Successful hole in plastic

[FJ and G]

I often ask questions but try as well to give tips I discover. Here's 2 tips.

1. I want to eventually add some handrails on my boxcars and make an oil refinery with wire parts to plastic. Both would necessitate drilling tiny holes. I have heard somewhere that the wire parts can be heated and then poked into the plastic, so I had to find out for myself.

I took a $9 K-Line PRR series that I abuse w/experiments (it's going to eventually get smashed, melted, rust-weathered and tossed in Devil's Gulch). I flipped it upsidedown, took my soldering iron, heated a 14 ga wire and poked it in. It didn't go too far. So I reheated it and this time it went in. What's more amazing is that the melted plastic welded the wire tightly inside.

2. I've been busy soldering my 3rd rail wire today. The copper wire gets very hot and if it's overheated, it can melt adjoining solder points, which I don't want.

I got me some clips, the common type you can use to hold many sheets of paper together with (don't know the name but they pinch the paper together). I clipped these on both sides of the wire. Not only do they serve as a heat sink, they also allow me to grip them and push against the wire when I'm soldering. Otherwise, my fingers get burned on the copper wire.

I know my successes are old hat to you old timers but maybe it will come in useful to the newbees.

Dave Vergun

BTW, just got back from running BB the Beagle thru the woods and meadows. She says hi to everyone and is busy chewing on a fake bone. She's either sunbathing, chewing, or clamoring to go rabbit chasing. Her new stunt in the woods is to find all the fallen trees, jump up on them and tight-walk down to the next one--no kidding! She's a real clown.