# Tricks of the trade...



## Sparxx (Feb 6, 2011)

I was wandering around and happen to find myself in the carpentry section and came across the very first thing I saw (read that a few times over it gets funnier)...anyway, they have a thread going about "best tips or tricks" you've learned or picked up in the trade and thought it might be interesting to hear what some of you have learned? 
I'll start with a couple
If you're pulling in big feeders for a service and find yourself without a tugger - just about any van, truck, or car will do 

When i was going through my apprenticeship I found myself in a situation where some Block Layers had decides to finish a wall before I had a chance to install some EMT conduits. An old foreman I had (67 and still on the tools!) said "no worries" and proceeded to cut off a length of fish tape and notch a point in one end while inserting the dull end into a drill - made a whole where the device would go - then drilled up through the block to create a hollow cavity and inserted the conduits (with a little encouragement). I've done it a couple times since and people are amazed it actually works, 

I discovered while playing around on lunch with some flex, with smaller gauge wires it's easier to fish free hand if you put a wirenut on the wires first...I'm sure many people have discovered that too

So there's a few to get the ball rolling, what's your best trick or tip?


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## bhock (Feb 17, 2009)

When working on a live circuit keep one hand behind your back.


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## BDB (Sep 26, 2008)

Sparxx said:


> When i was going through my apprenticeship I found myself in a situation where some Block Layers had decides to finish a wall before I had a chance to install some EMT conduits. An old foreman I had (67 and still on the tools!) said "no worries" and proceeded to cut off a length of fish tape and notch a point in one end while inserting the dull end into a drill - made a whole where the device would go - then drilled up through the block to create a hollow cavity and inserted the conduits (with a little encouragement). I've done it a couple times since and people are amazed it actually works,


This is a "trick of trade" to make sure they do not cover you up again.

Was on a job and spent the afternoon installing stub ups out of about 6 panels in the electrical room. (studs went all the way up to the deck, they had installed the sheetrock for the first 8 ft but not to the deck yet. I get to work the next morning and they had sheetrocked the rest of the electrical room up to the deck after I had left for the day. They took all my conduit and either took them down or turned the 90's side ways so they would not have to cut the rock around my conduit. That morning I took a sledge hammer and beat the hell out of their rock and put my conduit back in (if I had a 1/2 conduit going through the wall i busted about a 3ft x 3 ft hole....1" conduit got about a 5ft x 5 ft hole etc.) Needless to say they were not happy and I told them that made 2 of us and for them to never touch my electrical again.

Well fast forward about a week and the brick layers decided to put some block walls up during the weekend without telling anyone. I got there Monday morning and seen what they had done. Went to my truck and got my sledge and found the brick layer foreman and told him to either take it down to where I could get my box's and conduit in or his wall would look lioke the sheetrockers wall. Needless to say he believed me and took the portion of the wall down that I needed.




Sparxx said:


> I discovered while playing around on lunch with some flex, with smaller gauge wires it's easier to fish free hand if you put a wirenut on the wires first...I'm sure many people have discovered that too


Flex is easier to push wire in from one end then it is the other end.


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## mendelectric (Aug 14, 2009)

If I am working alone and I need to pull in wires (#14-#10) through an LB , when getting close to the end I hang a weight (sidecutters) on the loop. Keeps the wires from tangling and knotting.


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## actinlikeicare (Feb 13, 2011)

Mend electric that's a great idea. I'm gonna have to try that.


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## Magnettica (Dec 19, 2006)

When using a steel fish tape to snake wires, use vinyl electrical tape.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Magnettica said:


> When using a steel fish tape to snake wires, use vinyl electrical tape.


I've never been able to push vinyl tape worth a darn. It just bunches up and sticks to itself. :jester:

Yeah, wrapping the raw end of the sheathing helps tremendously, particularly when going through fiberglass insulation. :thumbsup:

When fishing down from the attic to hit a box, drill TWO holes in the top plate. One to fish through, the other to see through. 

Unless there's insulation in the cavity. Then just bring a large vocabulary and make sure the HO is out of earshot.


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## Rednecksparky (Dec 28, 2012)

Hello everyone i am new to the site, but here is one I find useful "when fishing into a live panel by yourself screw a rigid threaded connector with a thread in ko seal onto the fitting. When it stops at the end and you take the connector off there is enough tape to still grab and pull!"


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