Does anyone know a method for removing a small part of the bus wire's plastic sheaving for joining dropper wires without cutting right through the whole wire?   (I've had a look through the index but could find nothing on this).

I have tried cutting partly all around the sheaving twice (about 5mm apart) and then slitting through to reveal the wire but it's very difficult to do without cutting into some strands of the actual wire.   I thought of using snap-lock connectors but as two sizes of wire are involved this may not work too well, also I don't particularly want to use "chocbox" connectors as the wires can break when screwing down onto them.

Ken.

 

http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=3200&forum_id=21&page=11

You'll have to scroll down a bit, Ken.

Basically, it's like whittling.  :cool:

Thanks Max and I well remember seeing this before but couldn't find it! :oops:

I'll try it and see how I get on.   I'm still a bit concerned about cutting through some of the wires but gently does it must surely be the watchword? :roll:

Ken.

If you use one of those super sharp craft knives, Ken you should be able to steer it away from the copper.

Practice on a scrap piece first.  Good Luck.  :thumbs

Hi Ken,
Bus wire strippers are available both here and in the uk….do a search for them and you should find them at Gaugemaster and possible your local DIY centre.

Very useful tool which makes it very easy to strip out a small section with no damage to the bus wire.

Regards Kim

That's the method I was thinking of Max but couldn't remember where I'd seen it ……..:thumbs

A simple method I used on my old slot car set was to expose a section of the bus wire, approximately an inch, fold in half and twist the exposed wire. Now insert this into a male plug and crimp. From the dropper, crimp on a female plug and there you have a simple connection. Repeat this along the bus wire where necessary. Remember to colour code the plugs in relation to the bus wire, red bus wire = red plugs. Here is a simple sketch.


Cheers, Gary.

I use this type of wire stripper for the bus cables - it slides the insulation back about 3/8th of an inch

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TH1827&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=954#1

[user=1193]SoundandDirty[/user] wrote:

Hi Ken,
Bus wire strippers are available both here and in the uk….do a search for them and you should find them at Gaugemaster and possible your local DIY centre.

Very useful tool which makes it very easy to strip out a small section with no damage to the bus wire.

Regards Kim

Thanks Kim and I actually have a wire stripping tool but didn't think this would work as I'd be using it in various positions of the middle of the bus wire and not at the end where the norm is to remove only about 10/15mm (where it works fine for all the droppers).   However I notice you say it's easy to strip out a small section so how do you pull the tool away to reveal the wire when (in my case) there's at least 3 or 4 metres of sheathing and about 20 droppers involved?    I appreciate I could start at one end but I know how difficult it is to slide sheathing along which is why I discounted this method.

Thanks too to Gary (I might try that but don't have any of those connectors) and Sol for their input.

Ken.

I've never used the tool Ken but by the looks of the jaws, as you close them, it nicks the insulation then sort of "spreads" it back to reveal the core.  A double action tool but I don't think it actually removes the bit of insulation……….:hmm

Sol will be far better placed than I am to explain because he's used it but, from what I can make out, it's not just a simple wire stripper - at least I hope not at the price although Sol's link would suggest it might be - there's no reference to cutting into the centre of cable attached at both ends ……. :roll::roll:

I have used it in the middle of the wire and it splits the insulation & spreads it out as Petermac mentions allowing another to be wrapped around & also at the end & it this case it removes the 1/2"  / 10-15mm piece of insulation.

Agree with Sol on this one. I live with one in the toolkit. Have used it for different types of wire including stripping the ends off data cable before crimping.
Got mine at Jaycar about 10 years ago and still going strong.

I am with Sol and the other members regarding wire strippers.
Its no problem working along a length of cable.The stripper pulls a nice gap in the cable insulation allowing another wire to be joined.When you remove the stripper tool the insulation tends to shrink back but does leave enough wire exposed to join another to.
regards,
Derek.

Hi Ken and all,
I know being an electrician by trade helps me but if you use a pair of side cutters, hold the wire securely with one hand and grip the wire with the side cutters just slightly tighter than the diameter of the plastic and slide it. The insulation will shear at that point and you can "bunch it up" exposing enough wire to wrap around the tee. Join and solder. You might need to practice a few times on some extra wire as you are bound to cut through it the first few times. I do not use strippers as there are many situations that you cannot get them into place. 
If you are making a Tee it is a good idea (I think anyway) to do a tee wrap before soldering… see the illustration!
Hope these drawings make sense,
Regards
Trevor

]

It looks very easy on the sketch Trevor but I wonder how many times one would cut right through the wire core before you got the pressure right ………….:roll::roll::roll:

I think, in most cases, the bus wire will be pulled tight under the baseboard so a mistake resulting in cutting through it would be a bit of a PITA ……………..

I do like your suggestion of splitting the cores of the dropper and contra-winding around the bus - unless of course, your droppers are single core …………..:roll::roll::roll:

Hi Peter,
The trick is to grip it "just enough". If you don't get it quite right, the plastic will stretch to appear whitish but it will occur at the shear line. If you hold it too tight the wire may snap as you suggest so a bit of practice first. Yes I do cut through occasionally!
 As for single core wiring, it would be OK if your layout was stationary but I have seen exhibition layouts built with single core and there are more problems than you can dream up ,
Cheers
Trevor

  G`day Ken,

 I have the exact same wire stripper as Sol and it works a treat. I would suggest practice first on some scrap. These wire strippers are adjustable and need to be set correctly before you dive into your main piece of wiring.

:cheers  Gormo

With all this discussion regarding wire strippers what about using light pressure with a stanley knife or similar to break the insulation at two points and then slide the blade along to remove it.Less risk of cutting through the wire.

Put ' B&Q C+K 5" wire strippers ' into Google (I seem unable to copy/paste in YMR on my tablet)

These deffo do the job, I recommend them. With the setting screw there is absolutely no danger of cutting into the cable braids. I also have a pair of 'Sol' strippers in my serious toolbox, excellent they are too, but could cost 2-3 times as much.

The 5" version is possibly a little larger than needed, and the B&Q price is a bit steep.

They can be used in confined spaces, too.

Doug

my bus wires are bare just suspended under the baseboard never had any trouble mine is thick copper wire just

clean off the varnish and solder. i also made up a busbar for my layout wiring it runs the whole length of the layout and i use

 droppers from the lights then one switch wired from the uncontrolled output on the transformer. simple!