yes, fortunately I put the money in my pocket because if I were to put it in a G-string I'd be very poor. As far as how long the 2x4 is it's about 3 feet but I actually lay it across my knees lengthwise and strip the wire away from me across the width of the bored. What I find to be most important is that my knife blade is always sharp. When I first started doing this I didn't realize the necessity of having the 2x4 and after the knife slipped and almost cut my leg off(just kidding) I became less dumb. Also recently someone gave me the electric cable that connects a tractor to the trailer on an 18 wheeler. Because the coil is so strong, I put one end in a vice and went pack about a foot at a time cutting a slit into the cable. Took me about 15 minutes and it was done. I hadn't read your thread on stripping braided wire but I will now. One of the things I love about this hobby/job is the idea of "thinking outside the box" and creatively coming up with new ways to break stuff.