Rocio Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 (edited) Hi everyone. Ugh, I'm so frustrated right now. I was trying to strip down some of the chandelier wires, and let's just say I stripped way to much :whistle: . I'd hate to have to pay for another 25 dollar chandelier just because of my one booboo. Is is possible to join two wires together to make it longer? Or should I just forget it. Never, ever, ever, going to wire a house again. Honestly, it's just to much for me LOL. Let alone trying it the first time, on half scale. Grrrrrrr. Edited January 4, 2007 by Rocio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggi Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Maybe Darrell will weigh in an tell you for sure, but I've seen DH wire real household stuff by twisting to wires together and putting electrical tape around them to hold together. Don't know how you would hide the tape though on something this tiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahnaylor Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I have done that too. I was able to replace the entire bulb and rewire it. If it has multiple bulbs I don't know what to do. Are you using an adapter? You could try to add on wire and secure it using super glue. I always use it so the wiers don't get crossed. Good luck!!! I will share you frustration on this one!!! :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 uuuugggg BUMMER wiring is not my forte either although I will give it a go sometimes! I feel your pain. GOOD LUCK! nutti :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonsaikathy Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 oh no, sorry you had to go through that. I think that you can twist together but I'd sure think you'd need something wrapped around the wire once you do. I hope someone more knowledgeable jumps in and answers this question. I wouldn't want to give the wrong advice on this. Kat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 It's fiddly, bit after you wrap your wires you can wrap the splice with a wee amount of electrician's tape, run the wires up through a fairly ornate ceiling rose and do the upstairs floor treatment on a removable template you can stick down with double-sided tape just in case you ever need to get at it later on. Another reason I like to do my houses in the Edwardian era is that electricity isn't necessary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleuth14 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Like everyone said, you should be able to twist the wires together and cover them with electrician's tape. Then all you have to do is figure out how to hide it. There might be another solution, but I've never tried it. Anyone know if it'd be possible to hammer the ends of the chandelier wire flat, hammer the end of a new wire flat, then solder the two flat portions together, one on top of the other. It would make for a much smaller/thinner join. You can wrap a single layer of electrical tape around it if necessary, but it might not even be needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAK Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Yep...I did this. I twisted the wires together and covered them with electrical tape. The tape part was difficult. I didn't use the light yet but it works. I ended up buying another one because it was going in a house that was a gift and I wanted to make sure that it continued to work. I'll probably use it in a house I will keep so that if there is a problem I know where it is coming from. :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallowell Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 :whistle: With help from these great people you will get through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovecats Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 bummer. i hope you get it worked out, lights are so expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonsaikathy Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 There might be another solution, but I've never tried it. Anyone know if it'd be possible to hammer the ends of the chandelier wire flat, hammer the end of a new wire flat, then solder the two flat portions together, one on top of the other. It would make for a much smaller/thinner join. I think that soldering the two twisted pieces would be a viable option. Just not sure if you can get the soldering neat enough. :whistle: Kat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I can imagine fiddling with electrician's tape in half scale would be very frustrating. Cir-Kit Concepts has some heat shrink tubes for joining wires. Cir-Kit Concepts (Search for "heat shrink tubes" or by part number CK1033 or CK1033-3) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Twisting the wires and using electrical tape or the shrink wrap would work just fine. Soldering the wires together gives you a better contact and holds better (won't pull apart as easy as just twisting the wires). Hiding the tape is the hardest part, I know that first hand :whistle: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemlady Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Twisting the wires and using electrical tape or the shrink wrap would work just fine. Soldering the wires together gives you a better contact and holds better (won't pull apart as easy as just twisting the wires). Hiding the tape is the hardest part, I know that first hand :whistle: . Also there is a product that you can get from home depot or Lowes or any hardwhere store, called Liquid Electrical Tape by star brite, it comes in diffrent colors . if the splice is to big for the shrinks it will make a flatter splice than using tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Twisting the wires and using electrical tape or the shrink wrap would work just fine. Soldering the wires together gives you a better contact and holds better (won't pull apart as easy as just twisting the wires). Hiding the tape is the hardest part, I know that first hand :whistle: . That is what I do when the wires are not long as I need them to be. I twist them together and solder the wires together. I use Rosin soldering flux to be sure that they hold well because sometimes the solder does not stick to the small wires without burning them cause they are fragile. I'll look for pictures of this to share with you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Tracy, even I could benefit from those pictures! I've had this problem so many times! I usually twist the wires together and use electrical tape to hold them together. Not very pretty and certainly not guaranteed to hold them together either over the long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I could not find all of the pictures from last time so I had to do a quick one to show you all. Thepictures aren't the best (Next time I do a house I''ll reshot pictures). But you can get a general idea. Click here: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/i...mp;&cat=102 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonsaikathy Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Great thanks for showing that Tracy. I think it will help a lot of people. Kat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellandmelissa Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Your chandelier is most likely still quite usable. I guess I did not make it clear in my pictorial to always cut the wires to a much longer length than you will need. We can always shorten them once they are in place but as you now see, adding length back onto them is a bit more difficult. Your best bet at hiding the wires will be to wire through holes in the ceiling to the floor above. Being thicker, flooring materials do a much better job at hiding things. Before you start there are a few things you need to check. If the wires are bare of insulation too close to the chandelier, they must be seperated and insulated from each other so they cannot accidentally short out. If this is the case, as others have stated, electrical tape or heat shrink tubing may do the trick. It may also be possible to connect new wires inside the "base" portion of the chandelier and get rid of the damaged ones altogether. I could not tell is this was possible or not in your case without looking at it. If there is any doubt as to whether or not you can keep the wires seperately send them to the floor above through two different holes. (wood is an insulater as well). Quick review of soldering basics. Tin (melt a little solder on) the soldering iron and parts to be soldered BEFORE trying to solder them. Do the iron first and quickly wipe off excess on a damp sponge. This way you know the iron is hot enough to work with too. When tinning the wires the trick is to be quick so you won't melt the insulation back too far. (when working with such small wires the insulation tends to retreat so plan ahead for this by having longer wires than needed) You touch the soldering iron to the bare WIRE and then touch the solder to the wire close by, NOT to the iron. When the wire gets hot the solder will flow onto the wire. When this happens IMMEDIATELY remove the solder AND the iron. you should have solder coated (tinned) wire now. When both parts have been tinned this way, soldering them together is easier. Secure one wire where it cannot move, and place the second wire next to it from the other direction, but with the tinned parts touching. Use the hot iron to touch the wires and the solder on them should melt and fuse the two together. Don't leave the iron on them but remove it immediately while holding the second wire in place a second or two while the solder rehardens. Do the same with the other wire (and its new longer wire) Now you must make sure these two bare connections cannot touch each other and create a short. Electrical tape, shrink tubing, or simply routing them to remain apart from each other will all work. I know this all sounds like a lot to do but it's really not. I just wanted to make sure I didn't leave out any details so you would be less likely to have any trouble doing it. Just read it through a few times or print it out and keep it handy. Darrell - who really does need to create a soldering pictorial as well. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Well there were a lot of good advice on this that I will save for future use, I really liked the pics you took the time to share Tracy and your explanation as well Darrell. We have also been forced to lenghten the wires on a couple of lights and it is always a discussion on the best method LOL, hubby and I usually agrees on not agreeing and depending on who it is who solders we choose the method from that so to speak. Hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debragarfield Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Wow! I'm new and never even knew you could get ornate chandelier mouldings.... here goes another trip to store. As for wiring a house-- can you prewire without purchasing all the lights you eventually plan to have? If so, do you really need a plug for each bulb? As in four plugs for four lights in a chandelier? this was interesting reading... hope your light turns out-- massive bummer. I haven't even purchased a chandelier yet, cause I'm still reeling on how much everything costs! Just spent $50 on the electric kit and my husband says "where are the actual lights?" Wasn't sure he really wanted to know..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Rocio -- I'm so sorry you're having these problems! <sending a bear hug to help you feel better> Have nothing to add that everyone else hasn't already -- do let us know if you get it working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocio Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 Thanks, everyone so much for your support. Hehe, I was really upset, I've taken a few deep breaths by now lol. Good thing I didn't splurge on the really expensive lights huh? I really liked everyones suggetions, I learned a lot. Well, I'm going to try and lengthen the wires as soon as I get some of the supplies I'll need. I've already made my list from everything recommended. Thank you MinisontheEdge, and Darrell!!! I'm so glad you guys were also able to help others, not just me. (Hehe, any chance we can get "a make your own inexpensive lights tutorial"?) Just kidding, LOL. Thank you, and God bless, oh and a big bear hug right back to ya Charlene! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 If you look in the Mckinley Blogs and search Nutti's she made a Chandelier from earings it looks AWESOME too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beccas1963 Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 When I put two wires together. I twist them and then use these shrink tubes. Dont know abut that small scale though. Hugs, Bec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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