DAE spend way too long stripping wires before realizing there's an easier way?

Been an electrician for about 4 years now and I always stripped wire with my lineman's pliers or a cheap hand stripper. Then last month I was on a job in Austin rewiring a whole house and the old timer I was working with handed me a self-adjusting wire stripper. I thought it was dumb at first but I used it for a couple pulls and it cut my time by half on each box. I was stripping 12 and 14 gauge by feel and messing up the copper all the time. Now I barely touch a pair of lineman's for stripping unless it's some weird situation. Has anyone else had a tool they ignored for years that turned out to be way better?

2 comments

2 Comments

henrygrant7d ago

The Klein self-adjusters are a game changer, no doubt. It took me a long time to finally get one, but now I keep a pair in my pouch and a backup in my truck for when I forget to grab them. The biggest thing for me was not messing up the copper on solid wire anymore - that alone made it worth the switch. You still gotta keep your lineman's handy for stuff like older wire that's gotten brittle or when you need to cut and strip in one motion. But for everyday 12 and 14 gauge on new construction, those self-adjusters save so much headache.

blair_allen7d ago

cut and strip in one motion"? Wait, you're telling me people actually do that with their lineman's? I've been doing this job four years and I never even thought about that. I always cut the wire first with my dykes, then strip it separate. That's like a whole extra step I've been doing for nothing. I guess that old timer I worked with in Austin never showed me that trick either. Man, I feel like an idiot now.