Seeking source for ~1" N scale beads and stiff wire.

[SandyEggoJake]

Thanks guys!  Lot of great suggestions to explore. 

@mmagliaro ngineering 0.004" sounds like a great option and available in small amounts. 

But it can be beat. 

0.01 MILLIMETER SS 304 can be had here...  at $340 per METER !!!

http://www.goodfellow.com/catalogue/GFCat4I.php?ewd_token=0m0VZvD4hoAtu8EhZwU4KEtobkAyos&n=smkMvzTSmHsUxhpfF3Bjbx2uMT6eiC&ewd_urlNo=GFCatSeaRed6&Catite=FE205100&CatSearNum=2

[SandyEggoJake]

@David K. Smith

I'm intrigued by the idea of ball point pen balls for the end knobs.  Now ...how to make a reliably make a though holes smaller than a #80 on the cheap....   

Would kind of like to diy it.  Afraid to even ask a price of the pros... https://www.najet.com/

Obviously, one really wouldn't need though holes, as they could just be affix to the end for most of my needs.  But the same could be used to improve the look of stanchions (PE lift hooks are my fall back), and the ability to string such on a .004 or .008" wire would make that ever fiddly detail slightly easier.   

 

[peteski]

@David K. Smith

I'm intrigued by the idea of ball point pen balls for the end knobs.  Now ...how to make a reliably make a though holes smaller than a #80 on the cheap....   

Would kind of like to diy it.  Afraid to even ask a price of the pros... https://www.najet.com/

Obviously, one really wouldn't need though holes, as they could just be affix to the end for most of my needs.  But the same could be used to improve the look of stanchions (PE lift hooks are my fall back), and the ability to string such on a .004 or .008" wire would make that ever fiddly detail slightly easier.

You are not kidding - you would need National Jet's service.   Ball paint pen balls are usually made from very hard material (probably tungsten carbide).  No way to drill that using conventional twist drills.

As far as affixing a ball on the end of a thin wire using a butt joint, unless they are welded, the glued are is so minuscule that the joint would have no strength.

[narrowminded]

Does somebody have a picture of what's trying to be accomplished?  If I'm understanding it I may have an idea of how to get it done.  I won't be home for a week or two so couldn't even try anything until then.  My immediate thought doesn't include use of beads and is why I would like to see what the end result should look like.

[peteski]

Does somebody have a picture of what's trying to be accomplished?  If I'm understanding it I may have an idea of how to get it done.  I won't be home for a week or two so couldn't even try anything until then.  My immediate thought doesn't include use of beads and is why I would like to see what the end result should look like.

Are you thinking of forming the wire's end into something resembling a sphere? Kind of like the axle ends on Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars, head of a sewing pin, or a nail-head?

[narrowminded]

Are you thinking of forming the wire's end into something resembling a sphere? Kind of like the axle ends on Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars, head of a sewing pin, or a nail-head?

... or a miniature bored clamp/ heat sink then heating and stretching SS wire.  Something like that. 

For a few pieces they could probably be machined but in any volume that could leave the operator permanently cross eyed with a nervous affliction.

If somebody could find plastic or brass balls a fixture could likely be made to drill them.  Another challenge but likely achievable.

[DKS]

Would it be worth trying to heat the end of ultra-fine wire until it melts and (possibly) forms a ball?

[Lemosteam]

Would it be worth trying to heat the end of ultra-fine wire until it melts and (possibly) forms a ball?

Good idea, with a cold soft steel spherical tool to push it into as it cools.

A 105 dremel engraving bit could be used to make the tool.

[peteski]

Good idea, with a cold soft steel spherical tool to push it into as it cools.

A 105 dremel engraving bit could be used to make the tool.

Wouldn't end of a thin molten wire naturally form a ball (without need for a forming tool)?

[DKS]

Wouldn't end of a thin molten wire naturally form a ball (without need for a forming tool)?

That's what I was thinking, assuming the wire is held vertically.

[Lemosteam]

Don't know.  I'll try it when I get home with some 0.008" stainless and a MAPP gas torch, but I doubt it.  Might just simply stretch to a thinner strand as there is no force to make the wire diameter larger than it already is.

[Kentuckian]

Good idea, with a cold soft steel spherical tool to push it into as it cools.

A 105 dremel engraving bit could be used to make the tool.

Isn’t this called “swedging”?

[Lemosteam]

Swaging requires force and deformation in a cold state, i.e cold forming.  This would be closer to Forging but without hammering, i.e. hot forming using a die set.

[Kentuckian]

Gotcha. Thanks.

[SandyEggoJake]

@David K. Smith

Agreed, though have read some are SS and others of brass.  Just hoping you had some magic Hattori Hanzo steel nanodrill.  At this point the smallest drill in my quiver is the #80.  And even they don't last long. in my hands. 

Too be clear, the trusty "ol' glob of stuff" method is where I'm likely headed.  But as I was gathering supplies to make a stab at a long planned scratch build, I was wondering if new tech or repurposing an existing thing (like your ball point pen ball idea) might yield superior results.  So for grins, even started pondering the smallest readily available metal boring laser beam.  Learned a diode laser delivered via doped silica fibre can bore metal with fair efficiency with a beam waist down to 0.15mm (~0.006") so the 0.004" SS wire could indeed be a fair fit.     

@narrowminded  my wish for for a .3mm nano beads isn't all that exotic.  In this first instance, just trying to make end knobs on N scale handgrips better.  And as those on my prototype were brass, if possible, exploring all metal construction as I've been toying with the idea of finishing them via DIY electroplating (yellow chromate?) rather than paint, so the detail wouldn't get buried and they'd stand out against the black cab and boiler. 

Finding a cheap off the shelf 0.3mm bead would be ideal.  And if such 0.3mm metal beads can be had, the same could be used to develop better stanchions as well. 

Not sure your idea would help, but totally interested in what you find and honored by your interest.  You asked for an image...  not much to tell.


Other than boiler grips, the longest is 96" of 1" pipe horizontal and just three stanchions, hence my hope for a smaller / stiffer wire than Tichy 0.008".

Anyway, thanks again guys for the suggestions.