On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 01:21:46 GMT, the renowned "Martin Whybrow"
wrote:


"Karl Townsend" remove .NOT to reply wrote
in message anews.com...
I have a multi conductor cable with very small wires. I guess 22 or 24
gauge. ( Its an antique printer cable from when the wires were way bigger)
I'm trying to spread all the wires out to a small terminal strip and I'm
having a couple problems.

First, my wire stripper wants to pull out several strands of wire when
trying to pull off a short length of insulation. This is just the standard
multi electrical pliers type multi tool that strips up to #10 wire. Do I
need a better tool or a better method.

Second, I don't want a failure of the wire under the terminal strip screw.
I'm thinking of folding back 1/2 inch of bare wire to double it and then
solder tinning the end to make it durable. or, is there a better way?

Karl


Karl
The best way to strip thin wires is with a Stripmaster (made by Ideal) or
similar tool; it has blades notched for each wire size, the blades can be
changed for different wire sizes. If you are using terminal strip, try to
find the type with wire protection leaves, in these the screw bears on the
leaf preventing the wire from fracturing; alternatively crimp boot lace
ferrules onto the wires (small plated copper or brass tubes) to protect
them. Tinning the wires tends to make them behave like a solid wire and can
lead to a complete fracture of all the strands, also the solder can creep
under pressure leading to a loose connection.
Martin

AWG22/24 wire is nice hefty hookup wire by my standards, but if you
don't have the right size of terminal block etc. I suppose it could be
troublesome.

If it's the kind of terminal block with two screws and a link, and the
wires are big enough, you could crimp insulated lugs onto the wires
(onto the wire, and another crimp onto the insulation as a strain
relief) and then put those under the screws. This is okay for 12V at a
few mA or higher, but if the voltage or current are very low, you need
a good crimp that might require a more professional tool than the
hardware store kind. Don't try to use automotive type crimp terminals
designed for huge fat wires, get ahold of some electronic ones
(probably not at Radio Shack).

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/620/922.pdf

The really good professional ratchet ('controlled cycle') crimp tools
are pretty pricey new, a couple hundred dollars up, plus die sets, but
they show up on ebay regularly for a fraction of that.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
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