# BXers



## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Mike in Canada said:


> Hello, there. I'm an industrial electrician who finds himself needing to branch out in a big way, and in a big hurry. I'm used to conduit and pulled wire, but right now I'm wiring a small office building by pulling AC90 (which I know isn't really BX, but I'll call it BX in the interest of simplicity) through steel studs. I'm working *alone*, and pulling the BX is a royal pain. I know I'm pulling it in the right direction, but there must be tricks to getting it to run up over beam edges without jamming. I've tried all kinds of things, including smashing some scrap steel header flat and wrapping it and taping it around the beam edges, but nothing works well. I understand that having a second person would make it much much easier, but I can't help thinking that there have be some 'tricks of the trade' that I'm missing.
> Pulling the BX through the punched holes in the studs is a bear, as well, because the framers only put a screw in one side of the stud, so it flexes all over as you try to pull the BX. I wonder if maybe it's common practice to ignore the punched holes and punch your own hole with something akin to a pick (as in pick-axe) so that the hole has a rounded entry instead of a sharp edge.
> I also wonder whether others use 3/8" one-hole clips, or whether some other method is common for fixing the BX to the steel studs?
> I have already pulled the vast majority of the BX for this project, but I'd like to have knowledge to help me on the next project.
> ...


 
I punch my own holes and use these 

http://cableorganizer.com/greenlee/bushing-metal-stud/


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

The cable pulls easier is it is reverse wound (female end of the cable first), other than that try to get a helper.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Anytime I am working with steel studs and AC or MC cable, I use those plastic inserts normally used for NM cable.

I find it much faster pulling pulling cable through plastic than steel.

They save a lot of back tracking and dirty words. :laughing:


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## Bob Badger (Apr 19, 2009)

Black4Truck said:


> Anytime I am working with steel studs and AC or MC cable, I use those plastic inserts normally used for NM cable.
> 
> I find it much faster pulling pulling cable through plastic than steel.
> 
> They save a lot of back tracking and dirty words. :laughing:


If you pull the cable the right direction it goes OK.

I save the plastic bushing for jobs we have to keep the noise down, like remodeling one section of working office space.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Bob Badger said:


> If you pull the cable the right direction it goes OK.


Using the bushings means I don't have to think and can save those brain cells for other things like finding those dam PVC boxes.. :jester:


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

Black4Truck said:


> Using the bushings means I don't have to think and can save those brain cells for other things like finding those dam PVC boxes.. :jester:


 :laughing::laughing:


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## Mike in Canada (Jun 27, 2010)

I'm sure I'm pulling the cable in the correct direction. The pull through the studs gets hung up on the first stud. I find myself thinking of bringing a funnel to work to get the BX started through the first stud, then it will go well enough through the rest of them (until I change direction). Mind you, I wouldn't be able to get the funnel off of the BX afterwards...

I had considered the plastic bushings. Even if I just use one on the first stud and at each direction change it might help a lot. I'll try that next time, for sure. The bushings won't help me with the beams, though.

Mike


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## jwjrw (Jan 14, 2010)

Black4Truck said:


> Using the bushings means I don't have to think and can save those brain cells for other things like finding those dam PVC boxes.. :jester:


 
:laughing:


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## Bob Badger (Apr 19, 2009)

Mike in Canada said:


> I'm sure I'm pulling the cable in the correct direction. The pull through the studs gets hung up on the first stud.


Here is what we do, and we install miles and miles of MC.

We man up and give it a hard yank, that will normally roll the bottom edge of the hole over enough on the first stud to make it easier for the rest of the pull. I have also used my linesmens pliers to roll the first edge over.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Hang a big sheave at the beginning for one man pulls over bar joists.


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## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

Pulling through studs that only have one screw at the bottom can be a bitch. You got to pull in sections. You know where point A and point B are. Start at point A and start feeding. Use both hands. left hand feeding, and right hand pulling. You can get about 6' at a time doing this. When you got enough slack, feed/pull the next 6'. No need for stud bushings. Use a mc cart to unwind the cable strait without all those curly cues. Secure with zip-ties.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Mike in Canada said:


> Hello, there. I'm an industrial electrician who finds himself needing to branch out in a big way, and in a big hurry. I'm used to conduit and pulled wire, but right now I'm wiring a small office building by pulling AC90 (which I know isn't really BX, but I'll call it BX in the interest of simplicity) through steel studs. I'm working *alone*, and pulling the BX is a royal pain. I know I'm pulling it in the right direction, but there must be tricks to getting it to run up over beam edges without jamming. I've tried all kinds of things, including smashing some scrap steel header flat and wrapping it and taping it around the beam edges, but nothing works well. I understand that having a second person would make it much much easier, but I can't help thinking that there have be some 'tricks of the trade' that I'm missing.
> Pulling the BX through the punched holes in the studs is a bear, as well, because the framers only put a screw in one side of the stud, so it flexes all over as you try to pull the BX. I wonder if maybe it's common practice to ignore the punched holes and punch your own hole with something akin to a pick (as in pick-axe) so that the hole has a rounded entry instead of a sharp edge.
> I also wonder whether others use 3/8" one-hole clips, or whether some other method is common for fixing the BX to the steel studs?
> I have already pulled the vast majority of the BX for this project, but I'd like to have knowledge to help me on the next project.
> ...


Although heavier by wieght, I have found steel AC to pull much easier than Aluminum(lightwieght) AC to pull through framing and long pulls. As for fastening, I drill or punch two 3/16" holes center of the beams ant twist black iron wire as a means of support. Caddy offers a clip on bx strap however I found it to hold the cable too close to the face of the framing .


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

MC pulls the right direction from the center of the spool in most cases. On the studs one side of the hole has a ridge the other doesn't. So pull from the center and don't pull against the ridge in the hole already in the stud. Can't think of much else really.


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## BCSparkyGirl (Aug 20, 2009)

Mike in Canada said:


> Pulling the BX through the punched holes in the studs is a bear, as well, because the framers only put a screw in one side of the stud, so it flexes all over as you try to pull the BX. I wonder if maybe it's common practice to ignore the punched holes and punch your own hole with something akin to a pick (as in pick-axe) so that the hole has a rounded entry instead of a sharp edge.
> 
> 
> Mike


the company I worked for bought a box of screws, and we put in a few extra screw in the studs where we mounted boxed....but I never had an issue pulling wire through the studs them self. I found you only pull through a few studs at a time, and it is much easier.......and if there was no hole in a spot, or not enough, I would get out the stud punch, et voila.....extra hole. It's really not rocket science.


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