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Step 11Adding contact switches
Tools and materials:
Copper wire. I was planning on using 1.5mm diameter copper earth wire, with the green and yellow insulation stripped off. However, once I stripped, I saw it was actually multi-stranded. Harder, or springier metal will be much better because it won't tend to deform. I used brass strip on another lamp, and that was just about perfect. I was using copper wire here, because it's easier to source and cut. This multi-strand do for now, since I don't have anything else. Grr.
Most of the wires will be terminated with screw connector blocks, so you'll need a small screwdriver. And some of your screw connector blocks, of course. Cut these strips into single segments.
Wire cutters and a knife for stripping.
Struts:
Take your four 25mm short struts. These will go on the very bottom of the scissor structure.
Round the corners off one end of each, and punch a hole in each, near the hole in the rounded end. Don't punch all the way through the strut since it's just to hold the end of the wire. Now punch another hole 110mm up the strut, this one should go all the way through. These should both be a tight fit for the stripped wire.
Cut some lengths of copper wire about 150mm long and strip the insulation off. If you are using multi-stranded stuff, it's very hard to handle once the insulation is off, so you'd be best off tinning the ends with solder or putting on some kind of crimping fastener.
Bend the lengths of wire so they'll stretch between the two holes snugly. The short end should be no longer than the thickness of the strut, 10mm will do. (pic) Slide the wire through the holes, and make sure the tip is firmly bedded, tapping it home with something hard if necessary. You could even put a dollop of glue in the hole if you are that way inclined.
Cut off the excess wire that's sticking out the back side of the strut and screw a screw terminal on. (pic)
Uprights:
You should have marked each of your uprights 1 to 4, and each one should have a couple of punch marks on it's "IN" side. As with the struts, these holes are to accept a length of stripped wire. The bottom hole should be punched all the way through, but the top one should be punched only halfway, and at an angle. The object here is to bend the wire at a slight angle, to let it slide up and into the corrugations of the upright. This so that the struts with the other contact wire have slide more easily onto this contact wire. Be careful not to poke all the way through though. There is no shame in using a dab of glue in this hole. Even heroes do it. Bend a right angle at the other end, and feed it through the lower hole.
If your screw-terminal connecting blocks are longer than 14mm (mine were), cut half of the insulation off two of them, and use these to secure the wire out the back of upright #2 and #3. Don't clip off any excess yet. Clip the leads on #1 and #4 though, and put a regular connecting screw terminal on it, same as on the struts.
That's all the real work done. The rest is just installation and assembly!
Copper wire. I was planning on using 1.5mm diameter copper earth wire, with the green and yellow insulation stripped off. However, once I stripped, I saw it was actually multi-stranded. Harder, or springier metal will be much better because it won't tend to deform. I used brass strip on another lamp, and that was just about perfect. I was using copper wire here, because it's easier to source and cut. This multi-strand do for now, since I don't have anything else. Grr.
Most of the wires will be terminated with screw connector blocks, so you'll need a small screwdriver. And some of your screw connector blocks, of course. Cut these strips into single segments.
Wire cutters and a knife for stripping.
Struts:
Take your four 25mm short struts. These will go on the very bottom of the scissor structure.
Round the corners off one end of each, and punch a hole in each, near the hole in the rounded end. Don't punch all the way through the strut since it's just to hold the end of the wire. Now punch another hole 110mm up the strut, this one should go all the way through. These should both be a tight fit for the stripped wire.
Cut some lengths of copper wire about 150mm long and strip the insulation off. If you are using multi-stranded stuff, it's very hard to handle once the insulation is off, so you'd be best off tinning the ends with solder or putting on some kind of crimping fastener.
Bend the lengths of wire so they'll stretch between the two holes snugly. The short end should be no longer than the thickness of the strut, 10mm will do. (pic) Slide the wire through the holes, and make sure the tip is firmly bedded, tapping it home with something hard if necessary. You could even put a dollop of glue in the hole if you are that way inclined.
Cut off the excess wire that's sticking out the back side of the strut and screw a screw terminal on. (pic)
Uprights:
You should have marked each of your uprights 1 to 4, and each one should have a couple of punch marks on it's "IN" side. As with the struts, these holes are to accept a length of stripped wire. The bottom hole should be punched all the way through, but the top one should be punched only halfway, and at an angle. The object here is to bend the wire at a slight angle, to let it slide up and into the corrugations of the upright. This so that the struts with the other contact wire have slide more easily onto this contact wire. Be careful not to poke all the way through though. There is no shame in using a dab of glue in this hole. Even heroes do it. Bend a right angle at the other end, and feed it through the lower hole.
If your screw-terminal connecting blocks are longer than 14mm (mine were), cut half of the insulation off two of them, and use these to secure the wire out the back of upright #2 and #3. Don't clip off any excess yet. Clip the leads on #1 and #4 though, and put a regular connecting screw terminal on it, same as on the struts.
That's all the real work done. The rest is just installation and assembly!
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