For a long time, I've used heat-strippable wire which I got surplus. It
can be stripped just by heating at 750-800 degrees for a minute or so
with a soldering iron. The trade name, I believe, is "Solder-eze", but a
web search doesn't reveal a ready source. (I did find a number of people
asking where it could be found, but no responses.) Hopefully a reader
knows of a source and can tell us. A nice summary of various ways to
strip heat-strippable wire is at
http://www.ac6rm.net/mailarchive/htm.../msg00598.html.

While searching for information on heat-strippable wire, I came across
the suggestion for stripping conventional enameled wire with paint
stripper. Apparently it takes a few minutes, but does work. It's nasty
stuff to work with, though.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Jim Flanagan wrote:
Guys..
Does anyone have any better method for stripping small, enameled
wire, other than using sandpaper or an exacto knife (scrapping)?
There used to be a chemical stripper called 'Xvar', years ago.
This stuff worked great. Nasty stuff as you can imagine and has
been EPA'd years ago. Is there anything comparable, today?

Also, a retired technician that I once knew had a pair of ingenious
'stripper pliers' that he had acquired back in the '60s that did
a fabulous job. These pliers had special jaws that would scrape the
enamel off without nicking the wire. They worked GREAT. Supposedly,
this tool originated from a mfg in Germany. I have never seen this tool
since. Anyone have a lead on something similar?

Thanks and take care.
-jim
WB5KYE