Randy: I will check out those strippers. A bit of arthritis in my thumbs would be happier.
Chuck: The wiring is fun for me. I try to make things as neat as possible even though I'm the only one who will ever see it. A MR of Japan - cool! I traveled a lot on the denshas there way back in 1969 when I was studying judo.
Unless the wire you are using is uninsulated to start with, I'd say go with the insulation and just strip the ends. Some of my #22 solid insulated feeders pass through steel studs with track laid inside, rain gutter fashion. Failure to insulate them would be an open invitition to disaster.
I wire as I go along, so I don't have any great number of feeders and rail-joint jumpers to solder at any one time. OTOH, I spend rather longer than most preparing each length of flex (pre-curving, chiseling ties for rail joiners, de-burring every rail end...) and am working around some physical problems which limit my construction sessions to about two hours. Then, too, I spend a lot of what should be construction time running trains on the track I already have.
The key point? Doing the job the best way the first time always takes less time than doing it over.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with insulated rail drops)
If you get the right strippers, Ideal brand with the blue handle (got mine at Home Depot), stripping the wire is no big deal and is easy. That one they advertise on TV with the Cold Heat soldering iron? Avoid it, it doesn't work well at all. The Ideal one also makes quick work of slippign back insulation in the middle of a heavy bus wire to leave a space to solder on the feeder. This is probably why I just sodler my feeders - if I had to strip the wire with a knife or an old-fashioned plier-type wire stripper I'd quickly switch over to IDC's too.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks all. I did a couple today with insulated 20g wire and it was fine.
The method you describe is in use on my current layout. No shorts, no problems and one less step to install feeders. To strip insulation from one wire, no big deal, from hundreds of feeder wires is another thing entrirely. This method allows me to solder the feeders to the under side of the rails at the bench and easily hide them in the scenery later. It also allows for smooth placement of the track without having the pre-soldered feeders distort the track geometry,
This shot shows the feeders coming out from between the ties.
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Hi!
While what you suggest can be done, I sure would not recommend it - for various reasons.
The most obvious is that a short is highly likely to occur, whether its during "wet" scenery application or when you get under the layout to do repairs, etc.
The showstopper for me would be that by using insulated wires (of different colors), you can always tell positive from negative or feeder wires from turnouts or lighting wires or what have you.
For what its worth.....
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Dry wood is an insulator, so there should be no problem with this approach whether DC or DCC. If you do any ballasting or scenery work around the feeders and get them wet, all bets are off until the wood thoroughly dries.
On my previous DC MR years ago I soldered bare, solid 20g wire to the rails and drilled tiny holes through the 1/4" plywood benchwork. The ends below were soldered to terminal strips and 18g wire to the power supply. Can this be done with my new nscale DCC MR? In other words the bare wire is in direct contact with the wood below the track.