[Elecraft] Stripping Enamel Wire(Toroids)

[Jack Smith]

Bob Nielsen wrote:
> Back in the mid-20th century there were chemical strippers for the 
> enamel on wire.  They were probably not too good for the environment 
> (or even the health of the user) and are no longer being sold, but 
> they did the job intended.  You just dipped the end of the wire into 
> the "stuff" and wiped the enamel away.
>
> Bob, N7XY
>
Yes, the late, lamented StripX from General Cement. It seems to have 
vanished from their product offering.

However, a visit to a good hardware store should turn up Klean-Strip 
KS-3 Premium Stripper. It seems to be the same stuff that GC sold, and 
it does a good job on enameled magnet wire.

I think I paid about $6 or $7 for a quart. It's thick, almost gell-like, 
product and will cling to the wire. Dip it in, swishing around to get a 
good coating on the wire. Remove and let it sit for 10 minutes or so and 
the insulation sloughs off.

On the solder pot technique, I have an adjustable temperature solder pot 
that I purchased to strip a 150 or so toroids that I wound last fall. I 
found that the enamel works as a thermal insulator as well and you need 
to mechanically or chemically remove a bit of the insulation in order to 
get a good thermal contact between the molten solder and the copper. 
Once the thermal contact is made, even through just a few scrape marks, 
the heat transfers rapidly and the rest of the insulation melts off. Of 
course, the removed insulation floats to the top of the molten solder 
and requires skimming off.

I wound up using the KS-3 stripper to get the insulation mostly removed 
and then finished it up (and tinned the leads) in the solder pot. Before 
inserting into the solder pot, wiping the leads with cake type rosin 
helps as well.

Jack