Wire in tube

Go to you local hardware shop and get yourself some curtain wire (the plastic coated springy sort.) While you're there get some fairly stiff garden wire and a box of cable staples.

Problem sorted at a fraction of the cost.

On Mon, 6 Mar 2006 17:49:50 +0000, Mike Hughes wrote:

GEM offer stiff wire in brass(?) tube, with levers, I found this fin for a shelf type layout with a direct link between point and lever no more than 18" away (the length of the tube) They do sell angle cranks and other bits and pieces to get round corners but I have not tried those. For a wide baseboard (2' across) I opted for Bowden cable (from a local R/c model aircraft shop) which is cheap and easy to route round corners to get the push-pull to line up with the required motion of the points. You can glue a bead from a craft shop on the end for a handle, this alows you to colour-code the 'levers' which does help. Worked fine with N Peco and Fleishmann points. There is something called Slippery Sid advertised in Railway Modeller on a regular basis which has flexible tube and steel(?) wire but I have not tried that one yet - Didn't like steel much when I did try it as it rusted in the shed that housed the layout (denso grease might solve that but I havent trried it yet). Piano wire can often be found in model shops, good for a striaght run, I used it laid into a slot in the baseboard surface (grease trhe wire then wrap a strip of newspaper round it and coat with dilute PVA to form a sheath so the scenery laid on top does not stick to the wire - You could probably get away with grease and a strip of cling film but I havent tried that yet either). For a really long run I used two lengths of fishing line to pull the (Peco) point, a loop on the end allowd me to hand a weight on the line as a reminder for which way the point was set.

HTH

Mike

Go down to your local hardware shop and buy some curtain wire (the flexible, plastic coated kind) While you're there get some fairly stiff garden wire and some small cable clips.

Problem sorted at a fraction of the cost.

We got ours from

Eileen's Emporium PO Box 14753 London SE19 2ZH

020 8771 3366

Considered cables for pedal cycles? Either the sort for brakes or for gear changes, come in many lengths and do not suffer the rust problems.

I tried to use cycle cables a year or two ago. The major problem is cutting them to length unless you can find cables which are the length to suit you. The multi-strand inners are quite difficult to cut leaving a clean end, and the outers are also very hard and difficult to cut. Using a small grind wheel of some form would probably be the best way since your average wire-citters won't look at the inner or outer, but I would expect that eye protection would be mandatory with the possibility of small bits of hardened steel wire flying around. .

And trying to solder to the inner is not at all easy since it is impregnated with grease and won't take solder.

A better bet would be to look at the tube and wire systems used by radio-control aero modellers since that system has all the fittings that you might require to go with the tube and inner.

Jim.

If you've got sufficient to do, consider getting a cycle cable cutter, available from all good (read: independent) bike shops. Suitable for inner and outer, leaves a good clean end.

PhilD

In message , Jim Guthrie writes

Now I'm going back to my Lambretta days :-) The easiest way to get a clean cut in both the inner and outer cable is to grip the part to be cut in the cutting jaws of a substantial pair of pliers, then whack the pliers, over the cutting edge, with a substantial hammer. It works!

Regarding soldering the cable, try motorcycle shops (or bicycle shops?) who should sell small nipples for cable ends, the nipples being attached by a small allen screw, rather than solder.

Graeme,

How long do the jaws of your pliers last? :-)

Jim.

Or you could buy

PTFE SLEEVING

1D 1.19 mm OD 1.79 mm outer surface etched to allow bonding to structure with cyano, epoxy, etc. ideal for friction free line guides, 5 metre length £6.00, plus post.

from

and some piano wire from your local model a/c shop and make your own!

Solder the point where you are going to cut the inner - it keeps the strands together. You probably don't need that bit to be flexible anyway! I cut them with my trusty Dremel and cutting disk.

Regards, Greg.P.

In message , Mike Hughes writes

Just to update everyone. I managed to get what I needed over the phone from Mainly Trains.

In message , Jim Guthrie writes

Longer than the Lambretta ever seemed to run :-)

I stayed British and had a Triumph Tigress and you could say much the same for it :-)

Jim.