Old timer showed me how to strip wire without nicking it and I felt dumb

For like 10 years I just grabbed my strippers and yanked, always nicked a few strands on 12 gauge. A guy I worked with on a job in Bakersfield last month showed me to twist the wire back and forth while pulling the stripper off. It leaves the copper perfect every time. Anyone else learn a basic trick way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_harris1923d ago

Took me until I was 27 to realize you don't have to use the same hole every time on your strippers. I was always using the biggest one that kind of fit and wondering why I mangled everything smaller than 12 gauge. My buddy watched me struggle with some thermostat wire and just sighed. Now I actually look at the little numbers on the tool like an adult. Felt real stupid.

blair_dixon23d ago

Man I swear half of being good at anything is just finding out you've been doing it wrong for years. It's like cooking where you burn everything until someone casually mentions you should heat the pan first. Makes you wonder what other basic stuff we're all just muddling through because nobody told us the obvious part.