Hi all,
I remember a little bit ago that someone talked about using a piano wire to drill through the roadbed and bench work for feeder wires that are soldered to the rails. I will have a cork roadbed glued onto a 1/2 inch thick plywood and will be using 22 ga feeder wires. I have just started laying the cork on my layout.
My questions are:
1. Is this actual piano wire or just called this?
2. Is this only sold in a music store?
3. Does it have to be sharpened on the end to work?
Thanks everyone for your assistance.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
"Piano" wire or "music" wire can be found in hardware stores.
The discussion may have been about "drilling" through 2-inch insulation foam, which can be used as a layout base. More properly, you would be "punching" through. The foam is quite soft, and a piece of stiff wire can be shoved through it. Plywood, however, is not going to give in that easily, and I don't think a piece of piano wire would work very well. Just use a small drill bit.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Piano wire is very stiff for its diameter. My LHS carries it.
You should be able to get small diameter drill bits that are longer than "normal" at your hardware store.
Have fun,
Richard
As others have said, you can buy piano wire at hobby shops, craft stores, music stores, and hardware stores. But, there is no way you are going to force piano wire through 1/2 inch plywood. Nor will mini-drill bits work, they will break under the pressure.
I have a 1/2 inch plywood surface on my layout, and I use a portable power drill with 1/8 inch drill bits to bore throough the surface of the plywood to provide an access hole for 22 ga. feeder wires.
Rich
Alton Junction
Thanks everyone. I just couldn't figure out how a wire was going to go thru plywood. Sometimes I second guess myself as all of this is new to me. I love this site.
Guys,
I hate to contradict you but Andy Sperandeo does use piano wire to drill through plywood roadbed to install his "spikehead" track feeders. See: http://mrr.trains.com/Videos/Expert%20Tips/2010/06/Videos%20Track%20enhancing%20tips.aspx. It's part of the "Expert Tips" video series on this site have a look.
Joe
I find that when using small dia. drill bits, to brace yourself (IE lean over and place you elbows on something) and have the drill bit turning before you touch the material which you intend to drill. Use a liter touch letting the drill do it job. Too much force and the bit pops. An un-steady hand and the bit pops. Buy extra bits.
On a side note; Small dia. long drill bits turning at high speed will and do make a right turn cutting anything within reach. So keep it slow.
Johnnny_reb Once a word is spoken it can not be unspoken!
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Hi Curt,
You can easily "drill" 1/2" plywood with piano wire.
I had to locate a first floor wall for a central vac installation in my house.I simply took a piece of wire holding up the insulation in the cellar,chucked it up,ran it behind the baseboard and down through 1/2" underlayment and 5/8" subfloor.
Don't need to sharpen it,cut it with side cutters and the burr will cut faster than a point.
Good luck
Paul
The front tires on the Chevelle have lasted forever.
The rears,not so good.!!
JoeinPA Guys, I hate to contradict you but Andy Sperandeo does use piano wire to drill through plywood roadbed to install his "spikehead" track feeders. See: http://mrr.trains.com/Videos/Expert%20Tips/2010/06/Videos%20Track%20enhancing%20tips.aspx. It's part of the "Expert Tips" video series on this site have a look. Joe
I wish Andy would chime in here and tell us a little more about the use of piano wire to drill through 1/2" plywood. In the video, he has a foam surface and what appears to be a wood subsurface but I cannot tell how thick the wood is that is supporting the foam.
I mentioned in my earlier reply that I use a 1/8' drill bit in a portable power drill to make the necessary hole in 1/2" plywood to pull through a pair of 22 ga. feeder wires. I am wondering what the diameter is of the piano wire that Andy refers to in his video.
glassman396 Hi Curt, You can easily "drill" 1/2" plywood with piano wire. I had to locate a first floor wall for a central vac installation in my house.I simply took a piece of wire holding up the insulation in the cellar,chucked it up,ran it behind the baseboard and down through 1/2" underlayment and 5/8" subfloor. Don't need to sharpen it,cut it with side cutters and the burr will cut faster than a point. Good luck Paul
You drilled a hole through 1 1/8 " wood with a piece of piano wire?
What was the diameter of the wire?
I am willing to stand corrected if you can drill through an inch or more of wood with a piece of piano wire, but first I would like to hear a little more from those who have done it. I remain skeptical.
If you have any old coat hangers cut a piece from oneof those to about 6 or 8 inches I've used them for years to locate wall spaces in basements
It's best to get an 1/8th inch long drill bit. Drilling with a piece of wire if possible would take a long time and the resulting hole would be difficult at best to feed the wire through.
Springfield PA
Hamltnblue It's best to get an 1/8th inch long drill bit. Drilling with a piece of wire if possible would take a long time and the resulting hole would be difficult at best to feed the wire through.
I gotta agree with you there. After all, that's what drill bits are made for and why the tips on some are hardened to avoid breaking bits in tough situations.
well I beg to differ coat hanger wire is harder than normal wire try cutting a piece of it and I can drill thru a floor in a house in about 10 sec and don't have to worry about breaking a drill bit in the process
I think they're quite easy to cut. But imagine the large hole if you used a coat hanger to drill through wood. . Those things must be 5 or 6 inches wide.
mikeGTW well I beg to differ coat hanger wire is harder than normal wire try cutting a piece of it and I can drill thru a floor in a house in about 10 sec and don't have to worry about breaking a drill bit in the process
I'm not sure what you mean by "normal wire".
Coat hanger wire is relatively soft. Try bending a drill bit of the same diameter.
Actually, it's usually somewhat hard - probably a byproduct of the drawing process. Coat hanger wire is fairly brittle - yes, you can bend it, but easiest at the existing bends where it has softened. Until it snaps right off. No, it's not tool steel level of hardness, so in comparison it seems soft - if you had a drill bit the size of coathanger wire and long enough to actually brab both ends and bend, it wouldn;t bend - it would snap. Usually the harder the steel the more brittle it is - sudden shocks can simply shatter it, yet with steady pressure it will cut through nearly anything.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
By now, I am sure that we are way off topic, and Crandell is getting ready to pounce on us. LOL
Even high quality drill bits lose their effectiveness at cutting through wood after awhile and have to be replaced.
I just cannot picture myself drilling holes in 1/2 inch plywood with pieces of coat hanger. That's nuts!
I was goign to try it, but I only have 1/4" plywood under my 4" of foam. But then I found the long drill bits and just used those.
You could have used the coat hangars though and saved the drill bits for another day.
I'm looking at some spare flex track right now. Wonder if the rail would drill through plywood.
Oh and to the OP, just having fun with it.
Hamltnblue I'm looking at some spare flex track right now. Wonder if the rail would drill through plywood.
LOL
I like that idea better than piano wire or coat hangers.