Trying to wire up some LED's for signals and the wire is really tiny. I supect it is about 36ga. Smallest heat shring tubing I have is 1/16 (shrinks to 1/32) and it will not shrink down to grip the wire. I am soldering these wires to a larger wire and I want the shrink wrap to act as a strain relief in addition to insulation. I know shrink wrap exist to do a better job but I am not sure what I should shop for.
What size, brand, source, etc should I be looking for?
Paul D
N scale Washita and Santa Fe RailroadSouthern Oklahoma circa late 70's
i would check at grangers , or you might use liquid tape.
Ed, Gmpullman, posted this the other day
According to one source, 36 ga wire is .005" in diameter. I have hairs that thick.
I'm skeptical that such a product exists, that would also meet your strain relief requirement.
You do know that magnet wire, which is probably what you have, is insulated? Maybe a combination of the smallest heat shrink and the "Amazing Goop" Mel refers to, later in that thread, would work as strain relief.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
you can get shrink tube that is less than 1/16 inch ...
but it is substantially more expensive [from the supplier i use]
available from digikey [and probably others]
Paul,
How big/what gauge is the larger wire? Will the heat shrink you have shrink down around that? As long as you can heat shrink around the larger wire, it can serve as a strain-relief to the smaller wire - even if it is loose on the latter.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
The "larger" wire is 22ga. Even if it worked, the Goop approach does not appleal to me because of the time needed to let it set up before I could handle it. I know this stuff exists because I have some prewired LEDs with wire that small and it has some shring wrap on it. My 1/16 (about 1.6mm) wrap will almost do it. I did find some 1mm shrink wrap at several web sites but it is pricy. I will probably go ahead and get some of the 1mm size to try out.
I decided that anything smaller than 1/16" would be hard to get over my larger 22ga wire. My current 1/16" wrap had a 2:1 shrink ratio. I found some 1/16" wrap with a 3:1 shrink ratio that I sure will work for my needs. Was $16.99 for a 25 ft piece on Amazon. I have a lot of joints to cover so I expect to use most of it.
I have bought various sizes in the past online.Google is my best friend.
Also comes in NMRA DCC colors.
Also found it at a local hardware store in my little city but only in black color.
I have been working in electronics for some years. Also have a heat gun which really helps.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
I use the smallest shrink that Litchfield Station sells. Lot smaller than 1/16. Reasonably priced with reasonable shipping.
I found some 1/16 that works for me. The big difference is that it is a 3 to 1 shrink ratio. Most common shring wrap is 2:1so the 3:1 stuff wil really tighten down on tiny wire.