RMweb Premium Ray H Posted July 20, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 20, 2015 I would be obliged to learn the internal diameter size of the metal tube used for wire in tube point operation. I have tried the flexible (nylon?) stuff and have trouble keeping it straight because it wants to follow the shape of the wire that is supplied coiled. Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Is metal tube still available? I've been using up my stock of it, and haven't seen it advertised anywhere. As it the ID, I'll try to dig some out if no one else answers who can do it more easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Copper tube appears to have vanished from the model market to be replaced by nylon tube. There are metal clamps that hold the tube in place with one screw for each clamp. Gordon A Bristol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted July 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 21, 2015 Hi Ray I use curtain wire as a tube and hold it in place with cable clips. Regards Lez.Z. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Hi -yes I also use curtain wire with the steel rod running through it. Flexible to adjust to height or direction changes yet strong enough to keep the steel rod reasonably tight. Under my baseboard I hold in place with wooden blocks that have a hole through which the curtain wire is threaded. But metal clamps or plastic clamps would work well also. Curtain wire cheap and durable. I like the photo of the point levers above. regards, Andy R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ray H Posted July 21, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 21, 2015 K & S metals (still) appear to market a 1/16" (1.59mm) OD tube in aluminium, copper and brass. It comes in 12" lengths and can be bought in packs of three. My original question mentioned the tube's internal dimension because I misunderstood the graphic on one website I looked at. 1.59mm seems fairly unobtrusive for surface mounting. I want to "bury" the tube in the base and general layer of foam underlay that I plan to use under a trackbed wide second foam layer upon which the track will sit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ427 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 You can fix the nylon type tube with contact adhesive. Also if you are burying it in foam you can create a trough that will also prevent movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Hi Ray I use curtain wire as a tube and hold it in place with cable clips. Regards Lez.Z. What make is the lever frame? One I bought on eBay arrived this morning, although in silver rather than black, so I'm curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted July 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 21, 2015 What make is the lever frame? One I bought on eBay arrived this morning, although in silver rather than black, so I'm curious. Hi John I too bought this on Ebay and I belive its a very old GEM offering. Its all pressed steel rather than the later cast white metal type. I have quite a few of these in both 4 and 8 lever and both pressed steel and cast WM, even though my layout is DCC I like mechanical point operation. IMO the older pressed steel ones are beter than the cast WM ones. Regards Lez.Z. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasgasdelta Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Hi. If you need to use metal tube try car brake pipe 3/16 OD. cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 There is plenty of copper capillary tube available, if you search on the web for it, in various grades of hardness and sizes - such as http://www.albionalloys.co.uk/copper-capillary-tube/ . You may be able to get it in smaller lengths from a heating/refrigeration company. But, for under-board use, the stretchy curtain wire is more readily available, and may be cheaper Either way, it may be easier to get the tube, then select a suitable size piano wire. (stainless mig welding wire is most likely OK, if you want plenty.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigo Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I've used bicycle brake cables held down with 5mm cable clips. £1.45 from Wilkinsons (Wilco). Front and back are the same price but obviously the back one is longer (1.4 m). Need a decent pair of cutters to shorten it though. Brian G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theakerr Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Over here in Canada I can still get matching wire (about 0.2mm diameter) and tube in 36" lengths from a number of model shops that specialise in model aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ray H Posted July 21, 2015 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 21, 2015 I've located some copper tube - KS8117 - from several retailers and at varying prices. Those stores with illustrations show a packet of three 12" lengths and one store quotes a price of 85p (which I've asked them to confirm). I want about 24 lengths and would happily pay approx. 30p per length (and a bit more if necessary). However, I have a sneaking feeling that the price being quoted is for a single length. I would of course contest any attempt to charge me by the individual length when that isn't mentioned on the website and the image shows otherwise. Has anyone bought K & S metals products recently? Were they always sold sealed in a pack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Albion metals will be similar pricing - as sold by expo - it will be more than 85p per length from them. It's sold in packs of 4 (or less, depending on size) for about £5.25 per pack. They also supply in 1 metre lengths. I bought various sizes in my local shop for a bit less than that, iirc, a year or two ago, but metal prices go up and down, mainly up. If your shop has it at 85p a length, you won't get it much cheaper unless you try elsewhere, as I previously suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted July 21, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 21, 2015 Striaghten out the wire first. Put one end in a battery drill and secure the other end to something. Spin the drill and your wire will striaghten out, making sure you are taking the twist out. The other method is to hold the coil in one hand and take off three loops to the left, and then turn the coil around and take another three coils off, and repeat. This gets rid of the twist. Andy G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Way back in the 70s/80s, when I last used wire in tube, I greeted the plastic tube eagerly. I then proceeded to use a similar type that we had in stock at work, which was actually sleeving for electronic wiring, seemed nylon/polythene based as it wouldn't stick with anything. No problem though, as I used small panel pins in pairs either side of the tube to hold it in place. If the heads were not large enough to cover the tube, a blob of solder was put across to hold it in place. Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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