22 vs 24 AWG, stranded vs solid ??

[kodiakklub]

Ive always used 22 solid for no reason at all really, and its time to buy a bunch of wire to restock. I also just bought a roll of 24 stranded to try, but im not thrilled with stranded, 24 awg i can get used to.

What are everybodys pros/cons to using diff gauges and construction types? thanks

[Jdansti]

I like solid for making jumpers that lie flat on the PCB, but I've had too many problems using it for off board components. It doesn't tolerate very much movement and breaks too easily. Stranded works great for off board connections. You just need to twist the strands after stripping and tin them. To help with tinning, I dip the ends in flux before applying the solder.

[NazzTazz]

Same as Jdansti for jumpers on PCB.

Im using this for pots wiring. Altough it is quite expensive, this kind of wire with pre-crimped terminals is a real timesaver. Female terminals can be plugged on pots lugs and soldered later when everything works, so you can swap connections during the check/test phase.

[Liquitone]

I worked in cable assembly briefly and there they used a  lot of those crimp contacts,. im thinking it might be a  lot cheaper if you made them yourself,.
all you need is wire, crimp contacts, a wirestripper and a crimp plier (which can be expencive but I've seen cheaper ones. that will save you a lot of money if you use these wires a lot.

my wire of choice atm is solid cloth covered wire. I've stayed away for it for a while because of the possible breaking when moving them,
but since i now use turret style construction and secure the boards with metal standoffs, there will hardly be any movement issues.
I love how you can just pull back the cloth a little, solder and push it back a little. no need to strip the wires.
also the solid wire I've used seems to hold really well,. even with moving stuff around, better even than the teflon wire I've used in the past.
I thought teflon would be great but i have had a lot of wires snap off.
I think its because; A) teflon is very sturdy but difficult to strip and thereby its easier to damage the stranded wires. You will need a very good wirecutter or a sharp knife for these.
                            B) the silver coating makes the stranded copper less flexible, thus easier to break.
I read Fulltone has teflon wire made for him that hasn't got the silver coating, which makes perfect sense to me. and ive never had a broken wire in my 2 fulltone pedals.

[Jdansti]

Same as Jdansti for jumpers on PCB.

Im using this for pots wiring. Altough it is quite expensive, this kind of wire with pre-crimped terminals is a real timesaver. Female terminals can be plugged on pots lugs and soldered later when everything works, so you can swap connections during the check/test phase.

Thanks NazzTazz. I'm gonna order some of those!  For some reason, I HATE making off board leads-probably because it slows down the fun part of building.

I'm afraid I'd break Liquidtone's cloth covered solid. I've worked some when I refurbished a tube stero amp my dad built in 1961, but I'm way too ham fisted working on stomp boxes. I move the wires around alot during assembly.  The cloth does look nice, though.

[StereoKills]

A) teflon is very sturdy but difficult to strip and thereby its easier to damage the stranded wires. You will need a very good wirecutter or a sharp knife for these.
   

Best thing for stripping Teflon insulated wire is a thermal wire stripper. Strips like butter.

[Liquitone]

ah I see. I've just been reading up on darrons site and he mentions teflon can break when soldered badly,. seems i need to practice my soldering skills and get a thermal wire stripper.
still I really love working with cloth covered wire.

[kodiakklub]

after trying the stranded 24, ive decided to restock with solid 24. the act of stripping, twisting, tinning is way too inefficient for me, and ive never had a wire break in three years building boxes. 50' spools of solid 24awg at mcmaster for 3.59?! done and done! but excellent criticism all around.

[Colonel Angus]

Any suggestions for a thermal wire stripper that is a bit more affordable? I looked at amazon and went 

[StereoKills]

Least expensive NEW one I've seen is this one for $65.
http://www.hmcelectronics.com/product/Patco/PTS10

Used ones can be found on evilbay for anywhere from $25-50 on up.

[Colonel Angus]

Nice!! I looked on Amazon and everything was 200-300, 65 is more my speed. I didnt even know such a thing existed!