Being a fan of wirestrippers got me a job

One of the first tools I owned (other than some Meccano screwdrivers and spanners) was a cheap pair of wire strippers. At the time I was a young lad, learning about electronics using an experiments kit. The components were connected together by wires pushed into spring terminals. This meant there was no need for a soldering iron but wire strippers were essential. These side strippers had a dial to allow different wire gauges to be set and worked very well for the thin multi-strand wire I was using at the time.

Before I joined University, I worked as an apprentice for a big aerospace company, one of the tasks they set us was to learn electrical fitting which involved wiring plug sockets to distribution boxes. For that we were provided end strippers. These had the advantage of allowing us to set and lock the diameter for the twin and earth cable and strip the solid copper cores correctly every time.

Back at the factory they had many thin wires to strip for the circuit boards so they used self adjusting wire strippers. The self adjusting strippers allowed a length to be set so that the wires were cut to the same setting every time keeping productivity and quality high.

After University I attended a job interview where I was asked to prepare an audio cable for use with an XLR plug. The interviewer provided a range of tools to choose from. I assembled the cable to his satisfaction but he asked why I’d used the scissors to remove the outer sleeve. I simply replied that I’d never had a pair of side cutters sharp enough for the job. He then picked up a mysterious looking device on the bench and demonstrated how it quickly removed the sleeve without damaging the inner cores.

I was offered the job a couple of days later, possibly due to my enthusiasm over this wonderful little tool.

This post was written by Andy who runs the website Workshop Shed, a diary and thoughts on setting up and using a small shed as a workshop. Using and improving metalwork tools such as a pillar drill and small lathe. Home foundry work melting aluminium in a flowerpot furnace.

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