DalaGStanator's Customs, Mods and Experiments

Last May, I managed to put together a decent wooden prototype for half-sleepers with M-F connectors. Two matchsticks glued to each other were the same thickness as my two-layered zip tie sleepers, so I knew they would fit in properly. After marking the connectors, I cut out one mark on each side with the rotary tool and superglued a piece of a third matchstick at the end of the other one, reshaping it until it could fit into the hole. It resulted in a fairly good connection that wasn't too tricky to separate.



I then tried moulding the half-sleepers in hot melt glue with the aim of casting them in a better material, but the mould wasn't oiled very well and the wooden prototypes broke when released. While not pictured, I then tried another design with hole punch pellets for the connectors (which should be twice as reliable due to my aforementioned reason). It was made by cutting a plastic sheet to the size of a full sleeper, punching the holes in the middle and then cutting in half. Part of my inspiration for this came from a couple of woodworking tutorials that showed how to make this type of joint using a dowel in a specially aligned hole for the male connector. It might also be best to modify my two-layered rails at each end so they could fit next to each other to reduce gaps at the joints.

Update:



I now have my own punch for making these connectors and joints with thin materials that aren't (regular) paper. Even though it's smaller than the older punch, the holes and pellets it makes are very similar in diameter. I didn't actually show my previous tries with the technique, so I've recreated it for illustrative purposes. Like before, the only real problem is it's hard to see where the holes are being made or predict exactly where they will be, even if marking them on the piece itself before punching. Other than that, I could see it working quite well for a few other applications besides track systems.

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Another crude yet functional switch design for the transfer table. Like some of my previous tries, it used four contacts wired diagonally with a live strip touching one of them on each side. The contacts were initially going to be made of metal zip ties, only to find they wouldn't accept solder even with more flux applied. Since I no longer needed the stand that came with my first two soldering irons, I found it was also conductive and much more "willing" to accept it due to its rough texture. After cutting out all the contacts and soldering wires to them, I glued the two "strip" ones under a flat piece with only the power wires and a toothpick to hold it down. It seemed more responsive going in one direction than the other, but otherwise worked nearly as well as a proper one.