ability to cut screws now this pair has two one for 632 and one for 832 screws these are the most common sizes used in the electrical industry 632 screws I used to connect outlets and switches to your wall box metal boxes like this four inch square use eight 32 screws for blank covers or even for race covers used for outlets and switches also most light fixtures mount with 832 screws as well the problem with cutting screws is when you make the cut the threads get damaged making them difficult to use these screw Cutters solve that problem you simply thread the screw into the hole cut it to length and when you back it out the die repairs the threads this is a very handy feature and tip number four needle nose if we look at the tip of the strippers you can see something very similar to needle nose pliers now you can use these instead of reaching for another tool these can be used to bend your J Hooks if you prefer that method they're also very handy for breaking off the ears on the device or even securing a ground wire around a screw in a box another very useful feature and tip number five wire cutter now no set of wire strippers would be complete without a wire cutter these are great for trimming your wires before you strip them or even evening them out before you make your connections to a device but remember the blade on the strippers is only designed to cut copper or aluminum wire if you try to cut something hard you may damage your blades okay so now let's put these to use and I'll show you a few bonus tips for stripping wires and making connections so first let's strip this number 14 solid wire we'll insert the wire into the correct cutter then we'll close the strippers all the way down then we want to release just slightly and use our thumb like a lever to remove the insulation what we don't want to do is rotate the strippers left and right like this this can damage the copper and actually cause a failure down the road second when we're stripping wires to make J Hooks for screw terminals I think the best measurement is about three quarters to 7 8 of an inch long now you don't need to measure just do it by eye and you'll get pretty close then when you're bending Your Hooks allow the wire to stick just through the hole in the strippers just by a small amount like this and then bend your hook into the two sides are parallel they don't need to be perfect but when you're done it should look something like this now since we made the proper J Hooks when we connect to the screw terminals we'll have plenty of insulation removed for a good connection but not so much that uninsulated wires extending beyond the back of the device remember we want the hooks to connect in a clockwise rotation so when we tighten the screw it wants to close the loop slightly this is very important for making a reliable connection one that'll last for decades so when we're done our Outlet looks like this now some of you might be wondering why I didn't pigtail that device well I made an entire video dedicated to that subject that I'll link right here hey and if you found this video to be helpful at all hit that like button down below it really does help the video spread to a wider audience I'm John from backyard Main and I'll see you on the next one

Channel: Backyard Maine

Views: 353,366

Keywords: Mastering Wire Stripping: 5 Essential Tips You Can't Miss, mastering wire stripping: 5 esential tips you can't miss, mastering wire stripping: 5 essential tips ytou can't miss, mastering wire stripping: 5 esential tips ytou can't miss, Mastering Wire Stripping: 5 Essential Tips You Cant Miss, tricks to stripping copper wire

Id: sLkZWObclF0

Length: 5min 32sec (332 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 30 2023