On Sat, 10 May 2008 07:58:06 +0100 "N_Cook" wrote:

Jim Adney wrote in message
.. .
Here's what's always worked for me:

Hold the end of the wire in a lighter or match flame until the varnish
just flashes off. You may need to move the flame around a little to
char the whole length that you want "stripped."

Take a postage stamp sized bit of fine sandpaper, 600 grit or finer,
and fold it over once so that the sanding surface faces itself. Draw
the wire thru the folded sandpaper, squeezed gently between thumb and
forefinger, several times, turning it slightly between times until the
wire is cleaned down to clean copper.

It's actually quite quick and easy.

But the breaking strain of such fine wire is only a few ounces and wouldn't
such heating weaken such wire. My bottle of MEK is now nearly full of empty
space and no idea where to get anymore.

Heating certainly anneals the wire, but if you draw the wire GENTLY
thru the sandpaper it will be fine. You may need to do this a few
times to get the hang of it without breaking the wire, but I've
actually never had a problem with it.

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Jim Adney
Madison, WI 53711 USA
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