curious about soldering technique

If you plan on doing installs, I would suggest a better quality tool. Check out this one from Snapon. I do not use the automatic ones like what you have listed, I just use standard strippers and a razor blade.Installer, IT support, and FFL. I need less hobbies.

Thats what they are meant for, but they do work really good for installs, sometimes ya still need to cut the insulation back but for the most par they work great. I think Great Bend tools makes them, in the home electrical sections generally.. a good old razor blade works just fine too, just tough on the digits...Tire Proz Stillwater Mn

High End Restyling and Comlete Repair

I use an ideal (brand) automatic wire stripper. They make electrician tools and all there stuff works great. What makes these types of strippers great is that you can use them 'in-line' to pull back enough of the insulation on the wire to give you a place to solder into. Just go on eBay and type in 'ideal wire stripper', or 'ideal stripmaster'. There are a few ones on there right now that are under $10 (at the moment). To give you an idea of what they look like, here's a quick link to one that's for sale in eBay stores: http:///.com/IDEAL-Stripmaster-10-22-AWG-wire-stripper-45-092-L-4421_W0QQitemZ150090462894QQihZ005QQcategoryZ109566QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Alright. Link isn't working. The wire stripper that I was trying to link to AS A REFERENCE (you don't need to pay that much) is item# 150090462894 The reason I picked that particular auction is because it has great close-up pictures of the stripper. If you'd like to take a look, just type in the item number into the search box (over on eBay).     

Yep. Correct. It grips on one end and it cuts and pushes (pulls, actually) the wire back on the other end. The key to using these kind of strippers is to insert the wire into the proper cutting head (hole on wire stripper). If the insulation doesn't cut through all the way then you've obviously selected the wrong cutting head (again, the hole on the stripper) for the wire size. same thing if you manage to cut through some of the wire along with the insulation....

Ok well then this stripper is at Home Depot for $24.95, might as well pick one up :)  Thanks for the help again guys.

xtremej wrote: I use the standard stripper and a olfa knife to slice the insulation. Easy and no broken wires. Some newer cars are extremely difficult to get auto strippers in to use. just my .02. Also use super 33 for its good adhesion.