This is how to do both...

Richard Branch from this forum asked me a little while ago to have a go at these little beauties, so considering he asked so nicely and made me an offer I couldn't refuse I took the plunge over the last two nights and started.

Now these kits are a real challenge!  Firstly you have to make your own jig (one can be purchased from nengineering) to bend the 0.012" stainless steel tube...

You have to place a small piece of 0.012" wire into the conduit so that when bending the radius you don't kink the conduit...

Then you have to attempt to thread two individual strands of magnetic wire through the lovely series of bends you have just created, now this is a real chore because for those who have attempted this you will know that as soon as you kink the magnetic wire while trying to feed it though the conduit it's game over, and its time to start again...

Now this is the funny part of the entire build, and I'm sure like Richard will, that you too will laugh.  Because when I had got to this stage I pulled out the little packet of LED's and looked at how to solder the magnetic wire onto the LED...  Mmm interesting cant find the anode or cathode, oh well.  Then I decided to look through the box, hmm what is this thing that's a third the size of the LED you here me think to myself?

Then it dawned on me, the LED (what I originally thought it was) was in fact the resistor (confirmed when testing with a multimeter) and that tiny itty bitty thing that is a third the size of the resistor is the LED!  WHOA, now I have to figure out how to get these human hair thickness wires onto the LED & resistor...

No easy task, and took a few shots to get it right...  And by the way this picture below is the resistor!!

Then once the smallest electronic components you have ever seen are all soldered together it is a matter of connecting them all together, crossing your fingers that you have put it all together correctly...

And yes that tiny little thing below is the LED measuring 1.5mm x 1mm......

Then its a matter of sitting back hooking up the feeders and watching in marvel as the light shines out your little project, and you shake your head and wonder how you managed to pull it all off, and have it work too...

All in all a very rewarding project and I'm glad I actually had a go at it (I'm serious Richard!), its projects like these that really test the metal of a model railroader, but when done and successful really make you feel like you have achieved something and gives you the confidence to keep trying new things.

One closing remark for Richard.  Please only ask for a few more and not the whole packet of eight!!!!

PS: I'm only joking about the above line ......

Jas.

Thread wire first?

Jas,

Would it be possible to thread the magnet wire prior to bending the tube? Might thread easier.

Life in the Microscopic World

Jas, welcome to the world of SMD! Is there a reason you cannot feed the wire prior to bending the tube?

Peter & Alan...

Could be attempted but not sure if it would allow the conduit to kink when pulling the radius bends.  I kid you not it took about twelve attempts to get the second wire through.

I'm going to have a go a pre-wiring the conduit on the next one.  And Alan if your good at them please contact Richard for the next lot...... 

Jas...

Some help

Nest try it in N scale.

Given that I model N scale, I am glad my era is circa 1890-1900 and in an area not yet electrified.

Let there be light!

I suppose I should offer some pictures to back up my boastful claims of "success".

Bill

The finished light

looks really good.  Glad it all paid off for you, but I would have said heck with prototype and gone for a straight neck myself.  I honestly don't recall ever seeing a hooked light shaft like that, but I'm in the Midwest so who knows??  Just none around my parts I guess.

Still, glad it all worked out.  And it looks real cool.

"heck with prototype and gone for a straight neck"

and I'd probably said heck with the tubing and just mounted a light on the wall :> )

An idea?

Because you used a different wire through the conduit when you bent it, is there any chance you could solder the two magnet wires to the don't-let-the-conduit-kink-when-you-bend-it wire then use it to pull the magnet wires through the conduit instead of push them through?  Maybe if the original wire was stranded it would work better?

Of course I've never tried this myself...

Your results looked great.

Charlie

In the Automotive world, one

In the Automotive world, one way to bend brake line you can use a spring. Slid it over the brake line then bend it. The spring stops it from kinking. Do not know if there is a spring small enough and strong enough to try this.

Thanks Bill...

Your on the money Charlie...

I can not find this

I can not find this company

-Doug

http://www.ngineering.com/

http://www.ngineering.com/

Jas, I have made..............

............my own lamps in O scale using button blanks, earring post keepers and brass tube for a while now.  When I first started, I had not discovered that thin armature wire so I was using 30 ga (I believe) and HAD to insert the bulb wire before I bent the tubing.  I kinda  like incandescent bulbs that I can dim, so I use the tiny Miniatronics 12 volters.   Later I found a new trick that did allow me to insert the wire after bending the tubing.  I trimmed one of the wire back to about 1/2  " from the bulb and stripped it bare.  When pulled up into the lamp tubing with the other wire it would contact the brass tubing and I soldered a wire to the end of the tube in the structure to complete the circuit.  Works great.  Couple of pics:

Button blanks come in several sizes!

Remove the plastic and push up through a hole drilled in the center of the button blank.  Drop of CA holds it.

Once assembled, drill out the center to fit the tubing and ream out the base to allow the bulb to snug up tight.

Peter

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Let's pretend these things don't exist!  I bought these about a year ago and couldn't make heads or tails of them.  I thought the problem was poorly written directions combined with my lack of knowledge when it comes to electronics but I guess I was wrong about that.

Our original deal was you build 'em, we split 'em but if I get 2 of them I'll be happy.  You can do what you want with the rest of them!

I'm glad you liked doing it Jas, because this looks about as exciting as oral surgery to me!

Awww, they aren't THAT bad ya know

Thanks for the Microlumina shout-out there Bill.

I've been making gooseneck lights for years now and, believe it or not, the task can actually be relaxing once you get the knack. I do clinics on the subject of lighting and one of the most popular portions from that clinic has been how to make the goosenecky lights.

I never cared for the Ngineering way of fabricating them and ended up doing it Sinatra's way (i.e. - My Way). After chatting with other veteran gooseneck light makers we all were in agreement that its much easier to push the magnet wires through a straight length of tubing rather than one bent into the shape of a "P"

After threading the wire through the tubing I bend it with a pair of round-nose pliers. It might take a little practice to find the sweet spot on the pliers so that you don't crush the tube but it really isn't too bad.

One way to get good at it is to plan on making five or ten at a crack. Carve out an evening's time and do a batch. Save the ones you don't need for another project. Just a suggestion.

Have fun

Bill S

Bill - a video please? Is it

FYI ...

Check out the presoldered and 2 year guaranteed micro and nano LEDs, and other lighting accessories, offered by Evan Designs:  http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ledlights1.html Their prices are the best, website user friendly, they offer basic tutorial videos, and customer service is excellent.

With a little imagination, I created a simple gooseneck fixture using 3/64 shrink tubing and a Campbell's light shade - no soldering, no bending, no drilling, .... 

... 3/64 tubing before shrinking ...

... weathered and installed on a 1/87 scratchbuild ...

... voilà ...

I recently posted lighting photos of Mrs. Schnebley's (below) again using Evan Designs' micro LEDs...

My scratchbuild thread including additional photos and lighting information is located here:

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/mrs-schnebleys-sauerkraut-a-187-scratchbuild-based-on-earl-smallshaws-classic-perkins-produce-12193048

Delbert

LED soldering video

Rick

I don't know if you were referring to Bill Michaels or me.

I have a couple of video clips that I show in my clinic that describe how to 1) tin the magnet wire and 2) solder the leads to the LED using the Ngineering holder tool. They don't have any audio as I just yackity yack while showing the clip. I'd be happy to post a link to them if you want. They're a little dated now and I'd love to make a better version with audio and go through the whole gooseneck making process.

Delbert mentioned LEDs from the good people at Model Train Software / Evans Designs...the price for their pre-wired LEDs can't be beat. They use a heavier magnet wire though and a twisted pair of their wires won't fit through the 0.018 tubing that I like to use for HO Goosenecks and Billboard lights. I think it'll fit through the 0.025 tubing that works well for O Scale. Another thing regarding their LEDs is that they are side wired - the wires come out from one side of the LED. Delbert has some good photos showing how the wires exit the back of the LED. I wire my LEDs so that the wire sticks out 90 degrees from the back side of the LED - in other words, the wires stick out opposite from the way the light shines out from the LED if you know what I mean. That way it centers the LED nicely in the middle of the reflector.

Bill S.

SMD Pre-wired

I bought some from somewhere that had them wired at 90 degrees, but for the life of me, I can't remember off the top of my head, but I thought it was Evan Designs.  When I get home, I'll have to check where I got them.

http://www.ulrichmodels.biz/s

http://www.ulrichmodels.biz/servlet/the-350/Miniature-Surface-Mount-LEDs/Detail

not sure if these are small enough to do the trick in this application, but they're pretty great for ditch light projects and other small things... so maybe this would work?

I've had good luck with the

I've had good luck with the LED Baron on eBay.  Ships from Germany, and the stock varies over time.  A decent English translation appears about half way down each product description.