How do I strip ribbon cable?

[DIY Bass]

I have a ribbon cable to strip to join 2 pcbs. I was planning to use a "gently hack with a knife until it looks right" method, but just wondered if there is a better technique.

[EBK]

I had a professor in college who was fond of saying, "That's a very good question.  Next question."

Most (all?) connectors that are specifically designed to go with ribbon cable are designed to crimp and cut through the insulation without any prior stripping.  However, I know I have seen commercial devices that use stripped ribbon to connect boards.  I'd be interested as well to know if there is a good way to strip the stuff by hand other than hacking at it clumsily.

[DIY Bass]

This is from a commercial board that needed a new stomp switch.  The switch was soldered into a small board that was connected to the main board with this ribbon.  I removed the old switch but broke a few of the connections from the ribbon cable in the process.  I have cleaned up the board and can just re-solder the whole lot, but need to strip the cable first.  I could just use 6 strands of hookup wire and manually wire up the switch and i know it will work, but I want to keep it stock if I can.

[bloxstompboxes]

I'd just replace it with hookup wire. Might not look as tidy but much easier. Stripping ribbon cable is nothing but trouble.

[GibsonGM]

I've done it on a Univibe...Xacto knife, using a LOT of caution.  It looks better when done, but is a PAIN.   They probably have something that does it for ribbon with from 1 to N connectors, but I wouldn't even look into buying it (never use it).

[stallik]

Auto wire strippers works but mine have to take several stabs at it as the jaws are too narrow.

[Sooner Boomer]

What's worked for me is using a soldering iron turned down so that it's just hot enough to melt the insulation. Then go in and trim what's left with an Xacto knife.

[bluebunny]

I was thinking heat too.  It certainly won't look pretty and it might smell awful too.      Your soldering iron might not like you, either.

Or else use a soldering iron to heat up a sharp edge that melts the insulation across the whole row of connectors (you'd need to do it from both sides and probably tidy up afterwards).  Either way, heats avoid nicking the wires.

[EBK]

Almost easier to strip a bunch of individual wires and glue them together into a ribbon. 

[stallik]

Here you go - cleaned the blade

[vigilante397]

I have a pair of heated wire strippers that do well on ribbon cables. They're not crazy expensive, but if you aren't planning to do things like this all the time a combination of soldering iron (clean it afterwards) and utility blade should do the trick.

[SpencerPedals]

I might be overlooking something obvious, but I just use my flush cutters to cut between each wire, in the flat spots.  After that, you can pull the wires in opposite directions and they'll just peel to individually-coated wires (more or less), and regular wire strippers will strip them.  I use repurposed ribbon cable for pots on a lot of home-built effects if the pots aren't PCB mounted, because it helps keep things tidy.

[thetragichero]

just repaired a peavey rack mount preamp that caught fire. among other things scorched was one of the ribbon cables linking the main pcb to the board with the power tubes on it. i replaced with individual wires (as thick as would fit through the holes in the board)
only time is even consider using a ribbon cable would be on a vintage/expensive box as i would not wish to decrease the value

[EBK]

I might be overlooking something obvious....

Once you separate a ribbon, it isn't really a ribbon anymore.   
Really, it is more of a neatness issue.  The build will look cleaner if a board-to-board ribbon is intact.  Also, if you are repairing a pedal, the repair will look more professional if it maintains the stock appearance (this, I believe is the OP's concern).

[SpencerPedals]

I might be overlooking something obvious....

Once you separate a ribbon, it isn't really a ribbon anymore.   

Maybe I should clarify what I meant—I snip and then pull apart only the very ends.  From there you can strip them like any other wire, but the rest of the ribbon itself is intact (all wires are joined together laterally, etc.) and this still keeps things neat.  As I mentioned, I specifically reuse ribbon cable from parted-out items because it keeps things tidy.

I suppose someone obsessed with a totally stock appearance could notice small diversions where the wire meets the board, though.

[DIY Bass]

I was thinking about pretty much doing this - using a craft knife to remove the webbing between the wires and then stripping the wires.  I figure that most little extra bits would come away in the process.  I do have a cheap version of the auto stripper coming in the mail though.  I have always wanted one and didn't know how cheap a Chinese version could be had for now.  I will see whether my desire to see this done beats out the desire to wait for the new toy :-)

[tubegeek]

Hot nichrome wire maybe? Salvageable from electric heaters etc. Model airplane builders use the stuff to cut foam wing profiles and other foam parts. So you might be able to DIY a hot stripper, but I'd hate to have to Google that phrase to find suggestions.

[pinkjimiphoton]

one cannot simply strip ribbon wire.....

god i hate that shit.

[willienillie]

I was thinking about pretty much doing this - using a craft knife to remove the webbing between the wires and then stripping the wires.

This has worked for me.

[Kipper4]

My only beef with ribbon cables is the wires break easily when manoeuvred.
The ribbon cables I used where not intended for audio.
Perhaps those webbed ribbons are better.