With my plans now gathering speed for a replacement layout, I’ve decided that building and street lighting is a must.
What I can’t figure out though is how to get the wires through the scenerey.
I think I’ll be bootsting the height from the benchwork by using polystyrene sheets (maybe 3 thick) and top it off with some thin board (to create a flat surface).
Now that’s quite a thickness to get through. Going through the top and bottom is no problem but its the middle of the sandwich that’s the problem.
Am I going about this the wrong way? As I’m typing I’m thinking that maybe I need to construct the track level on another table (as I’ve seen some do in pictures). I need to gain height so I can create a riverbed on one side.
Here’s a rough sketch I’ve done in paint.
Go to your nearby friendly tool store or electrical supply house. Get a few “electricians bits”, these are twist drills 12" long or longer. A 1/4" and a 3/8" bit should do - larger bits are also made to bring a whole wiring harness up!! You can even drill down through the top of a mountain, as they come in lengths up to 36" - and extensions can be added to this!! My [2c]
Then after you’ve drilled the hole through the scenery, get a tube (brass, styrene or even a drinking straw), insert it in the hole and feed the wires through it. After the wires are through, pull out the tube.
Bob has the right idea - but, if you use drinking straws, why bother to pull them out?
I’d have to check, but I believe that a 3/8" hole would pass the socket for the mini Christmas lights I use for structure lighting. If so, the socket could be fastened to a piece of tubing with the wires down through it, then inserted and anchored from below. If a lamp dies (which it will, even on 60/80% of rated voltage) the socket could be pulled down into the netherworld for a lamp change, thus keeping the mitts out of the scenery.
Just a thought…
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I made a tool from a wire clothes hanger. First, using a pair of pliers, I get it as straight as possible, then I solder a small loop to one end. I grind a point on the other. I use it just like a long sewing needle. I insert the wire in the loop, then twist it. I push the “needle” through the foam, then when it comes through, I pull it the rest of the way.
Thanks for that idea! That should be much easier than trying to build a “table”.