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Just realized I was stripping coax wrong for 12 years
Back in 2010, I got my first install job in Toledo and some old timer showed me how to prep cable. He used a razor blade to score the jacket, then peeled it by hand. I did that for years, never questioned it. Last month I was on a job with a younger guy who pulled out a coax stripper tool and had the fitting ready in 20 seconds. I laughed and said that was for rookies, but my hand was cramped from doing it the slow way all morning. He handed me the tool and asked why I bothered. I tried it, and it cut so clean, no nicks on the braid, no loose strands messing up the crimp. I checked my last few service calls and realized I had intermittent signal issues on about 15 percent of my terminations. All those years of poor connections, could have been avoided with a $25 stripper. Has anyone else stuck with a manual method too long because it was how they learned?
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leelewis21d ago
Did you ever catch how much signal you were losing on those scored jackets? I read somewhere that even a tiny slice into the braid can mess with the shielding, and that matches what you saw with those intermittent drops. Most guys I know learned from whoever trained them first, and that sticks hard. My buddy still twists ends with pliers like his old foreman did, even though he knows better. It's wild how a little tool can save your hands and your work quality, but pride gets in the way.
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