Alternative to Shrink Tubing for Insulating Your Wiring Connections

For a couple of months now, I have been doing alot of wiring on the model railroad--wiring switch machines, LEDs, track feeders, lighting, decoders, control panels and hopefully linking up the feeder wires to the power source. I've diligently used shrink tubing to ensure that electrical shorts will not crop up in the future. 

I love the way shrink tubing works and it delivers some minor entertainment when the lighter comes out and the heat causes that nifty little shrinking action. It's one of those products that just does exactly what it's designed to do---amazing isn't it?

Yes, but  depending upon your source, it can be expensive. But of course as you've come to expect, there's got to be another, less expensive way to make this work. there is.

While going through a couple of drawers of tools I don't often use, I rediscovered a hot melt glue pot that I use to glue trees into scenery. It's a tool that florists and flower arrangers use and other craft people have discovered. Many of us use hot glue frequently from those forever dripping electric glue guns, but it always involves figuring out how to hold the materials while holding the gun, too!

As I looked at the glue pot for what it was intended to do, it suddenly occurred to me that this might deliver the best alternative to shrink tubing. Instead of trying to hit the wire, covering the soldered joint without dripping more glue than you use and doing it all with one hand, the pot provides the solution.

These things are available online or at the big-box craft or retail stores starting at about $6.00. The pot melts the glue stick or chunks, and keeps the glue at usable temperature as long as you have it plugged into the wall.

The area of the pot is large enough to work with for this purpose.

• Simply hold both ends of the connecting wires
• Dip the soldered joint into the glue quickly and cover the joint and some wire insulation on either side
• Pull up & allow a quick drip if necessary (depending upon the temperature/viscosity of the glue)
• Wah, -lah! the connection is sealed, insulated and non-conductive!

  

NOTE: Before you do the deed, be sure to check the continuity of your connection. Then check it again immediately after the glue sets.

Wiring connect UNDER the bechwork already? No problem, simply hold the glue pot under the connection and push it up to emerse the wiring into the glue---gives you much more control than the glue-gun alternative.

With this technique, here's no cleanup and no waste. When finished with your session, the hot glue will cool and solidify again until you plug the unit in and warm it up for use the next time.

Will there still be times when shrink tubing is a best choice? Of course, but whenever possible from this point forward, my choice will be hot melt glue at about 5% of the cost of shrink tubing!

What Happened When I Changed My Shopping Habits

Something happened in 2002 that was one of those life-changing, life-rebuilding events and it forced me to consider some new sources. I found myself shopping in thrift stores & dropping into the $ stores. In the process, I discovered that if I wasn't in a hurry, I could find almost anything I wanted or needed, at some great prices. And I changed my personal attitude about shopping there--after all it's my money---let's see how far I can stretch it! Now I'm not only saving money, but recycling and repurposing and having a lot of fun in the process.

A few weeks ago I had one of my MRR friends over to show my recently completed model workshop. It dawned on me as we talked that I had almost exclusively equipped it with tools and shelving and storage cabinets and light fixtures and spray booth, chairs, book cases, TV and DVD, vacuums, powerstrips, bench and tool chests, Dremel tools and even airbrushes and parts cabinets ----all from thrift stores--and in pristine condition!

Of course I do shop at my local hobby shop, but typically for things I need to complete the model railroad when:

• I haven't found it at a MRR swapmeet
• Couldn't get a better combined price (product+shipping) on eBay
• Didn't find an alternative product or material
• Needed something I couldn't find anywhere else
• Absolutely wanted to see the product up close and in-person.

I treat the local big box stores the same. I'm willing to wait --unless it's a rush--because I know I'll find it cheaper.

Mentally, I recommend keeping a running list of the projects you would like to complete or the raw materials you will need. Then shop with a different mindset. (This is where the imagineering comes into play.) As you shop at alternative stores, you may find exactly what you're looking for, but you will also learn to look at what you see for what it could be, not always for it's original purpose.

Here's how this works;

Stripwood  We all know how expensive it is. If you like to scatchbuild, it's easy to consume alot of it. While I have some friends who mill their own, in truth there's a bigger waste of time and materials in the process than I'm willing to take.

One day in a thrift store I saw one of these oriental wall calendars. It was rolled up, but different in that it wasn't the typical bamboo, but instead thin wood slats about 1/8" wide and 14" long.

I bought it for $1.25, cut the strings that hold the strips together, and ended up with 70+ pieces of stripwood. (I don't worry about the silkscreened design on the flip side unless it's going to show. if so, a simple pass over some 100 grit sandpaper cleans it off ASAP.) I estimated that my buck and a quarter bought about $12-15 worth of stripwood!  The barn in this picture was partially framed using some of that wood.



"Built for the Suncoast Model Railroad Club in Largo, FL depicts a scene on a typical small family farm. Life continues in the foreground as workers erect a new barn in the background. This scene features only one kit--the farmhouse (not visible in this shot)  which was originally sold by Revell. The barn is scratchbuilt  from stripwood with  loft floor  constructed from strips of wood salvaged from an oriental calendar.  Hopefully the stump-pullin' crew will finish swappin' verbal instructions before the sound of the skillsaw crosscuts another  piece of framing."



Styrene.  This is great material and if you have never scratch-built anything with it, when you do, you could be hooked. But like the stripwood, it can be expensive. A recent project for one of my HO modules required a large quantity of styrene in various strengths. Rather than paying sheet prices at the hobby shop or even online, I discovered that plastic signs like "for Rent", "Yard Sale", "For Sale" are typically made from styrene are available in a variety of thicknesses and can be dirt cheap. I know there's a sign on onside, but I put that side out of sight, or on this project also discovered that paint ill not only cover it, but I didn't experience any bleed-through or raised pattern.

Found these signs in thinner stock for as low as 34 cents each and the larger thicker ones on sale at Harbor Freight Tools for 99 cents!  The entire floor, foundation and ramps for the diesel inspection facility (still under construction but shown in the photo below) were constructed with this material and it responds to my normal choice of adhesives.



This diesel inspection facility was scratch-built from styrene in 2 days using plans from a series of articles that appeared in Mainline Modeler magazine February-thru-May, 1983. Commercially available styrene beams were used in addition to sheet stock from styrene signs. The model still requires lighting and details. More photos to come.

These are just a couple of examples of what this blog covers--not just the ideas, but the application of  those as well. Until we punch the ticket again----enjoy The World's Greatest Hobby!



I finally took the cue.......

My model railroad buddies have been after me for far too long. My lovely wife has encouraged me. 'Cause the ideas they've been seeing just keep getting applied to my own model railroading. They think I should share them.

I finally decided the blog format seemed like a good idea---so here it is.

You'll like this blog if;

• You appreciate imagineering and applied creativity---thinking outside the box.
• You 're not put-off by referrals and recommendations to sources and resources I've used and feel comfortable recommending--that could streamline things for you a bit.
• You don't mind a little philosophy every now and again.

My hope is that you'll find this blog valuable enough to visit often--even subscribe to-- and enjoyable enough to recommend to your model railroading friends.

So join us--jump on this train...we're about to discover some things we've never seen, or at least maybe see them from a different angle!  Welcome Aboard!

PS; My thanks to all of the model railroaders who have made me think and contributed to my enjoyment in the World's Greatest Hobby.