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Handyman: How To Strip Electrical Wires

  
  
  

handyman toolIf you have just moved into a new house and plan on installing light fixtures and ceiling fans, take it from a handyman, you will need to strip the wires to install them. If you are replacing existing fixtures, you likely will not, unless they are damaged.

On a pre-wired location the wires normally aren’t already stripped for installation. This is an easy part of installing a new fixture and is something you will likely do many times over the course of your life.

You can use a wire stripping tool or a combination tool for this. These tools have various sized holes that correspond to the size of wire you are stripping. If you open the tool the holes along each side of the tool split in half and you can insert the wire in the appropriate sized hole and squeeze. The tool will cut through the insulation but not the copper wire. Then move the tool towards the end of the wire and it will pull the insulation off.

Many people use lineman’s pliers or anything sharp, such as a knife or utility blade. These will certainly cut the insulation but you risk cutting or nicking the wire as well. This is risky as a nicked wire could lead to overheating of the wire.

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