Welcome to the Wire Strippers Tool Tutorial! If you need to cut or splice wires, this is the tool for you. Electricians, marine service technicians, automotive service technicians: anyone working with wires and electrical circuits keeps a pair of these in their tool kit. Pick up a pair of wire strippers and ask an electrician if they have any scrap wires you can practice your skills on.
Check out more Tool Tutorials by scrolling to “related projects” at the bottom of this page, or by using the “advanced filter” on the projects page. Each tutorial covers safety considerations, the tool’s purpose, and how to put your new skills into practice.
Teachers and instructors, use these Tool Tutorials to enrich your ADST lessons. Familiarize your students with the tools as you guide them through some fun design challenges. For more detail on teaching design thinking, have a read through Open School BC's Taking Making into Classrooms, and check out the BCTEA’s Heads Up for Safety resources for more information about safety in the classroom Elementary Heads Up for Safety, Heads Up for Safety Grades 6-12 .
Explore Related Trades Careers: Construction Electrician, Industrial Electrician, Marine Service Technician, Automotive Service Technician
Check out more Tool Tutorials by scrolling to “related projects” at the bottom of this page, or by using the “advanced filter” on the projects page. Each tutorial covers safety considerations, the tool’s purpose, and how to put your new skills into practice.
Teachers and instructors, use these Tool Tutorials to enrich your ADST lessons. Familiarize your students with the tools as you guide them through some fun design challenges. For more detail on teaching design thinking, have a read through Open School BC's Taking Making into Classrooms, and check out the BCTEA’s Heads Up for Safety resources for more information about safety in the classroom Elementary Heads Up for Safety, Heads Up for Safety Grades 6-12 .
Explore Related Trades Careers: Construction Electrician, Industrial Electrician, Marine Service Technician, Automotive Service Technician
Tools & Materials
Material List
- ~3' 14/2 electrical wire (or similar)
- ~3' 12 AWG stranded wire (or similar)
- materials to make the Residential Wiring Model project
Optional
Tool list
- wire strippers
- utility knife
Procedure
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Wire strippers are multi-tasking tools; if you need to create an electrical circuit, they are the tool for the job. They are great for cutting wires to length, as well as “stripping” wires, meaning to take the plastic insulation coating off to reveal the copper below. Wire strippers can also be used to make hooks on the ends of wires with which to connect the wire electrically to outlets and switches. If you need to splice wires, you can prep them with the wire strippers before using your Linesman’s pliers to do the twisting.
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Many wire strippers are a standard size that can strip both solid and stranded wire of different gauges, usually between 10 to 18 AWG (a measure of wire thickness). You will see the labeled half-circle slots numbered on the jaws to show you where to place the wires depending on their gauge. If you are working with finer gauges of wire in electronics or instrumentation settings, you will need a pair of wire strippers that have smaller holes to accommodate the thinner wires.
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Always wear safety glasses when using hand tools. Sometimes small clippings of wire can go flying while you’re cutting.
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Make sure to disconnect any electrical circuit that you are working on! Some wire strippers may come with insulated handles to protect you from some amounts of electricity, but it is good practice to make sure that there is no chance for any electricity to be flowing through the wires while you are working on them.
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You want to match the gauge of the wire that you are stripping to the numbered hole on the wire stripper jaws. Sometimes the numbers will indicate holes for “solid” or “stranded” wire – look at the end of your wire to see if it contains one thick piece of copper (solid), or many strands of thin copper wires (stranded), then check the insulation casing for a printed gauge number that you can match to your wire strippers.
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Keep the wire strippers closed with one hand, and hold the wire secure with your other hand. Hold the strippers so the wire is poking straight out from the “14” hole and pull sideways with your hand to slide the small tube of insulation free from the end of the wire as shown. You can use your thumb to help by pushing the side of the wire strippers.
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Try stripping some of the 12 AWG stranded copper wire. Be delicate with stranded wire, as the blades for stripping the insulation are sharp enough to break the tiny copper strands inside. Use the proper sized hole on your wire strippers for the wire gauge and be gentle when rotating and pulling on the tool.
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When you are wiring up an outlet or a switch in a residential wiring setting, you will be stripping the last 1” of insulation off your 14/2 wire pieces and connecting the bare wire to a conductive screw on the side of the outlet or switch.
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If you're making the Residential Wiring Model project, you can now hook this wire end over the screw on the outlet or switch and tighten the screw to secure the connection.
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Choose a high-quality pair of wire strippers that will last a long time and stay out of the landfill longer. Remove the plastic insulated handles before recycling the metal jaws. Collect any scrap wire that you made while practicing using your wire strippers and take it to a metal scrapper for recycling.
What are wire strippers used for?
Safety considerations
Cutting wire to length
Stripping wire
Hooking the wire end
Environmental concerns
Extension Challenges
- Ask an electrician for some 14/2 wire scraps. Practice your wire cutting and stripping. Bend small sections of wire into tiny human or animal figures, using the hook function of your wire strippers to make feet. Use needle nose pliers to help you make finer adjustments and bends to your wire.