I use plastic cable staples which I buy in bulk at Home Depot.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xi3/R-100204230/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=1005
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xi3/R-100185418/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=1005
Alton Junction
I had a similar situation where I couldn't get the drill into the tight locations to drill holes for wires .... ended up buying a bunch of small screw-eyes to run the wires through. You can easily open them up with some needle-nose pliers if you need to add or remove a wire mid-run.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Bob.
Keep the throttle buss away from the track buss. Its best not to bundle them together.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Good ideas! Out come the staples in goes the ty-raps and supports screwed to the bottom side of the SYP joists. This way if I want to add more wires I just slip them through the closed ty-wraps.I`ve only used about 25 staples so far so no big deal removing them.
Bob D As long as you surface as many times as you dive you`ll be alive to read these posts.
Shouldn't be problem unless you cut into the wire. Plenty of good ideas to avoid that have been posted. Me, I don't like the impact of the staple into the bottom of the layout - early on when there's nothing but some roadbed and track it's no big deal, but after years of doing this, when going back to say add some lights to a structure, the impact of the staple gun under the layout always knocked over trees and stuff. What I've been using lately are those stick on plastic mounts for cable ties, you cna find big bags of them in the electrical department at Home Depot or Lowes, not terribly expensive. The adhesice is pretty worthless against wood, but they have a hole in the middle to take a screw. The adhesvice holds it up while I run a short #8 screw up throught hem, then I use cable ties to hold the actual wire. I leave the cable ties loose until I'm done soldering feeders to a given section, then cinch them up.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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I assume that you are using a stand off so that the staples don't pinch the wires. If that is true, and you don't hit the wires when setting the staples, then the staples won't hurt anything as long as the staple is not so tight that it deforms the insulation on the wires.
I do it a little differently. I put the staples in the wood using that stand off attachment but not over the wires. I then put a cable strap (some people call them zip ties) through the staple and around the wires. That way adding or subtracting wires later is simple. If you do that don't pull the strap so tight that it deforms the wires.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Not unless you staple your bus wires together!
Seriously, I've never heard of any such problems, and I've run across folks using all sorts of methods to hang wiring below their layout, including metal conduit hangers like these. So staples shouldn't be a problem.
That said, I would drill (and have drilled) holes at an angle if that's what it takes.
No problem, the staples will not cause any interference. I've got plenty of places with wire supported like that.
Larry
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I`d like to know if using T25 Arrow metal staples to support track buss & sub buss wires underneath the wood joists can cause any interference with the signal? My joists are 1` apart and without a right angle drill I cannot drill support holes in the joists, at least straight holes. Note that the wires move freely inside the staple.