| In
This Article:
The ends of the wires are
stripped of their insulation and connected to a new plug. |
Related
Articles:
|
| Skill Level:
1 (Basic) |
Time Taken:
15 Minutes |
By
Bruce W. Maki,
Editor
Start:
Sometimes the end of an extension cord or power cord gets,
broken, worn out, bent beyond repair, or burned from excessive heat
buildup.
If the rest of the cord is still intact, I often repair the end
instead of discarding the cord. However, the price of a new cord is
often little more than the price of one replacement end. This is
particularly true with the more common 16 gauge cords.
The cord in this article was not damaged. It was a brand-new 80
foot, heavy gauge cord that I bought for the purpose of cutting
off twenty feet. I have a workbench with a table saw and a small
bench sander and it is in the middle of the garage. The two shared
an extension cord, and I was getting tired of unplugging one machine
to plug in the other, so I decided to make an extension cord that
connects to a pair of duplex receptacles mounted to the bench.
It would have cost me $10 for twenty feet of flexible,
extension-cord-grade 14-3 cable, plus the male plug. But I bought
the 80 foot long 14 gauge extension cord for $14, and cut off the
male end with twenty feet of cable for my workbench.
So all I had to do was add a replacement male plug to the cut-off
cord and I gained a heavy-duty 60 foot cord that ultimately cost
less than $4. Not bad economics.
| I started with the cut end of a heavy-gauge
extension cord (this one was number 14 wire) and a plug rated
for the same amperage (15 Amps). |
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 |
The male plug came apart by removing three
screws near the prongs. |
| The back side of the plug has a clamping
mechanism that prevents the wires from being pulled out of
their connections. |
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 |
I loosened the three screws and removed the back
section. |
Note: This is a "heavy-duty" plug, which has the
screw-on back section and uses better connection methods, which I'll
explain later.
| First, I slid the back section over the cord
end. |
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 |
I carefully slit the outer cable jacket with a
sharp knife. |
| I removed about 1 inch of jacket material
from the end.
I always check to make sure that I have not cut the
insulation on any wires. |
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After the paper filling material was cut off I
spread the wires out too see if they would reach their
respective connection terminals. |
| Using wire strippers, I stripped the
insulation back about 1/2 inch on each of the three wires. |
 |
 |
I twisted the strands of wire to keep them from
fraying. |
| On cheaper replacement plugs the wire is wrapped
around a screw, but this heavy duty plug uses a
clamping device to hold the bare wire. Much better and worth
the extra money. |
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 |
I tightened each screw firmly. Then I tugged on
each wire to test the connection. |
|
There is a standard practice here, just like on receptacles
(outlets):
- White wire goes on the silver terminal.
- Black wire goes on the gold terminal.
- Green (or bare ground) wire goes on the green
terminal.
Failure to follow this practice would be utterly stupid and
possibly harmful. |
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The back section has a notch next to one (and
only one) of the screw holes. This forces the installer to
align the back section properly. |
| Similarly, there is a tab behind one of the
screws. |
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I tightened each screw until it was snug, and
then tightened each one again. |
| For the final step, I tightened the clamp screws
on the back section. The cable has to be firmly held, not
crushed ! |
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The finished product after being tested. |
|
Tools
Used:
- Screwdriver, Flat Blade
- Sharp Knife
- Wire Strippers
|
Materials Used:
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