HO Scale Tubing question/s

[jdetray]

Thanks Bob, I'll take a look. I think, if as Lynn said a pole is 12" in diameter, then that will be about 1/16th of an inch scaled (approx) I think if my math is any good.

Not in HO scale, Carol. To convert a real-world dimension to HO scale, simply divide by 87. So . . .
12"/87 = 0.137" (to the nearest 1/1000")

Therefore, in HO scale, you could use 1/8" (0.125") tubing to represent a 12" pole. The 1/8" tubing would be slightly undersized, but I doubt if anyone will notice! If you can find some 9/64" (0.140") tubing, that would be more accurate.

- Jeff

 

[Smudge617]

After looking at some of the cost of pre wired Street Lights (of good quality) I thought I might give making my own a go.

As such, what size/gauge tubing would I need for the poles?

I take it when you say good quality, you mean expensive.
Have to admit I use Chinese ones (£7 for ten 2 light lamp poles inc p&p) there now 3 years old, so far two single LEDs don't work out of the 25 I have, and one of them was my fault.

 

[rbwhale]

Ah yeah sure I do - it's in the box labelled "what the hell is this" Short answer, nope



Thanks Bob, I'll take a look. I think, if as Lynn said a pole is 12" in diameter, then that will be about 1/16th of an inch scaled (approx) I think if my math is any good.

12 inches in HO scale (1:87) is more like .14 inches, or a little over an eighth inch.

 

[747flier]

Perhaps someone knows the exact origin of HO scale. O is 1:48 and half that would be 1:96. These probably originated as 1/4" per foot scale and the 1:96 (1/8" per foot). Now how did we come up with the catchy 1:87 scale? The 3.5 mm/ft HO scale make one suspect those metric folks had a hand in this. Still a pretty arbitrary scale, even in metrics!

 

[ctclibby]

I have always heard that it is 'Half O'. Well the math tells us different. If metric, it is different than OO by just a bit. Smudge can tell us more on that. Google tells us that it originated in the UK but never caught on. And if we pick nits, HO is actually 1/87.2 if you really need extra 0.0000263".

Later

 

[747flier]

Measure with a micrometer, cut with a chainsaw... An old Alaskan proverb... I do measure with a micrometer, the final item is usually within and inch (actual ) or two. I only use Pie to a couple of significant figures...

 

[Smudge617]

Perhaps someone knows the exact origin of HO scale. O is 1:48 and half that would be 1:96. These probably originated as 1/4" per foot scale and the 1:96 (1/8" per foot). Now how did we come up with the catchy 1:87 scale? The 3.5 mm/ft HO scale make one suspect those metric folks had a hand in this. Still a pretty arbitrary scale, even in metrics!

The name H0 comes from 1:87 scale being half that of 0 scale, which was originally the smallest of the series of older and larger 0, 1, 2 and 3 gauges introduced by Märklin around 1900

I have always heard that it is 'Half O'. Well the math tells us different. If metric, it is different than OO by just a bit. Smudge can tell us more on that. Google tells us that it originated in the UK but never caught on. And if we pick nits, HO is actually 1/87.2 if you really need extra 0.0000263".

Later

Good job I bookmarked this page, a brief summary of why the UK has OO scale.

What is OO gauge?

World of Railways is the UKs biggest Railway themed website, incorporating British Railway Modelling, Garden Rail, Narrow Gauge World & Traction

www.world-of-railways.co.uk

 

[santafewillie]

Third go-around for this thread. Forget all of the damn math, use this scale converter.
Exact Rails Scale Converter
Or this one.
Model Buildings Scale Converter

There's others out there.