Home grown PTFE wire stripper...

[Tonegeek]

My latest attempt at DYI -the picture says it all:
D550 Weller gun with tip removed. I used some copper buss wire and am guessing the guage is around 18-20. The trick is to secure it tightly to the gun for a solid electical connection, hence the screws with nuts. You could use small hose clamps too I bet. Vary the length of wire to get it hotter or colder. You want to see the wire get red. I had to keep it pretty short to get it hot enough. Changing the guage should give you some control over the heat range also. You want the heaviest guage that will also get hot enough so it won't distort during use. You can see a sample of the strip it made with the wire next to the gun. Downside is it is a bit awkward and the filament is fragile. Push too hard and it will distort. The trick is to have the filament come to a V and push your wire down into the V and rotate it. Once you get the technique down it should work pretty well. If it sits there too long, you will burn your fingers as you have to hold the piece you are stripping pretty close to keep it from bending. 20 guage may strip better. I have not tried stripping anything but 22 guage solid core PTFE wire.

BTW I tried some thin steel wire as a filament and it does not get hot enough, probably because the resistance goes up when it gets hot.

DISCLAIMER: This is a prototype - Use at your own risk - I have not tested this for more than 5 minutes but I am counting on using it on my upcoming build. Will report back...

[Dr-Joned]

Hey, whatever works. I'll have to try your method. That reminds me of an old gun I had and couldn't afford tips so I made them out of 12ga copper wire. It worked great and was very cheap.

[Rich M]

Don't breathe the fumes. Burning teflon is REALLY bad for you.

[leaveitalone84]

Don't breathe the fumes. Burning teflon is REALLY bad for you.

+1 Bolded for truth

[Structo]

I just use a very sharp knife to strip my Teflon wire.
I had bought some very expensive automatic strippers when I got into building an amp and was disappointed when they couldn't get a good enough grip on the Teflon to strip it.
PTFE can be a pain in the ass to use but it sure holds up to soldering, especially the shielded cable.