heat shrink tubing ,size ?price?tips?

mark123

hi any links for good heat shrink tubing ? for pick up wire ,don't know if there is a size for that ?
thanks in advance,

been looking at videos and one says use a lighter as a hair dryer will take forever ? any tips ?

BloodEagle

Yes, use a lighter - a hairdryer will indeed take a lot longer and you have to plug it in etc etc. Take a look at this link - Id go for the 3.5mm stuff http://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/cable-wire.html

mark123

Thanks any uk cheap suppliers ?

boogieman

I've just bought a bag of 300+ pieces in mixed sizes from Amazon, cost about a fiver. They're only short-ish length pieces though. 

Alnico

I bought a few packs from Maplin recently.
£1.50 for the smaller one and £2.50 each for the larger sizes.

I recently used it to make a 18v power lead for some EMG pickups and it worked great, so that was the £1.50 pack.
It's about 6mm (ish......from memory) until you heat it and it fitted the power wires from the battery clip perfectly.

FelineGuitars

Rapidonline.com is the best I've found - good selection of sizes and colours

Danny1969

The shrink ratio is different between types like 2:1 or 3:1 etc ... if the ratio is higher you don't need to be so precise in the diameter. With a guitar we're not concerned with insulating voltage 

As ever CPC is the cheapest place with the biggest selection 

Roland

mark123 said:

... any tips ?

Buy several diameters of tube. Once you've used it you'll find a number of different uses. I find that a hairdryer doesn't get quite hot enough. My wife has a hot air blower for shrink wrapping, and that works well. If I can't be bothered to look for it then I use the workshop fan heater.

springhead

To state the obvious, watch the finish of your guitar if you're in there with a hot air gun. I've got a gas soldering iron with a tube shaped hot air nozzle so you can concentrate the heat to a small spot and not damage finish, other wires etc. 

I also find that you can use the tip of an ordinary soldering iron - hold it very close, a mm, from the heat shrink without touching it.  If you move it around, over and under the sleeve that usually works too.

ESBlonde

I rub the lower part of the soldering iron (the tip holder/shaft part) against the shrink tube since it's in my hand and already hot. It is harder in deep tight spaces where the tip sticks in too far, but great when doing cables and the like. I'm not sure I'd strike up a lighter next to nitro finish if I could help it.

Alnico

ESBlonde said:

I rub the lower part of the soldering iron (the tip holder/shaft part) against the shrink tube since it's in my hand and already hot. It is harder in deep tight spaces where the tip sticks in too far, but great when doing cables and the like. I'm not sure I'd strike up a lighter next to nitro finish if I could help it.

That's how I do it too.
Easy to control and as said, right there and hot already.

FelineGuitars

long neck candle lighters are good for this without burning fingers