I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy,
and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation
from the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks
nicking the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at
a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to
strip.

Bright ideas?
--
Graeme

On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 09:52:54 +0000, Graeme
wrote:


I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself,

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy,
and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation
from the remaining black and red cables is a pain.
Bright ideas?

You may find that heating the insulation with a hair dryer or
carefully applied heat gun will soften it enough that you can pull the
conductor through the insulation in the same way that you pulled the
earth from the sheath. needs a bit of practice ,too cool and the
insulation won't give, too hot it loses its strength and breaks into
short bits some still stuck to the conductor.


G.Harman

In article ,
Graeme wrote:

I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy,
and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation
from the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks
nicking the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at
a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to
strip.

Bright ideas?

If it is single strand cable like say 2.5mm TW&E, removing a short length
of insulation then clamping the conductor in a vice and pulling on the
insulation works over quite long lengths. But I doubt there is any method
of removing 70 ft in one go.

--
*I'm not a paranoid, deranged millionaire. Dammit, I'm a billionaire.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 10:40:21 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Graeme wrote:

I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy,
and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation
from the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks
nicking the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at
a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to
strip.

Bright ideas?

If it is single strand cable like say 2.5mm TW&E, removing a short length
of insulation then clamping the conductor in a vice and pulling on the
insulation works over quite long lengths. But I doubt there is any method
of removing 70 ft in one go.

What about one of those simple wire strippers that have a blade
trapped in an adjustable jaw, held in a vice and then the cable drawn
though to pre-slice (to say 75% of the thickness of the insulation)
may make the task easier?

Cheers, T i m

On 13/03/2017 09:52, Graeme wrote:

I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy,
and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation
from the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks
nicking the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at
a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to strip.

Bright ideas?

Buy it?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bare-unpla...-/111667891061

On 13/03/2017 11:09, T i m wrote:

What about one of those simple wire strippers that have a blade
trapped in an adjustable jaw, held in a vice and then the cable drawn
though to pre-slice (to say 75% of the thickness of the insulation)
may make the task easier?

Cheers, T i m



Sounds like a job for a 3d printer if he has one.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes

If it is single strand cable like say 2.5mm TW&E, removing a short length
of insulation then clamping the conductor in a vice and pulling on the
insulation works over quite long lengths. But I doubt there is any method
of removing 70 ft in one go.

I like that idea and no, not necessary to remove 70 ft in one go.
Perhaps combine with the heating to soften idea, which I also like.
That should allow a decent length - what I'm trying to avoid is doing a
few inches at a time.
--
Graeme

In message , T i m
writes
On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 10:40:21 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

If it is single strand cable like say 2.5mm TW&E, removing a short length
of insulation then clamping the conductor in a vice

What about one of those simple wire strippers that have a blade
trapped in an adjustable jaw, held in a vice and then the cable drawn
though to pre-slice (to say 75% of the thickness of the insulation)
may make the task easier?

That sounds promising, too.
--
Graeme

In message . com,
lid writes

Buy it?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bare-unpla...ER-WIRE-1-6mm-
14-gauge-500grams-99-95-PURITY-/111667891061

That would be easiest, but I already have plenty of T&E to use.

--
Graeme

On Monday, March 13, 2017 at 12:45:09 PM UTC, Graeme wrote:
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes

If it is single strand cable like say 2.5mm TW&E, removing a short length
of insulation then clamping the conductor in a vice and pulling on the
insulation works over quite long lengths. But I doubt there is any method
of removing 70 ft in one go.

I like that idea and no, not necessary to remove 70 ft in one go.
Perhaps combine with the heating to soften idea, which I also like.
That should allow a decent length - what I'm trying to avoid is doing a
few inches at a time.
--
Graeme

At recycling type I've seen jigs with a hole and an (adjustable?) blade just
protruding in from the outside. I presume you back off the blade, stick one end
of the wire through, then advance the blade until it will nick the insulation
enough to make it easily removable.

You then pull the entire length of the cable through, and the insulation just
.... falls off.

Let us know how it works if you try something like this.

HTH
Jon N

On 13/03/17 09:52, Graeme wrote:

Using strippers an inch at
a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to strip.


What's the difference between a nick and a scratch?

Homemade Wire stripper. Fast & Easy!!! (DIY)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFxF_716AXU

Simple DIY Wire Stripper (for Scrapping)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S10AK3VxL-Y

Many other similar vids.

--
Adrian C

Graeme wrote:

Bright ideas?

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks (yes I know) buy
bare copper wire from the proceeds, and beer with the rest :-P

Graeme wrote:

I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy,
and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation
from the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks
nicking the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at
a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to strip.

Bright ideas?
It is possible to do it with a knife, I sharpen the blade in a special
way with a slight curve,here is a very rough drawing, the curve is
nowhere as pronounced as the drawing shows but may give you the idea,
the actual cutting edge rides just above the copper so it does not dig
in, I have been doing this successfully for years, takes a bit of practice.


http://imgur.com/a/81oNM

On 13/03/2017 12:43, Graeme wrote:
In message . com,
lid writes

Buy it?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bare-unpla...ER-WIRE-1-6mm-
14-gauge-500grams-99-95-PURITY-/111667891061

That would be easiest, but I already have plenty of T&E to use.


What colours is it? red and black will sell for more than you pay for
the new wire.

On 13/03/2017 09:52, Graeme wrote:

I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy,
and splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation
from the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks
nicking the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at
a time takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to strip.

For the individual cores, strip a couple of inches off one end and clamp
that in something. Then using a Stanley knife or similar, position the
blade on the underside of a bit of the exposed copper such that its
facing you and just glancing off the wire. Position a thumb lightly on
top of the wire and a bit ahead of the blade. Now pull / wall backwards.
You should find it easy to slice the side off the insulation using the
wire as a guide. Get the angle right and you won't knick the blade.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Acetone?
Get a team of rats?

Could one ask why one wants to strip it, it would seem more sensible to buy
ordinary cable. If its for ham radio aerials the RF won't care about the
insulation but you would do better with hard drawn coppy to stop it
stretching.
As I say a solvent can do it but that amount would not be pretty or cheap
or probably fume free either.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Graeme" wrote in message
...

I have a fair quantity of mains cable, and would like to remove all the
insulation without damaging the cable itself, so fire is not an option.

The cable is ordinary grey sheathed T&E. Removing the earth is easy, and
splits the outer sheath at the same time. Removing the insulation from
the remaining black and red cables is a pain. Using a knife risks nicking
the cable and creating a weak point. Using strippers an inch at a time
takes forever, and the cable is around 70 feet so 140 feet to strip.

Bright ideas?
--
Graeme

En el artículo , Andy Burns
escribió:

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks

Seriously?

I have ~100m each of 2.5mm R, B and G/Y single on reels, bought for a
few pennies at a car boot sale. Will never use it all and extra beer
tokens are always useful.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

Brian Gaff wrote:
Acetone?
Get a team of rats?

Could one ask why one wants to strip it, it would seem more sensible to buy
ordinary cable. If its for ham radio aerials the RF won't care about the
insulation but you would do better with hard drawn coppy to stop it
stretching.
As I say a solvent can do it but that amount would not be pretty or cheap
or probably fume free either.
Brian

He probably just wants to destroy something useful for a few cents as
scrap copper, in the good old days we would just burn it in a paddock
somewhere.

"F Murtz" wrote in message
web.com...
Brian Gaff wrote:
Acetone?
Get a team of rats?

Could one ask why one wants to strip it, it would seem more sensible to
buy
ordinary cable. If its for ham radio aerials the RF won't care about the
insulation but you would do better with hard drawn coppy to stop it
stretching.
As I say a solvent can do it but that amount would not be pretty or
cheap
or probably fume free either.
Brian

He probably just wants to destroy something useful for a few cents as
scrap copper,

He said he doesn't he wants the bare copper wire for some reason he didn't
state.

in the good old days we would just burn it in a paddock somewhere.

In message . com, F
Murtz writes

He probably just wants to destroy something useful for a few cents as
scrap copper,

Oh no he doesn't - hence the need to preserve as is (i.e. not burn) and
not nick (weaken) the copper. I may have scrapped it as a teenager,
but these days, usefulness outweighs scrap value.

When we moved into this house 15 years ago, I found lots of interesting
stuff in the shed. Several 3m lengths of unused copper pipe. A large
drum of unused T&E. Huge unopened box of nails. Unused lengths of
kitchen worktop. Big yellow hydraulic trolley jack. Loadsa stuff.

I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity here. Thank you. I'll
report back on wire stripping, and why I want to strip it - and no,
amateur radio is not involved.


--
Graeme

Mike Tomlinson wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks

Seriously?

Sold prices ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sop=3&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=twin+an d+earth+old+colours

On 14/03/2017 02:17, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artículo , Andy Burns
escribió:

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks

Seriously?

I have ~100m each of 2.5mm R, B and G/Y single on reels, bought for a
few pennies at a car boot sale. Will never use it all and extra beer
tokens are always useful.


Singles are less saleable IME.
They tend to be done for commercial premises and they are more likely
not to DIY.
Its the DIYer that wants T&E that is the big market.

You could try the local railway modellers club as they can use it for
baseboard wiring.

On Monday, 13 March 2017 14:45:29 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
Graeme wrote:

Bright ideas?

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks (yes I know) buy
bare copper wire from the proceeds, and beer with the rest :-P

QA!!!!
I just don't see the point.

En el artículo , Andy Burns
escribió:

Sold prices ...

Bloody hell. Thanks.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

In message om,
lid writes

You could try the local railway modellers club as they can use it for
baseboard wiring.

*bingo* :-)
--
Graeme

En el artículo om,
dennis@home.? escribió:

Singles are less saleable IME.
They tend to be done for commercial premises and they are more likely
not to DIY

Ta. I want them out of the way so will stick them up on fleabay and see
what happens

--
(\_/)
(='.'=) systemd: the Linux version of Windows 10
(")_(")

In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:
Graeme wrote:

Bright ideas?

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks (yes I know) buy
bare copper wire from the proceeds, and beer with the rest :-P

Is anyone who chooses to ignore PP seriously going to worry about cable
colours?

--
*Modulation in all things *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks

Is anyone who chooses to ignore PP seriously going to worry about cable
colours?

I think the theory goes that old colours makes it look like it was done
decades ago, hence before part P applied.

All of which ignores the fact that even the original part P didn't
prevent that much, the new weakened version allows even more, the dates
for wire colour changes overlapped with part P starting and nobody cares
about part P anyway.

In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:
Dave Plowman wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks

Is anyone who chooses to ignore PP seriously going to worry about cable
colours?

I think the theory goes that old colours makes it look like it was done
decades ago, hence before part P applied.

All of which ignores the fact that even the original part P didn't
prevent that much, the new weakened version allows even more, the dates
for wire colour changes overlapped with part P starting and nobody cares
about part P anyway.

Quite.

I also wonder how many people when buying a 'new' house, pay for a survey
that would show if the 'wrong' colour cables had been used anywhere anyway.

Very few make any attempt to conceal a wiring addition anyway. Most stand
out rather obviously. Different type of fittings, etc. So the wire colour
irrelevant.

--
*Indian Driver - Smoke signals only*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:
Graeme wrote:

Bright ideas?

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks (yes I know) buy
bare copper wire from the proceeds, and beer with the rest :-P

Is anyone who chooses to ignore PP seriously going to worry about cable
colours?

The point is that old cable colours add plausibility to deniability.


--

Roger Hayter

In article ,
Roger Hayter wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:
Graeme wrote:

Bright ideas?

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks (yes I know)
buy bare copper wire from the proceeds, and beer with the rest :-P

Is anyone who chooses to ignore PP seriously going to worry about cable
colours?

The point is that old cable colours add plausibility to deniability.

Just who are you 'denying' to?

A cable got damaged and was replaced like for like. Except being new, used
the new colours. Even PP didn't outlaw that.

--
*When it rains, why don't sheep shrink? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 13 Mar 2017 12:26:53 +0000, dennis@home
wrote:

On 13/03/2017 11:09, T i m wrote:

What about one of those simple wire strippers that have a blade
trapped in an adjustable jaw, held in a vice and then the cable drawn
though to pre-slice (to say 75% of the thickness of the insulation)
may make the task easier?

Cheers, T i m



Sounds like a job for a 3d printer if he has one.

It could ... but if using PLA if the friction of the PVC might be an
issue (ok if taken slowly).

Otherwise ... a hole the OD of the wire drilled though a bit of batten
and a sharp pointed screw screwed in to meet the hole at 90 degrees
and then depth adjusted accordingly (to slice the outer but not nick
the inner).

I think with the block held in the vice and the cable fed in smoothly
by an assistant as you pull it though should make the job pretty quick
and easy. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Roger Hayter wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:
Graeme wrote:

Bright ideas?

Sell the R&B at top dollar on eBay to Part P refuseniks (yes I know)
buy bare copper wire from the proceeds, and beer with the rest :-P

Is anyone who chooses to ignore PP seriously going to worry about cable
colours?

The point is that old cable colours add plausibility to deniability.

Just who are you 'denying' to?

A cable got damaged and was replaced like for like. Except being new, used
the new colours. Even PP didn't outlaw that.

That's an answer to a question that wouldn't be asked if the cable was
in the old colours. In any case, I'm not supporting the idea, just
explaining the logic of it.

--

Roger Hayter

In article ,
Roger Hayter wrote:
A cable got damaged and was replaced like for like. Except being new, used
the new colours. Even PP didn't outlaw that.

That's an answer to a question that wouldn't be asked if the cable was
in the old colours.

Given flex colours had been harmonised across much of the world, was there
any sense using the old ones for house wiring?


In any case, I'm not supporting the idea, just
explaining the logic of it.

It's the logic side I was asking about. ;-)

--
*Organized Crime Is Alive And Well; It's Called Auto Insurance.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.