The right bit

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I made sidewalks using smooth-it from Woodland Scenics.

I want to put in operational street lights… What would be the best kind of bit to drill into the smooth it?

JC

2

A round one. Seriously, those square bits really do tear up the work. Are you going to insert the base of a lame, or just the wire. The hole has to be big enough for what you want to put into it, but what the heck, if you make it too big you can fill it in with something. LIONS are not too fussy about making holes.

But if you already have a hole, and only want to make it a little bigger, you could just use the same drill bit that you used to make the hole, and just tip it sideways. You could break a small bit that way, and in thick material it will not make a pretty hole. You could use the next size larger bit, but if that is too big then you can use a fine round file to work the hole.

Mostly the LION makes hole is Homasote or Celotex type material, and if you want to know the honest truth, the LION is to lazy to go set up a drill, but there is an awl near by, and the deaper I stick it in, the bigger the hole gets. But then LIONS do not make things out of exotic materials.

ROAR

3

I added some Walthers lamposts to my grandson’s HO layout. We used gray painted cardboard for sidewalks (not the best approach) and had to drill through that and the plywood. It took an odd sized (not one of the sizes in a typical wood drill bit set) bit, maybe because they are metric diameter post bases. Using what I had didn’t seem to work; either too tight or too loose (needed a baby bear bit).

Anyway, I found the right bit (so many 32nd’s or 64th’s) at a woodcrafters tool store. I can find it and tell you the size, if needed, but I expect various light bases from different makers don’t have a standard dimension.

4

A SHARP ordinary twist drill. If you cannot sharpen them yourself, just buy a new one. Use a center punch or a prick punch to get the hole started. Keep the speed down. A carpenter’s drill set (1/4 to 1/16 inch by by 32nds) ought to have a bit close enough in size to work.