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Tip: Wire Insulation Strip Block

g3xpert

Well Known Member
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Nearly all the signal wiring in all of our aircraft is installed with MIL-C-27500 2 or 3 conductor 22 AWG shielded wire, so we all work with this wire a lot.

Stein made a great video showing how to slit the insulation with a knife and we refer customers to this video all the time.

Last week I was slitting insulation and managed to slip and poke my finger with the knife, so I decided I needed something to hold the wire while the knife is being used.

I found a piece of wood scrap (ok, it was red oak, so it was valuable scrap!) and used my table saw to cut a couple of grooves in the block to cover the wire I use most of the time. This block is 5" long, but the length is not important.

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I found that the standard 1/8" carbide tipped blade I use on my table saw makes a kerf that works well for both 2 and 3 conductor wire. The kerf only needs to be about 3/16" deep. The 2 conductor wire is a loose fit and lays in the bottom of the groove, and the 3 conductor wire is a nice press fit (as shown in the picture) and lays in the top of the groove.

I made a second groove slightly wider (3/16") to hold 4 conductor wire. I rarely use that wire, but I had lots of room on the block and already had the table saw going.

You can't imagine how much easier and safer this is with the wire held in place so it can't move while you cut it. You could even add a mark to the block to show the standard strip length you like to use so all of your wires come out the same.

Steve
 
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I made this about 6 years ago for use here at SteinAir after a few near misses with the knife.





The metal part guides the cutting tool. Crude, but it works.
 
Cool idea!

You realize that you can make fifty buck by sending tips like that to a certain magazine, don't you Steve and Mike? ;)
 
Indeed - that is a great tool to use if you don't want your fingers to end up looking like mine! :)

Maybe we'll whip some out on the CNC and sell them for cheap if folks are interested!

Cheers,
Stein
 
The Grail! The Grail!
I have found the Holy Grail!

Of course I just finished a project, of course!
 
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