I used to think fish tape was a waste of money

For the first three years on the job, I just used a straightened coat hanger and a lot of patience to push lines through walls. A guy on a crew in Phoenix told me to try a real steel fish tape, but I figured it was just a fancy tool for the same result. Last month, I had a run in an old house with blown-in insulation and the hanger kept bending. I finally bought a Klein fish tape for about forty bucks. The difference was huge. I got the line through a tricky fifteen foot run in under ten minutes, where the hanger would have taken me half an hour of fighting. It just glides. Anyone have a favorite brand for those really long pulls?

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3 Comments

holly_shah7mo ago

My first fish tape was just a straightened paperclip.

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patricia_campbell6mo ago

Holly Shah, that straightened paperclip method is exactly how we all start. It teaches you the basic feel of fishing a wire before you get the real tool. I still keep a heavy duty paperclip in my bag for quick little jobs. Once you move up to actual walls, though, you really need the proper fish tape. The cheap stuff just doesn't have the right stiffness to push through insulation.

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nancy_hernandez7mo ago

My grandpa always said a coat hanger worked better than the real thing for fishing wires.

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