While it's natural to start at the point where you want the stripping to stop (near the core) that's often the hardest point to start unless you mechanically strip away a little enamel first. The issue is getting the wire hot! The enamel is a pretty decent insulator. The normal approach is to start at the cut end where the bare copper will also come in contact with the solder and so heat more quickly. Then the enamel burns more from the hot wire inside than from the blob of solder outside as you feed the wire into the blob up to the point where you want to stop removing the enamel.
Either direction works, but getting the wire hot is a lot faster. The wire Elecraft uses also strips very easily when drawn over a slightly sharp edge. The trick is to avoid nicking it, so don't press on the soft copper with a sharp knife. I've removed enamel from some leads by simply pressing the lead down against the bench using a small screwdriver blade and pulling the lead out. Often one pass will remove the entire "tube" of enamel. In any case, be sure you remove the enamel from the entire circumference of the wire. Sandpaper works too. Then tin. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
