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DIY enamel scraper: modified seam ripper
I was thinking about the physics and hassle of removing enamel from the wire we use for toroids, and suddenly this came to me. It works GREAT for me on the larger diameter wires, +/- 24/26 guage. It is especially useful on those short wires we sometimes have to work with.
Grind off the seam zipper posts, leaving them as very short guides for the wire, sharpen the central knife surface, and scrape away. Laying the wire on a finger and moving the tool, at a slight angle, usually works best for me. Of course you will need to rotate the wire to get all surfaces cleaned. 73, happy scraping, Bruce K3BAB? |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThis is not a DIY stripping tool:![]() but works very well for stripping small bell (aka magnet) wire.? As you can see, it is nothing fancy in that it is 2 pieces of spring steel flat bar about 12mm (1/2") wide and ends? bent down at about a 45 degree angle from each leaf of the tweezer like tool.? Those bent down ends have a small v notch in them to accept small wire so it strips the wire rather than cutting it.?? It could easily be homebrewed since as you can see, there is not much to it. Thank you. Jim Pruitt WA7DUY On 1/29/2023 8:11 PM, Bruce wrote:
I was thinking about the physics and hassle of removing enamel from the wire we use for toroids, and suddenly this came to me. It works GREAT for me on the larger diameter wires, +/- 24/26 guage. It is especially useful on those short wires we sometimes have to work with. |
I dunno, $20 for the 'proper' tool versus 'found it around the house' or a dollar store item, probably depends on your circumstances, but I applaud Bruce's ingenuity!
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73, Willie N1JBJ On Jan 30, 2023, at 5:36 AM, Jim Pruitt <jpruitt67@...> wrote: |
I¡¯m using one while building a K2 with the 100 watt amp kit (about 30 toriods wound)and I¡¯ve only broke 1 wire while cleaning off the enamel coating, doesn¡¯t clean 100% but good enough to tin with solder and no connection issues. I¡¯ve built lots of kits.
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Worth the small investment. Ed N7SNT On Jan 30, 2023, at 2:13 AM, William Smith <w_smith@...> wrote: |
Not to take anything away for the creativity shown, but just pull the wire through a scrap of sandpaper between thumb and forefinger.? That removes all the varnish and leaves you with a shiny wire that solders great (tinned or un-tinned).??
Now I know that you-all are thinking, like I did: "Couldn't that easily damage the wire by breaking it or making it brittle?"? So, I did a little experiment with some 320 grit paper.? After the wire was clean, I continued to pull it through the paper to see what it would take to damage it.? I gave up after about 50 pulls!? Even with pretty fine gauge wire, there is plenty of margin.? Use a medium grit so you aren't tempted to squeeze too hard and start stretching the wire, which will make it brittle.?? Any form of scraping risks damage, and burning can be hit or miss. Give it a try! -- Cheers, Chuck |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýMy tool of choice is/was the $20.00 one, not the seam stripper. Just a note of clarify my previous post.Ed? N7SNT? On Jan 30, 2023, at 4:24 AM, Chuck - K3FLN via groups.io <chuck.salmon@...> wrote:
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After reading through this thread earlier this morning and then doing some repair work on another piece of equipment, the penny dropped and/or the light bulb when on. Maybe it's a tool you already have, if not it's one you should have. I'll wager it doesn't cost more than a few dollars. An IC puller/extractor. I've been thinking about filing down the jaws a little to help get between the chip and socket.? Thanks for keeping my "little grey cells" active! --Al WD4AH |
On Montag, 30. Januar 2023 11:16:40 -03 KC9REN wrote:
I do like the sandpaper and clothes pin idea but I have the KnipexUsing diverse methods over the years, among them sandpaper, scalpels and lighters. Having now the Knipex wire scraper I like that one best although it too has its 'ideosyncrasies'. Sometimes it is necessary to wiggle the jaws a bit to grip the wire. All in all it does a good job with fine wires without braking them. 73 de Eike -- Eike Lantzsch KY4PZ / ZP5CGE |
I use my wire cutters (very gently) to scrape the enamel, or an Xacto knife.? One thing I found is that my soldering iron temperature had been set too low (about 700 F).? Bumping it up to 800F made it much easier to burn off any remaining enamel.? I suspect that a fatter iron tip or a more powerful iron would also help, no doubt the small tip I am using (I usually do surface mount) cools down a bit when working with the toroid wires.
-- Paul Elliott - WB6CXC |
You can save yourself some bandwidth by just using the product ID number (B003RWS8XE). This works on most popular site (eBay, Banggood, etc). Just type it into the search bar. Jack, W8TEE
On Monday, January 30, 2023 at 09:13:51 AM EST, KC9REN <deanberg2044@...> wrote:
I do like the sandpaper idea but I have a Knipex enamel wire stripper and love the way it works. Presently $19.41 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Knipex-1511120-Coated-Wire-Stripping-Tweezers/dp/B003RWS8XE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=KY5L5HSY5GB3&keywords=knipex+enamel+wire+stripper+tweezers&qid=1675087696&sprefix=knipex+enamel+wire+stripper+tweezers%2Caps%2C118&sr=8-1 |
I live my Knipex stripping tweezers, you can get up close to the toroid without nicking it or the other windings.?
Those tweezers come with 0.6mm jaws standard; there are also 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0mm replacement jaws available, per this document.??? Does anybody here remember Strip-X (Stripex?) that foul-smelling chemical wire stripper?? Dip the wire into the concoction, wait a few seconds and wipe with a paper tower.? Contained phenol and other nasty stuff.?? 73, Don N2VGU |
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