Since, at last view 2 minutes ago, there were no reply options to your post I thought I’d create a new topic as my way of replying.
As always, nice job on the creative reuse of old material. Even though it has a clever new name “Recycling”, intelligent folks have always practiced this thrifty art. One of the fascinating aspects of your post is that the wire you’re using is 90 years old plus and the insulation is still sound. Try that with modern plastic or rubber covered wire. No Way. Piles of cracked insulation and bare wire is what you’d end up with. I also continue to be impressed by the use of “old school” methods of working, like nails for binding posts. Thanks for helping to keep minimum cost solutions out there as an inspiration to other modelers who may not have heaps of disposable income.
Happy Thanksgiving Bro. (Literally and figuratively)
Seeing LION’s old wire reminded me of some exposed wiring that I saw at my Junior High School back in the 1960s, which was built around 1910 or so. The “shop” teacher told me it was insulated with gutta percha (I am spelling that the way it sounds) and that insulation was in fact crumbling away. So not all old wiring is insulated better than what we use today, but this old organ wiring sure worked out for LION it seems.
Gutta Percha is spelled exactly correctly. Google it. Wikipedia has an interesting article on the stuff, and the plant was almost wiped out when they started laying under sea cables.
More old wires…
The “rack” in the left foreground is the winch from which the huge crucifix in the church is held in place.
Looks like a recipe for disaster there with the one rod supporting the rack is actually pushing the one electrical wire there slightly aside. But then, it’s probbaly been there like that for 80 years. All the knob and tube wiring…wow. At least it’s insulated, usually that stuff is just bare wires!
Those wires were replaced with conduits and new wire in the 2000 church renovation. That picture was just before the renovation, part of a publicity brochure sent around by our development office.
