clairevc Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Wondering if someone is out there that could "tape wire" my dollhouse??? It's started, but still having a difficult time. Anyone live in Suffolk county, NY that could help?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I suggest that you PM RockawayRose. I think she is in Nassau County but she is an expert and might be able to assist you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Maybe I can coach you through it. What seems to be the issue? What house are you wiring? Are you using the brads ( tiny nails) or the eyelets? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbnmini Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Wonder if there is a dollhouse shop - or even a mini club in that area that might have someone that could help out? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairevc Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try and find the person in Nassau county...Rockaway rose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairevc Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 3 hours ago, Sable said: Maybe I can coach you through it. What seems to be the issue? What house are you wiring? Are you using the brads ( tiny nails) or the eyelets? I've been working on the Beacon Hill. Using the tiny tiny brads. Hard to hold and hammer in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Use the eyelets. The smaller ones. I usually use two for each junction. And you can put an eyelet on a - OK, what is that thing called? The needle? Anyway, it's an eyehole punch, I think and you can slide the eyelet on the needle in the eyehole punch and then push it in. Way easier than trying to pound wee nails. I will tell you one thing, though. Watch out for tape runs that are on opposite sides of the same wall. Because the Greenleaf houses have such thin walls, you may punch an eyelet through the wall and have it make a connection with the tape wire run on the other side. That will make a short and your lights won't work. It's difficult to find and harder to correct, so just keep an eye out for that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 No wonder you want to give up. Eyelets only for all connections, like Rodentraiser said. I pre poke the hole with the needle tool first. Then do what she suggested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Oh my gosh - I've never heard of using the eyelets for the tape wire run connections. I can see though that it would be much easier. I've got oodles of those small eyelets too and I wondered why they kits gave them to us since they're too small for plugs to go into. If you don't have that awl tool I found that using a bulletin board push pin works marvelously. Claire, I hope you will find some help. Believe me, the wonderful people on this site walked me through tape wiring my first dollhouse. And they were there to help with suggestions when it came to dyeing and applying my shingles. (By the way - be sure to check back when it comes time to lay your shingles because someone on this site told me to be SURE to draw lines on the roof to follow while gluing shingles on and it made it SOOOO easy!) I was wiring my daughter-in-law's little 'Columbian' dollhouse last month and I'd run out of the little electrical outlets. So while I waited for new ones to arrive in the mail I decided to test using two of the large eyelets instead of an outlet. I'd seen that done in the little book that came with my wiring kit but I'd never tried it. It is FANTASTIC! For one thing it doesn't stick way out into the room like the outlets do. And for another thing its an almost 'guaranteed' connection. There were times when I was installing outlets that they just weren't as stable and if you knock them even a little bit, the connection is lost. Not with the eyelets though. I think one day I'll go back and redo all the outlets on my two dollhouses, substituting eyelets. Even after the outlets for my daughter-in-law's dollhouse arrived, I didn't use them because I love the eyelets method now. Best wishes to you Claire and keep us posted on your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairevc Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Pat thanks for the feedback! Wish you were here to help me. My husband did wire the bottom floor for me. He didn't like doing it and said that this was my project! LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Oh how I wish you lived right around the corner. It would be so much fun to help you. As challenging as it feels to do that tape wiring at times, there's such satisfaction when you see your first ceiling light go on. I too wished that there was someone near me that could do my wiring for me - or at least stand next to me and advise... Don't be afraid to ask all the questions that come up. I learned a little 'trick' regarding installing ceiling lights that I noticed in the little booklet that comes in the wiring kit AFTER I'd installed all of mine. Do NOT remove that plastic coating all the way from the ends of the wires when you're stripping them to expose wires to wrap around the brads/nails. Leave it on the very ends. It will keep all four of those microscopic wires in each side together while you're trying to wrap them. I don't know how many times I'd lose one tiny wire during the wrapping and it is SO frustrating. Once you've wrapped your wires around the brads/nails, go ahead and shove that brad/nail all the way down into the tape run and test to see that you've got power to the fixture. THEN you can remove the plastic coating all the way. Oh - this is something that I THOUGHT I'd learned (the HARD WAY) and yet I still made the same mistake on the last dollhouse. TEST THE LIGHTS BEFORE YOU INSTALL THEM. I would remind myself to do that and yet somehow I got so excited when one arrived that I got it in and THEN when I plugged in the power - no light. So I checked my connection with that little tester thing and it said I had power. So... the light bulb was rattling around inside the fixture. If I'd had even 1/4" less of wire to the fixture I would've had to undo the whole thing just to get that light bulb out and put it into the base. I'm excited for you - working on your first dollhouse. I will be anxiously waiting to hear any updates. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Use the eyelets for the light connections, also. Never use the brads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 REALLY? Now I have to look that up to see how to do it. Thanks Sable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Just insert the eyelet partially and wrap the wire around it. Then pound the eyelet in all the way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 You are an angel Sable. How wonderful is it that there is still so much to LEARN! I can't wait to try this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Another way is to put the eyelet on the needle tool and wrap the wire on it before pushing it into the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockawayRose Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Hi, I am Arianna, ie "rockaway rose" and I live in Howard Beach. I usually do round wire, too chicken to use tape wire on an entire house. Thanks for the compliment but nowhere near expert and my husband does the soldering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairevc Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 So glad you saw my post! I tried to find you after you were mentioned. I live in Suffolk Cty. I don't know how far you are from me??? I never considered doing round wire because I thought it was to hard LOL...I use to solder stain glass pieces too. WOW, well the dollhouse is started with tape wire. Need to finish so I can continue with the FUN stuff... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clairevc Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentraiser Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Oh, that is a beautiful house! I'm a little concerned about all the bare wood I see though. Did you prime the house on the inside? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockawayRose Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 That is a gorgeous house and you have painted it beautifully! Pm me and we can exchange info. You can also contact me through my blog: http://rockawayrosedollhouse.blogspot.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstormgirl Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I found a great video about tape wiring. It's dated, but it explains what everyone is saying here. Around the 11:00 mark, it shows a method of inserting the round wire in your punched holes before pounding in the eyelets. The eyelets should hold the wire in place without wrapping it around the eyelet. Here's the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgsi-EnszlA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Every bit of this video was fun to see. Installing the attic ceiling lights onto that strip of wood was wonderful. SO much easier that way. And trimming the hole punch needle to perfectly fit the eyelets looks like it saved a lot of time - using the same one for making the holes AND for inserting the eyelets. It all looks so quick when SHE did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sable Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 4 hours ago, bigstormgirl said: I found a great video about tape wiring. It's dated, but it explains what everyone is saying here. Around the 11:00 mark, it shows a method of inserting the round wire in your punched holes before pounding in the eyelets. The eyelets should hold the wire in place without wrapping it around the eyelet. Here's the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgsi-EnszlA Bravo! Great video. I was always concerned about breaking the wire when placing it in the hole, that's why I wrap it. Looks like it is not a problem. Glad she mentioned the Sparks when hammering with the power on. Been there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheckMouse Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Here is another tutorial, one that I found very helpful as it shows pictures step by step. It's on the Real Good Toys website: tape wiring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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