HO Scale Tubing question/s

[wombat457]

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?

 

[Lynnb]

I don't have a direct answer for this but I would be thinking in HO scale say for instance a light pole is 1 foot side to side then look at your HO scale ruler and convert it to what ever size is available out there. For a smoke stack for a shack I scratch built I used a straw filled with plaster of paris to keep its bend shape but when it was done it was pretty close to a HO scale stove pipe chimney.

 

[wombat457]

Thanks Lynn.

http://www.ngineering.com/ has all sizes of tubular steel. I just don't know what their sizing equates to in real measurements and was hoping that some one could "translate them for me.

 

[Lynnb]

Ya I see there in thousands of an inch, do you have a zinear caliper ? Going to take some figuring.

 

[Burlington Bob]

No need for a vernier caliper or mic. Try this, http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/fraction-decimal-chart.html Gives the decimal equivalent in inches and mm. Hope this helps.

 

[wombat457]

Ya I see there in thousands of an inch, do you have a zinear caliper ? Going to take some figuring.

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

No need for a vernier caliper or mic. Try this, http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/fraction-decimal-chart.html Gives the decimal equivalent in inches and mm. Hope this helps.

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.

 

[wombat457]

Bob,

Thanks mate, that chart worked out perfectly!

 

[Lynnb]

LOL I thought all the cool guys has a zinear caliper.

 

[wombat457]

LOL I thought all the cool guys has a zinear caliper.

Yep, they probably do too

 

[marriedshades]

What type of street light are you looking for cormerical or residental.

 

[marriedshades]

Are you planning on making them fuctional with working lights or static.

 

[rzw0wr]

zinear caliper?
I do believe it is Vernier.
Vernier calipers are hard to read as they do not have a dial.
If you get calipers get Dial calipers.
The dial is very easy to read.

 

[logandsawman]

Tony, I would consider these, may not be the BMW of street lights but when recieved, they looked nice and had detail I could not reproduce:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380411981288?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT



I don't know if they are still available, but other lights I bought from these people all worked and were a good value.

lasm

 

[jdetray]

Unless I am misunderstanding this discussion, it seems like an awful lot of back-and-forth for a very simple problem.

HO scale is 1/87 actual size. Simply divide the dimension of the real-life object by 87 to get the size you need for your HO railroad.

Example:

Let's say a real-world light pole is 10 inches in diameter. Then the HO light pole should be 10/87 = 0.115 inches (to the nearest 0.001 inch).

You probably won't find tubing that is exactly 0.115 inches in diameter, but 1/8 inch tubing (0.125 inches) is pretty close. If you have access to metric sizes, then 3mm tubing (0.118 inches) would be even closer to 10 scale inches. But I doubt anyone will criticize if you use 1/8 inch tubing to represent a 10 inch light pole.

Again, just divide the real-world dimension by 87 to get the HO equivalent for the dimension.

Of course in the real world, light poles are often tapered, but finding miniature tapered tubing will be difficult and expensive!

- Jeff

 

[Lynnb]

zinear caliper?
I do believe it is Vernier.
Vernier calipers are hard to read as they do not have a dial.
If you get calipers get Dial calipers.
The dial is very easy to read.

Hey Dale somehow Ididn't think zinear sounded right lol thanks

 

[rlundy90]

Tony, I measured up a couple of Brawa lights I have here. 1 is a triple light and the other a single. Both are about 4 1/2" high. The single light is 3/32" for the first 1 1/2", 5/64" for the next 1 1/2" and then 1/16" for the top 1 1/2". The triple light is 1/8" for the first three inches and the top is 3 pieces of 1/16" tubing. These are really nice looking lamps and would be really easy to make. I will send a couple of pics to your email if you like. Ron

 

[wombat457]

Are you planning on making them fuctional with working lights or static.

I intend to make the functional for street lights (of an older type) and for parks and platforms.

zinear caliper?
I do believe it is Vernier.
Vernier calipers are hard to read as they do not have a dial.
If you get calipers get Dial calipers.
The dial is very easy to read.

Thanks mate, if I ever do get one, I'll definitely get the easier to read type

Tony, I would consider these, may not be the BMW of street lights but when recieved, they looked nice and had detail I could not reproduce:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380411981288?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

View attachment 46651

I don't know if they are still available, but other lights I bought from these people all worked and were a good value.

lasm

Lasm, thank you and that is more or less the sort of light I was thinking about, or similar. I really do want to try to make them though, if for no other reason than to see if can.

Unless I am misunderstanding this discussion, it seems like an awful lot of back-and-forth for a very simple problem.

HO scale is 1/87 actual size. Simply divide the dimension of the real-life object by 87 to get the size you need for your HO railroad.

Example:

Let's say a real-world light pole is 10 inches in diameter. Then the HO light pole should be 10/87 = 0.115 inches (to the nearest 0.001 inch).

You probably won't find tubing that is exactly 0.115 inches in diameter, but 1/8 inch tubing (0.125 inches) is pretty close. If you have access to metric sizes, then 3mm tubing (0.118 inches) would be even closer to 10 scale inches. But I doubt anyone will criticize if you use 1/8 inch tubing to represent a 10 inch light pole.

Again, just divide the real-world dimension by 87 to get the HO equivalent for the dimension.

Of course in the real world, light poles are often tapered, but finding miniature tapered tubing will be difficult and expensive!

- Jeff

Jeff, thanks, and yep yur right. Don't know why I didn't think of that myself

Tony, I measured up a couple of Brawa lights I have here. 1 is a triple light and the other a single. Both are about 4 1/2" high. The single light is 3/32" for the first 1 1/2", 5/64" for the next 1 1/2" and then 1/16" for the top 1 1/2". The triple light is 1/8" for the first three inches and the top is 3 pieces of 1/16" tubing. These are really nice looking lamps and would be really easy to make. I will send a couple of pics to your email if you like. Ron

Ron,

If you have some pictures that would be great. Thanks.

 

[CarolHowell]

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.

 

[rgeiter]

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?

Amazon has a lot to choose from. Here is what some of them look like. They sell both “yellow glo” and white. The price isn’t bad either. After a recent trip to the hobby shop, some of these street lights look almost the same as the Atlas ones being sold.

 

[logandsawman]

Funny this street light thread came up as I will be adding some lights, found some real beautes on Ebay, was a one time offering some China import as the ones from post 13.

I will post the pic when I get them installed, luckily I purchased enough since they do not show up anymore in my searches.

Some good values of new items to be found on ebay, however the availability may be limited so buy what you need or reorder if satisfied immediately cause months later they may not be available.

Dave LASM