Radio Shack Wire Wrap Tool Discontinued - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:11:43 am
content: The wire stripper in this tool is very handy to me. If anyone knows of a suitable replacement (or a better method of applying wire jumpers), please post!I made a video to show what I mean. Please excuse the one needless swear word:*Please also excuse my quirky sense of humor of late. I am in no way affiliated with Radio Shack or any other tool maker. I have enough of these things to last myself a lifetime, but there are other people I wish to keep supplied with these tools.*updated:http://vid18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/klee27x/Public%20Service%20Announcement_zpsycns37ge.mp4

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:18:32 am
content: It seems more surprising that Radio Shack was ever selling anything associated with wire-wrap.Both Radio Shack and Wire Wrap are well past their "sell-by" dates.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:21:16 am
content: QuoteYeah, I remember when they used to sell logic chips and microcontroller kits. That's just not exactly main stream consumer stuff, anymore. DIY defies the whole "throw away and buy new" economic stimulus.QuoteI still use wire wrap when rigging up ICSP headers or when breadboarding. But the wire stripper in the handle of the tool is what I'm interested in, specifically, but it looks like my vid link is broken, ATM.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:33:49 am
content: Apologies. It should be working, for now.

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:43:23 am
content: http://mil.ufl.edu/4744/admin/Wire_wrap_tool.htm

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:45:13 am
content: Quote from: Richard Crowley on August 30, 2015, 12:18:32 amI agree as to wire wrapping, the sockets are just too expensive these days. However wire wrap wire is still great stuff but you need special strippers with it.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:50:25 am
content: http://mil.ufl.edu/4744/admin/Wire_wrap_tool.htmYeah, the OK Industries tools are great. I probably still have one, somewhere. But the wire stripper can only strip a free wire end.Quote30AWG kynar is really a breeze to strip with a variety of tools, or even just a pair of flush cutters, IME. But the Radio Shack stripper can reliably separate the insulation anywhere, not just on the ends.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:52:45 am
content: Quote from: KL27x on August 30, 2015, 12:50:25 amYea if kynar is the stuff I had a small unmarked roll of was great. I could strip an end just using my fingernails.

author: packetbob
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 01:03:43 am
content: I have used wire wrap wire in the manner you show for years in projects..However I have always used the OK Industries WSU-30M...The RS tool you show would have saved me tons of time and aggravation..Too bad they can't be found any more

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 01:08:45 am
content: grab one fasthttp://www.amazon.com/Radio-Shack-Wire-wrapping-Gauge-Kynar/dp/B000TLWYX6

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 01:30:01 am
content: I already grabbed four. They are the silver-bitted kind, and they are good stuff. I also picked up a vintage JAPAN, still in the package on Ebay, the other week. I was just curious looking to the future. I have a team with which I'm co-dependent, and other people cannot necessarily take as much time or care with their tools, as I do.QuoteI have tried all the alternatives that I can imagine. I have played with enameled wire. I have tried "melt-thru" insulations. I have even tried expensive Teflon insulated 30AWG (which turns out to be a nightmare to strip). I have even used pre-cut and stripped wires, and the RS tool still wins for my purposes. Once I learned how to use the RS stripper, 30AWG kynar has been my go-to, and I never looked back. So maybe someone else knows a better way to rework a pcb.If no one replies with a suitable alternative, I may pick up 4 more. It sure hurts, though. Last time I bought these, they were $7.99.

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 01:39:52 am
content: I have never used one before, if I want to strip a wire I just use side snips or I suppose you could get a file and file a notch into the cutting edge of a pair of side cutters just big enough for the wire to pass and the outer coating to be cut.

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 02:53:36 am
content: I have one of the RS tools, have had it for years and love it. The little stripper concealed in the handle is great for the #30 Kynar wire. I didn't pay 19.95 for it though... I guess I should move it from the "miscellaneous" tool drawer to the "precious irreplaceable" drawer now.My favorite all-purpose stripping tool (other than my teeth) is a Pro'sKit 8PK-3001D, which has holes for #20 AWG (0.8 mm) down to #30 AWG (0.2 mm) and the #30 hole works great for Kynar wire-wrap wire. The very tip of this tool is a nicely ribbed gripper which works well for crimping small crimp-on connectors, too.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 03:18:01 am
content: Neat. I might have to buy one of those on your glowing recommendation.I have a collection of wire strippers of various gauges and various price tags. Many of which, I have never used in practice. I just like to see how they work, what's new, what's old, I suppose. But maybe it's more than that? I have made my own wirestrippers, including a battery-operated thermal stripper that handles 30AWG up to maybe 20AWG (depending on the insulation thickness!)I have recently acquired my first ProKit combo wire-stripper/flush-cutter. It looked deliciously complicated. It's in the collection with the others... no practical use for it at this time.I mostly work on firmware and hardware design on the pcb-level.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 01:57:25 pm
content: Have you considered aJonard ST-100-2830(i.e. $52.29 @ Mouser;here)?

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 05:17:09 pm
content: OK, thank you! That looks like it should work, great. I have already ordered some blades in different sizes!

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 05:45:20 pm
content: You vultures !, they had 8 last time i looked, now they have none.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 05:51:53 pm
content: Quote from: KL27x on August 30, 2015, 05:17:09 pmYou're welcome.BTW, here's a photo that shows a bit more of it.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 07:59:27 pm
content: QuoteDon't worry. Jameco still has them. And they sell on Amazon, too.http://www.amazon.com/JAMECO-BENCHPRO-30AWG-Wire-Wrap/dp/B00C9NWR1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440964606&sr=8-1&keywords=wire+wrap+tool+jameco&pebp=1440964595238&perid=18J4VZJH8GCA2WKNXN18I've bought from Jameco and Ben's Odds and Ends in the last few weeks, and they were the same exact model.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2015, 08:43:38 pm
content: I got some time to fiddle with my new Jonard/OK Industries replacement blades. I didn't actually buy the whole tool, since the ergos don't look like they'd work great for what I use this for.Even the replacement blades are huge. So I drilled out the rivets, and the 5 mil thickness blades come right out. The blades are soft enough to cut with tin snips without shattering. Some hex bar, a belt sander, a Dremel, stone files, and some JB Weld later, and this is the result (the two on the right are with the Jonard blade. On left are some of my vintage Radio Shack tools for comparison):http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/klee27x/DSC_2954_zpskqyskeyj.jpgCloseup:http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/klee27x/DSC_2960_zps3uwyppqf.jpgMy attempts at soldering the blades were bunk. Time will tell if the JB Weld will hold up, but they work and look great. I should be set for at least the next 20 years, and I am looking forward to using the "beads-on-a-string" technique, next time I need some 26AWG kynar intra-connects.FYI, if anyone is going to mess with their Radio Shack tool, I don't recommend brazing. One of my original wrap/strip tools (far left on the pic) is a simple butt joint that is brazed. It is rock solid, but the blade holder started to melt and was nearly ruined. Since then, I've been using regular electrical solder with a finger joint; this gives more than adequate strength.Another FYI, although "beads-on-a-string" is really most useful for pcb intraconnects, the 26AWG stripper appears to work perfectly on the very common 26/28AWG stranded wires with thicker poly insulation that some of us might encounter in cabling, CAT-5, etc.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2015, 09:16:01 pm
content: Glad they worked out for you.FWIW, I can't see the JB Weld letting go on you before the blade wears out (used over 30 years ago on a vise that's still going).

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2015, 09:37:02 pm
content: I hear ya on that. I use a lot of different kinds of epoxy. But when it comes to steel, I reach for my 10 yr old tubes of red and black JB.It doesn't seem to have the best mechanical strength. But it stays a little pliable and has great adhesion on steel. I think of it as "hot glue" for steel.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 06, 2015, 10:37:51 pm
content: Quote from: KL27x on September 06, 2015, 09:37:02 pmI've had decent results from Devcon's equivalent as well.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2015, 03:05:46 am
content: Presumably the Radio Shack version does unwrap too?Is the Jameco model the same as the vintage Radio Shack recommended by the OP, or is it a somewhat lesser version (maybe equivalent to what the OP showed in the middle of the 3 units)?

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2015, 03:32:24 am
content: Yes. It unwraps, too. But sometimes the end of the wire is bent and the RS tool won't catch when trying to unwrap. The OK separate unwrap tool is a little more of a sure thing, but it is slower to use; it will get jammed if you get more than one wrap in the head.What is better than either OK or RS tool for unwrapping is regular needle nose pliers with grooved/grippy teeth. Grab the wrapped post in line with the plier head and pull straight up. If you have to unwrap several connections this is way faster.The one I got from Jameco was the middle kind. The only difference in the wrap is the insulation doesn't fit in the bit. So you only get a half wrap of 8nsulation. With the older JAPAN, you get a full 1 1/2 wraps.As far as the stripper, yeah. The middle one with the almost black blade is what I got from jameco. The only difference is it seems like on the three I have like that, the blade takes more force and can stretch the insulation a little in one direction. Seems like the way they made the blade there's only a sharp corner/burr on one side. Well, you can actually see this under a microscope. But I find u can sharpen it up quite nicely by rubbing the dull side on a fine sharpening stone; it helps to have a microscope to know when to stop. It's a subtle difference, and you probably wouldn't notice or care if you hadn't used a "JAPAN" stripper for 10 years.I have also identified a third kind of wire stripper from the Amazon seller (who is out). It is the newer wrap bit but is has a dlifferent blade, again. The blade holder is different too. Rounded on the front and with long ears, and with a light blue blade (but thinner blade stock than the JAPAN). This blade cuts as good as the JAPAN both ways, but the holder is machined a little funky and most of the ones I have like this could use some help to hold the blade tighter. A few taps with a ball peen hammer over the ears does the trick.BTW if anyone wants a cheap RS wire wrap tool without the stripper, or maybe 6 of them, pm me.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2015, 07:39:05 am
content: Ok KL27x,Looks like you made a wire wrap addict. I ordered a manual wire wrap tool along the lines of what you described. It was ok but it didn't seem as nice as what you demonstrated. So, in looking around I discovered a Standard Pneumatic 620. It's a very nice size - very comfortable and enjoyable to use - and it delivers 2500 RPM on 2.5 Volt rechargeable batteries. We're talking high speed wire wrap! It requires a small investment in wire wrap bits and sleeves (at least one of each) but the system will go from 18 gauge to 32 gauge, and supports both standard and modified wraps. Made in the U.S.A. - maybe in the early 1980s.Heck, a few weeks ago I didn't even know I needed to do any wire wrappingSeriously, if you like wrapping you're going to love the 620. It's fast, flexible (spans the gauges), does a great job, it's easy, and FUNEF

author: fivefish
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2015, 09:43:09 am
content: I've never experienced/used wire-wrapping and I've been into electronics since the 80s as a high schooler. I started with PCBs. Can someone post a video of this in action? Do you need a special board for this? How do you wire-wrap IC chips? And what's the advantage over a breadboard? -- honest questions.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2015, 01:52:50 pm
content: This looks like a reasonably good brief history and introduction to wire-wrapping. Wire-wrap is orders of magnitude more reliable than those little plug-in "breadboards" that are popular today for hobby use.https://youtu.be/IXvEDM-m9CEA generation of mainframe computers were manufactured with wire-wrap back-planes. On the front side were individual PC boards around 7 x 15 cm with metal TO-5 can transistors organized into a flip-flop, or a pair of gates or a hex inverter, etc. Rather a pre-cursor to 74xx and 40xx series discrete logic chips of a later generation.Then hundreds of these boards were plugged into a large frame (often hinged for access to both sides)Then, on the BACK side of these frames, the logic gate boards were interconnected with wire-wrap to create the computer...These are photos from an IBM 1620. One of which I maintained in the early 1970s.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2015, 04:18:19 pm
content: Richard, that is great electronics/IT history. It's amazing to think that pretty much right up to the time that IBM introduced their PC in 1981 most computers (mainframes) were made with discreet parts and wire wrapping. Those are some very good photos you posted. From tubes to solid state and from discreet to ICs, add Moore's Law, then tons of software riding on ever more MIPS, then throw in the same effects on bandwidth and the geometry of networking - and here we are - using the underlying technology to meet people from all over the world, find information pretty much on demand, and learn new things. Very Cool- it might have been hard to get through the first (discreet) part of the process to the later (IC) part of the process without wire wrapping and wire wrapping toolsFire, wheel, wire wrap tool, EEVblog

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2015, 04:32:59 pm
content: The next generation after those discrete boards were thick-film hybrids as shown in Dave's EEVblog # 638.That was a board from an Apollo Saturn V rocket, but it was the same technology used in IBM (and other brands) mainframes of that era.https://youtu.be/U-3_2UtTMtAThere were even semi-automated wire-wrap machines, a very early form of X-Y-Z robotics.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 24, 2015, 06:17:27 pm
content: QuoteWell, to be honest, wire-wrapping is pretty slow compared to soldering. Even with a motorized wrapper, you have to load the wire into the tip of the tool.* But it's useful for the home lab in certain situations for temporary and/or replaceable connections, attaching temporary headers, making connections between header pins and solder points, or for making lots of connections on a breadboard without growing a huge plate of spaghetti. You would do this by sticking pin headers into the breadboard along the components and then wire wrapping the jumpers. Another place I might use it is for power leads/probes. I have banana plug leads that terminate in header pins. Besides using in a breadboard, the way I typically use them is to attach wire-wrapped sacrificial 30AWG wire to the end for when the most expedient connection to the circuit are small soldered connections. The modified wrap provides strain relief, and when you have broken/cut the wire so many times, you can remove it and wrap a new piece in place.I always figured the larger gauges were more of a specialty thing, because they have to go over a square pin of the right size/spacing.*I used to have some old wrap tools that were different, by OK Industries. They were a blue plastic pen with a wire wrap bit on one end and a small spool loaded with wire on the other end. The wire was continuously fed through the back end of the wrap bit, so it didn't have to be loaded for each connection. I got them in an auction, and they didn't come with any instructions, but they came preloaded with wire. I could be totally wrong, but what I gathered is they were intended for use with polyester or vinyl insulated 30AWG wire, like what they came loaded with. There was a little brake switch to hold the wire. You would wrap the insulated wire to a square post, and the pressure of the wrap was high enough to force the conductor to split the insulation to make connection to the post. So the first wrap would be upside down, so to speak. Then on your second wrap, you would engage the brake when done, and your final twist would break the wire. Neat idea, but the wraps took up a lot of post and I didn't find the resulting connections to be 100% trust-worthy without stringent technique. I might still have one, somewhere.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2015, 08:01:50 pm
content: Just reporting in on more new wire wrapping experience. I decided to try the OK WSU-30M; it's a nice tool.I had a problem probing and grounding two pins on a small board - the probe clip held firmly but the Rigol ground clip wanted to wiggle loose to make contact with the adjacent pin so I made a small jumper with the 30M, some 30 gauge kynar wire, and an extra pin. I'm still getting the technique down (I like the modified wrap with 1-2 turns of insulation to make a more durable connection), and although it didn't completely clean up the signal it's pretty helpful to have the wire wrap capability.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2015, 03:39:34 am
content: In the late 70s and early 80s I produced fairly large multi-board systems, with hundreds of ICs, where the boards and backplane were entirely wired up with one of thesehttp://www.cedar--rapids.com/Industrial-Equipment-/Cedar-Rapids-District-/Communication-and-Networking-/Ok-industries-battery-operated-wire-wrapping-tools-2.PHPThat tool was really quick and comfortable to use, reliable, and produced really great cold welds. Right after wrapping a joint you could really feel the welds breaking one by one as you unwrapped the wire. It wasn't a very expensive tool.