best wire straitening tools? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 09:32:52 am
content: For perf board and stuff i like to save PTFE wire that I use.I am wondering what straiteners people like to use for wires.I have a number of thesehttps://www.walmart.com/ip/Beadalon-228S-420-Artistic-Nylon-Wire-Straightener-Tool-with-3-Rollers/39130085They are a pain in the ass because there is flashing on them, so I spent an hour with some fine unionized abrasives, sanding sticks, etc to deburr them. I also have one of these that can kinda do ithttps://www.sarafinafiberart.com/products/wire-straightening-pliers_tool-plier-straightThis one you can cut a notch in, the $200 esd soft jaws from excelta you won't want to file onI also have thishttps://www.electricaltouch.com/store/p227/Network_Cable_Untwist_Tool%2C_Engineer_Wire_Straightener_for_CAT5e%2FCAT6%2FCAT7_Wires_Pair_Separator_Tools_Quickly_%26_Easily_Untwists.htmlI saw this one made of metal ,not sure if its better then plastic. I thought plastic might be better for insulated wire anywayhttps://www.amazon.com/DU-BRO-Fishing-Leader-Straightener-Quick/dp/B0BMHV8GSDIt relaxes me to have wire jumpers ready for projects and the recycling aspect (I don't like endlessly cutting and stripping wire for every project). But these processses are finicky.I also have a dip chip straitener (works great) that you squeezeI thought maybe someone has more tools that can help?For shorter lenghts there is no really good tool. Maybe wide pliers

author: Coordonnée_chromatique
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 09:55:19 am
content: hello, have you tried to put the wire on your desktop, put a plate a of wood, glass or anything flat and roll the wire between the two surfaces ?

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 10:05:33 am
content: One method is to use a vise and an electric drill.Put one wire end in the vise, the other in the drill and then put some tension on the wire and twist it with the drill. This works quite nicely for solid steel or copper wire but is obviously not fit for all purposes.For the rest, the pictures you link to with the "tree barrel handheld gadgets" look too simple to work properly. They probably get coarse kinks out of your wires, but leave a big radius bend at the end.The industry standard for straightening stuff is a rig as shown below.This jig is fully adjustable. The two rows with guide wheels first give the wire a defined bend (which mostly straightens out undefined bends. Then bend in the other direction to bend out the first bend, etc. And it's adjusted to your wire thickness so the last bend is just enough to result in a straight wire. Because the wire is bent multiple times in opposite directions, and each time a bit less, the residual stress in the wire is also relatively low.I saw this picture as an alternative in one of your links. Price was USD53 and if you're serious about straightening wires it's well worth it. You can attempt to make your own. The bearing wheels are pretty standard parts, but DIY probably won't save you much money, and cost a lot of time.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 11:19:27 am
content: clamp one end and grip the other end with pliers and give it a good sharp tug

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 05:40:42 pm
content: Stretching the wire is indeed a method that can also work, my preference would not be to yank it, but to use some kind of lever to stretch it in a controllable way. However, in my experience there is often a (slightly) weaker part of the wire somewhere (often at the place it's clamped) and then the wire breaks without having been stretched enough to become straight. But this method is worth mentioning.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 08:35:27 pm
content: Do they have a micro version of that pulling tool with the rollers?Yes the three part tool is kinda dodgy.A little expensivehttps://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-CA/products/K1733-4

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 11:29:54 pm
content: That lincoln thing also gives you cancer, but maybe only in california.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2025, 12:06:27 am
content: they don't like machine oil or greaseNeither do I really, I started to watch out to wash my hands and not get dirty, use gloves for bad jobs, etc