How To Strip a Wire

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Stripping a wire with wire stripper pliers is an important skill to have for any wiring project you might attempt.

Step 1: Find the correct size
Find the correct gauge on your wire strippers to match the gauge of your wire. Wire strippers have different teeth to coincide with different gauges of wire.

Tip
If you do not have a wire stripper with different-sized teeth, or if you're using a pair of pliers with a wire stripper notch, you will have to go by feeling.

Step 2: Cut the coating
Stick the wire into the notch on the wire stripper and gently squeeze the handles together. The stripper will cut through the rubber insulation.

Step 3: Spin the wire stripper
Spin the wire stripper around the wire once it has cut through the rubber insulation to ensure the insulation has been cut all the way through and all the way around the wire.

Step 4: Strip the wire
Pull the stripper toward the end of the wire to strip the rubber insulation from the wire.

Did You Know?
Faulty wiring accounts for 33 percent of residential electrical fires in urban areas.