Extension cord blues

Stripping extension cords is about as fun as running out of beer. The outer layer is easy, but then I see that **** rope tangled up with three wires that still need stripping. By now I'm wondering if I should have left the insulation on and sold it as is. Eh.. To late. So when I finally get the wires and rope separated, I crack another beer. Now I've got 3 wires that are wanting to get in my #2 Cu bucket. I tried many different methods to strip these, and none were easy... The wires are thin as hell and get cut when my knife goes through the insulation. After a lot of 4 letter words, I had a few pounds of copper. OK, good. Now, instead of nice long pieces of insulation on the ground, I stand over a battlefield of shredded insulation, rope and tons of tiny chunks of copper. Cleaning up I think, should I try to pick all the wire out?....... nah.. I crack another beer. Stand, staring at my bucket, and wonder if what I just did was worth it or not...... Extension cord blues

Parker, Try one of the homemade strippers where you use the block of wood with the drywall screw for the stripper. After you adjust it, you can pull the wire thru pretty quick without a lot of mess. Just takes a little adjusting.

I have that setup. On a sturdy shelf support, way better than a small block of wood. And I use it all the time, But it did not work. The wires were to small. Either it would cut too deep or not deep enough. So I tried other methods. Maybe I gave up to soon.....

I strip the insulation off since the difference is .30 vs 1.00, I find getting the string out is easy if u pull one of the wires while holding the others they all bunch up, then cut right after the tangle and it all comes apart easily. I don't bother trying to get the #2 out of that small wire when its stranded, if it's solid from an appliance or something I do strip that.

I have been using my new striper for a while now. The extension cords are the most challenging of all to strip. Practice has helped me but when I started I cut the outside insulation too deep and had cut up the wires on the inside.

I find if I do several of the same type wires I get very good at it. Also some of the insulation on the inside wires of the extension cords is very soft and its difficult to split with the wire striper. I am set up in my shed so dropping fine copper wire is ok. Happy with the stripping machine so far. Mike.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Parker, Try one of the homemade strippers where you use the block of wood with the drywall screw for the stripper. After you adjust it, you can pull the wire thru pretty quick without a lot of mess. Just takes a little adjusting.

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got a photo of that?

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Originally Posted by Bear

got a photo of that?

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In fact I do compliments of one of our members;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orch09Zwt58

Here is mine. It's on a sturdy shelf so I can pull like hell!
http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/...Flyer4/033.jpg
http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/...Flyer4/028.jpg

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Here is mine. It's on a sturdy shelf so I can pull like hell!

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Either that or you'll pull the whole shelf unit down,,,lol

Just BIC it! Oh crap is that illegal? hmmm

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Originally Posted by ParkerFlyer4

Here is mine. It's on a sturdy shelf so I can pull like hell!

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wow, that's cool!

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Either that or you'll pull the whole shelf unit down,,,lol

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haha ya I know, But I got it screwed to the ceiling studs. and lagged into the concrete floor. The 2x4 would snap before the shelf would fall.

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Here is mine. It's on a sturdy shelf so I can pull like hell!

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How do you keep from snagging your shirtsleeve on the screws???? Or your arm hair??LOL

Here's what I use.

http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/130236...e_Stripper.jpg

Haven't found a wire it couldn't strip. On stranded the trick with this device is to set the depth to where it cuts most of the insulation, then you pull it apart. (You'll be able to tell because it catches on the blade, whereas just the insulation is usually a smooth/fluid pull). This way you don't have millions of strands all over that are a nightmare to pick up.

Just did a bunch of Romex from a house slated for demo. Set it to strip the outer sheath. Ran all my wire. Then set it to do the individual wires. Saves a lot of time to do a bunch of similar size, then dial it in for the next batch of wire.

I thought this one would be kinda handy for those of you that like to build your tools,,
http://www.instructables.com/id/Home...ripper-Device/

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

How do you keep from snagging your shirtsleeve on the screws???? Or your arm hair??LOL

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no snagging on cloths, I only strip wire when Im naked. I feed the wire through the back, tighten the screw enough. Then grip that sh*t with pliers and pull and pull and pull till the whole wire is done. goes fast

How disturbing???good for you

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no snagging on cloths, i only strip wire when im naked.

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tmi !

With a little practice you could probably use a drill to unwind wires that are twisted together.

Considering the outter insulation, inner insulation, and rope it seems you would probably come out ahead to just turn it in for the insulated wire price.

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Originally Posted by KZBell

With a little practice you could probably use a drill to unwind wires that are twisted together.

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Great thought, I'll try that the next time I have some extension cords to do. Mike.

After you strip that outer layer and see the 3 spiralled insulated wire left, what I found works best is to cut the rope into stretched arm spans. Then grab the 6' rope in the middle and pull one of the strands. The 3 strands separate pretty easy that way and you can then strip each one using whatever works best for you.

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Originally Posted by skylinejack

Considering the outter insulation, inner insulation, and rope it seems you would probably come out ahead to just turn it in for the insulated wire price.

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that's what I was thinking... plus, the time to strip one 50 foot cord seemed to take waaaay to long. Took about 2.5 beers to finish (easier to keep track of beers than time). I'll check the weight/time, with/without insulation and compare next time. Has anyone done this already?

[QUOTE=ParkerFlyer4;68196]no snagging on cloths, I only strip wire when Im naked.

I know most everyone will agree that now is NOT the time for pictures. But, I did enjoy your post!

I made one like the one in the video last week from a piece of 2x8 with 6 holes. Used it last night clamped in a vise and stripped 6 power cords in 1/2 hour. The galvanized screws seem sharper and work better than the regular screws.

Stripped a 19" crt tv, 6 power cords in 45min.
Thanks to all for the help.

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Originally Posted by ParkerFlyer4

that's what I was thinking... plus, the time to strip one 50 foot cord seemed to take waaaay to long. Took about 2.5 beers to finish (easier to keep track of beers than time). I'll check the weight/time, with/without insulation and compare next time. Has anyone done this already?

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I have spent several hours over the last couple of days to do some weight annalists on different wires. My yard pays .75 for extension cords and $2.85 for bare bright copper. I did a couple of different extension cords. They were pretty light weight I would say 16 gauge. I got about 27-31% yield from them. bottom line I lost money on one,broke even on another and made a few cents on the last one. So from now on extension cords get sold as is. You really need to evaluate what you are spending your time on. Do the things with the highest return. That said I take apart a lot of junk just because I like doing it.

when im stripping wire, i fine that to cut it up into smaller piece's works the best, special if they have that rope sh*t.
idk if anyone does my method, but i strip all my wire by hand...well anything that #1 ins wire. i start by cutting the 1st 5 inch by hand, then i have a c-clamp that i clamp to the work bench, then i take pliers and clamp to the bigger clamp, then i stand with my back to the clamps, and walk away with a knife(flooring knife with a arc).so i'm using my body weight!! i make really good time.

it used to kill my hands but i now use a shop rag so the knife is resting against that and that adds some protection.
last time i striped about 30lbs of b.b. in 2-3 hours. that like $30 an hour!!!
-ryan

Hey, that's a cool gizmo, do you mind telling me what size holes you drilled?

For me, unless it is really large braided wire, like from an industrial machine, I leave it whole and sell it as #2 insulated. Now if the wire is solid, I will strip it every time.

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Originally Posted by 1776Patriotism

Hey, that's a cool gizmo, do you mind telling me what size holes you drilled?

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The holes are just a hair bigger than the diameter of the wire.

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Originally Posted by ParkerFlyer4

Stripping extension cords is about as fun as running out of beer. The outer layer is easy, but then I see that **** rope tangled up with three wires that still need stripping. By now I'm wondering if I should have left the insulation on and sold it as is. Eh.. To late. So when I finally get the wires and rope separated, I crack another beer. Now I've got 3 wires that are wanting to get in my #2 Cu bucket. I tried many different methods to strip these, and none were easy... The wires are thin as hell and get cut when my knife goes through the insulation. After a lot of 4 letter words, I had a few pounds of copper. OK, good. Now, instead of nice long pieces of insulation on the ground, I stand over a battlefield of shredded insulation, rope and tons of tiny chunks of copper. Cleaning up I think, should I try to pick all the wire out?....... nah.. I crack another beer. Stand, staring at my bucket, and wonder if what I just did was worth it or not...... Extension cord blues

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Try selling the copper that you got from those wires because they cost a lot now a days...

I made one of the boards with the screws in it this weekend after reading this post. I usually did it by securing the cord in a vise and just used a razor knife but as someone said you always end up cutting some strands. Anyhow I replaced the screw with a razor blade that I hammered into the wood block with just enough of the point inside the hole. That is the ticket for me. The wire just slit where the screw would skip and bunch up on the other side. I will try and post a picture later. It cut my time by at least two beers.
I also thought about a screw gun in reverse to untwist the wires. I just read that tip today. It would seem that the other end of the cord would have to be attached to some type of swivel.