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Complete novice here. For my N gauge layout I am laying Peco code 55 on top of Woodland Scenics track-bed over 1 inch of pink insulation foam and a sub bed of 1/4" ply.
I tried to drill a hole with a bit just large enough for the wires (22 AWG, so about 1/32"?) but it tore up the track-bed (and I suspect the foam underneath) leaving me with holes that a scale human being could fall down.
This in turn led to the problem that I couldn't feed my wires through from the top* because I couldn't find the tiny hole in the baseboard through the large hole in the foam. I ended up having to drill a bigger hole in the wood that I could actually find!
Am I doing something dumb here? I don't recall seeing anybody else have this problem in any of the dozens of videos I watched, although most of them seem to be drilling through cork on ply, or even directly through ply.
I don't know if it is relevant, but I used my regular power drill. Should I try something lower power like my Dremel?
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*If you're wondering why I'm feeding the wires from the top: I decided to attach my feeder wires by soldering them to the rail joiners, before putting the rail joiners on the tracks. Obviously, with the rail joiner on the wire, it's too big to feed up from the bottom, where the hole in the ply is easy to find. I'm beginning to think that my mistake started there, but even if I dropped that approach, I still have the problem of tear-out of the track-bed.
Find a piece of brass tubing that your feeder wires will pass through. Hobby Lobby has a modest
selection of tubing. Select a drill bit which is a little larger than the outside diameter of the brass tubing.
Drill through the track bed, foam, and 1/4" ply using that bit. Your regular drill should be fine. Insert the
tubing through the hole. While holding the tubing in the hole, insert the feeder wires through the tubing.
Once the wires pass through the track bed, foam, and plywood, push the tubing through the hole along
with the rest of your feeder wires. Remove the tubing from underneath and repeat for your other feeder
wires.
You might be able to find a plastic soda straw of the correct size to use instead of the brass tubing.
I use drinking straws. Drill the hole, stick in a straw, trim it to length, stick it in place with a bit of caulk, and the hole is easy to access forever.
Those are both good suggestions. But I still have the problem that drilling the initial hole tears up the track underlay. Any ideas for that part?
Those are both good suggestions. But I still have the problem that drilling the initial hole tears up the track underlay. Any ideas for that part?
Sharpen the end of a short piece of the brass tubing. Use it as your "drill bit" to go through the track bed and possibly even the pink foam, down to the plywood, where you can switch over to a regular drill bit.
Sharpen the end of a short piece of the brass tubing. Use it as your "drill bit" to go through the track bed and possibly even the pink foam, down to the plywood, where you can switch over to a regular drill bit.
That sounds like a good idea. Or indeed anything else that gets me through the foam without the twisting motion of the drill bit.
I have built myself a "test bed" of 6" of trackbed, foam, and wood (cutoff from building my benchwork) so I can experiment with this and other ideas.
That sounds like a good idea. Or indeed anything else that gets me through the foam without the twisting motion of the drill bit.
I have built myself a "test bed" of 6" of trackbed, foam, and wood (cutoff from building my benchwork) so I can experiment with this and other ideas.
It works good on cork roadbed too, which I've actually done in the past.
OK, I found something that works, riffing on your comments I realized that the biggest problem was the twisting. So I found a small diameter (not much wider than the wires) drill bit with a loooong shank. I pushed that through the underlay and the foam until I hit wood, and only then did I turn on the drill. When I pulled it out I had a small hole rather than a crater, and it guided the wires straight through the hole. Perfect!
Now I just have to wait for it to try, clean the track, test continuity, and run a check on another yard of track.
I'm glad you found a solution that works for you!
My solution is slightly different: Ballast. I went with the bigger holes for the feeders as it was easier to run the wires. After the track is ballasted, the holes are usually well hidden. Granted, I am in HO and not N, like you, but the principle would be the same I would imagine.
I hope you are right. I will find out when I ballast the first one I did, with the big holes. I'm a bit worried that with the fine ballast I am using, it will easily run down the hole so I might fill it first, say with caulk.
I hope you are right. I will find out when I ballast the first one I did, with the big holes. I'm a bit worried that with the fine ballast I am using, it will easily run down the hole so I might fill it first, say with caulk.
That would be my suggestion if you're concerned and just want the piece of mind of not having to worry about it. Caulk or even just a drop or two of a white glue to plug up the hole.
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