On Sep 1, 1:07*am, micky wrote:
On Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:52:44 -0700 (PDT), "hr(bob) "





wrote:
On Aug 31, 10:49*pm, micky wrote:
Why is electric cord thicker than it used to be, and do they make
little roller switches for thick cord?

The first question is philosophical and the second is practical.

Lamp cords and fan cords etc. are thicker than they were years ago. *I
don't think the copper is thicker but the vinyl is? * Why did they do
that? * *The old cords were fine *(and variious designes of
quick-attach plugs, receptacles, switches, etc. were suited for the
old thickness) .

(I haven't rewound my 78 year old fan yet, but I do like the $5 dollar
one I just bought. *It fits on the windows sill and I want to put the
same roller switch on the cord that the other fan had, so I only have
to raise my arm to turn the fan off.)

But the cord is so thick, the only inline switches that will work are
the 2 or 3" long ones. going by what I've found so far

I've been to Home Depot and I've looked online. *I've looked on Ace
and Lowe's web pages.

Can't you use a small knife to enlarge the holes at the ends of the
rotary switch that you have, and mash down on the cord for the
internal electrical connections.

I don't think so.

I was going to use a soldering iron tip to melt away what I didn't
want, but there is no leeway. * *Right next to one of the two
entrances *is one of the two alignment pins, and *part of the
structure of the case.

Plus the needles that pierce the insulation *don't seem long enough to
do so. * *And this new vinyl seems tougher than the rubber from older
electric cord. *I'm not sure the pins will make it in at all.

I don't think it can be mashed, partly because it's not rubber, but I
thought about shaving the wire to make it thinner. *If I could do a
good job, on one side and the outer edge of both conductors for about
an inch each, *that would solve all the problems, *but I'm sure i will
make big nicks all the way down to the copper. * I'd use a new blade,
but I don't think that's enough.

Maybe I can do it. *Is there some clever way to do a good job of
shaving?

BTW, do razor sharp replaceable blades get dull just sitting around
for 5 or 10 years?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I like Heybub's idea of replacing the power cord with a thinner one as
long as it is safe and a newer cord should still be ok. Otherwise,
shving the cord down seems reasonable, us a new blade and go slowly.