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Entry Lighting a Front Opening Dollhouse Step 1

entry Feb 15 2009, 02:14 AM
How to Light a Front Opening Dollhouse using Roundwire

INTRODUCTION

If you have a front-opening dollhouse and want to learn how to add lights to the front panel, this tutorial is for you! I'm sure you're thinking that it may be difficult if you wanted to add a porch light or lights to the outside of the house. You're probably wondering how you attach the wires to the main wire, right? The answer lies in the hinges!

Think of the hinges acting as a bridge, carrying the electricity across the opening. It is safe to have the hinges carry the electricity. You can even paint the hinges and touch them when the lights are on!

This tutorial will show you how light your front opening dollhouse step by step.

Important Notes Before Starting!

  • It is important that you know the basics of lighting a dollhouse before proceeding with this tutorial. There is a tutorial here to show you how to light a dollhouse.
  • This tutorial is for round wire only. The procedure for wiring with hinges using tapewire is slightly different.
  • Make sure you are using brass hinges and screws! If your hinges and screws are not brass, they will not conduct electricity. You can pick up small brass screws at your local hardware store.
  • Make sure you are using two separate hinges for the front panel. If you are using one long hinge, this method will not work. It is recommended that you get two separate hinges.
  • It is recommended that you only use one light on the front panel for each set of hinges. Using more then one light may short out the lights .
  • It is recommended that you finish the panel to the point where you will not need to remove the hinges or panel once the lights are installed.
Step 1 - Run the Wires from the light to the hinges

It is recommended that you save the lights for the front of the house until last. This means you should plan and wire all the other lights in the house first before working on the lights for the front panel. The reason for this is you will need to have your junction splice and main wire installed and working before you install the front panel lights.


  • Determine where on the front panel you want to put the light(s)
    With pencil, lightly make an X marking where each light will be attached to the front panel. Then carefully look at the other side of the wall and determine where you will want to run the wires to connect to the hinges.
  • Mark where the wires will go
    Lightly draw a line (or use masking tape) to indicate where the wires will be run to connect to the hinges. If the wires are to go through the wall, make a mark (like a circle) to indicate a hole to be drilled and continue the line on the other side. These lines will be your guidelines for making grooves where the wires will lay.
  • Determine what wires will need to be lengthened.
    During the initial planning stages where you make the lines for the wires for each light, determine if the wires that come with the lights are long enough or if they will need to be lengthened. Note this on a separate piece of paper so you can work on lengthening the lights (this step is discussed in the Hybrid Lighting Tutorial found here.
  • Attach the light to the front of house and feed the wire through to the other side.
    Remove the plug from the light and attach the light to the front of the house using glue or the sticky pad on the light. Feed the wire through the hole you drilled. Save the plug. If you are using a socket strip, you will need the plug later.


In the picture above, a coach light is attached to the wall on the other side. A hole was drilled to run the wire through the front panel. Grooves were made and the wires were placed in the grooves.

  • Separate the wire and run it to the hinges
    After feeding the wire through the hole, run it along the inside panel until you get near the hinges. At that point, separate the two strands of the wire and run each strand to a hinge as shown in the image above. Use tape to hold the separate wires in place.
Skip the next part and proceed to step 2 if you are using tapewire.

  • Strip the insulation to expose the bare wires
    Take one strand of wire from the light and using your thumb fingernail, pinch the white insulation over one of the strands of wire and pull. This will pull the insulation off without breaking the wires. You don't need to strip a lot of insulation from the wires, just enough for the bare wire to go under the hinge. About 1/4" to 1/2" of bare is sufficient. You will have to do this on both strands of one end of the wire from the light. With your tweezers, twist each end to make sure the fine wires are gathered up together.


  • Place the bare wire under the hinge
    Take each end of the bare wire and place it under each hinge. If the hinges are already screwed into the panel, unscrew them enough to loosen the hinge and stick the wire under it. Tighten the screws. Make sure the bare wire touches the bare hinge. Repeat for the other hinge.
Make sure you do NOT screw the screws into the wire!


Entry Lighting a Front Opening Dollhouse Step 2

entry Feb 15 2009, 02:14 AM
Step 2 - Connecting the Front Light to the Main Wire

In this step, we will attach the front light to the main wire to provide power to the light.

  • Measure out a length of extra wire
    Take your roll of extra wire and measure out a length that will be long enough to reach from the hinges to the main wire. In the picture below, we applied tapewire to the back of the house and soldered the wires to the tapewire. If you are using a socket strip make sure the wire with the plug is long enough to reach. You may have to lengthen the wires using the tutorial on how to lengthen the wires.


  • Separate the strands and strip the insulation from one end of the wire
    Just like you did before, separate the strands of wire into two strands and strip the insulation from each strand. You do not need to stagger the wires since they will not be near each other.

  • Determine where you want to run the wires on the outside of the house
    Look at the hinges on the body of the house. They should be on the outside of the house and on the right side of the house. The wires are going to be run from the hinges to the main feed wire. In the picture below, the main wire was run up the back of the house so the wire from the hinges was run around the side of the house and connected to the main wire in the back. Clapboard siding was applied to the exterior of the house which hid the wires.

    NOTE: If you are not going to apply siding, paper clay, stucco or another finishing method to the exterior of the house, you can still run the wires along the outside. Play with the layout and see if they can be run along the trim on the side or along the top roofline or bottom of the house. You can also make grooves to lay the wires then fill the grooves with spackle, sand them down and paint over them. The layout will depend on where your main electrical wire is to attach the wires to.
  • Fasten the wire under the hinges just like before.
    Once you know where you want to run the wires to attach to the main feed wire, it is time to attach the wires to the hinges on the outside of the house. If your hinges are already screwed into the house, loosen the screws and slip a strand of bare wire under each hinge as shown in the picture below. Tighten the screws. This is the same process as you did for the front panel.
Make sure you do not drive the screws in to the wire and that all the wires are under the hinge and touching the hinges!


  • Connect the wire to the main feed wire (Picture not available)
    The final step is to connect the wire from the hinges to the main feed wire. If you are using a socket strip, attach the plug you removed from the light to the loose end of the wire. Plug the light into your socket strip and your light should work!.

    If you are soldering the round wire to tapewire, once you finished soldering the wires, plug in your lead in wire and transformer and test the lights! If you attached the wires to the hinges correctly your front light should work. You can even open and close the panel with the lights on!
FINAL NOTES:

  • Once the hinges are in place with the wires under them DO NOT remove the hinges. Removing the hinges could disturb or break the fine wires and the lights may not work.
  • You may paint under the hinges before attaching the wires but do not put anything between the bare wires and the hinges.
  • It is safe to touch the hinges with the lights on. If you wish, you can paint and wallpaper over the hinges. We recommend putting clear sealant on the hinges (like polyurethane or clear nail polish) to "seal" the hinges and prevent oxidization from the copper.
Congratulations! You now have lights on your front opening dollhouse! If you have any questions or need more help, feel free to send me a message!

Entry Miniature Raincoat Tutorial

 | Category: Mini Raincoat Tutorial
entry Dec 30 2008, 01:59 PM
Make a miniature raincoat from a household rubber glove.

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever needed a mini raincoat for your lighthouse scene, firehouse scene, or any other nautical scene but haven't been able to find one? Well now you can make one in a matter of a few hours with supplies you probably have on hand!


This tutorial will show you how to make a miniature raincoat from an ordinary household rubber glove. The supplies you need are:

Household rubber glove - (only one, preferably the right hand, but either hand will work. It is recommended that you have a pair on hand in case you mess up the first one. I used "one size fits all" but a large would do. You can use any size glove, depending on how large or small you want the raincoat to be.
[/size]
[size="2"]You can also use a different color glove other then the standard yellow to make different color raincoats. I've seen gloves in pink, green and blue.

White Glue - Aleene's Tacky Glue or Elmer's Glue

Scissors - A sharp pair of regular scissors. (ever try cutting a rubber glove with dull scissors?)

(Optional) Small Beads or Bra Hooks - These are optional to use as buttons or hooks for the front of the raincoat. You can also use black paint if you prefer.

Table of Contents:

Overview

The raincoat will be made using the first, second and third finger of the glove. The thumb and pinky finger of the glove will be eventually cut off. The first and third finger form the left and right arm while the middle finger forms the hood.

This tutorial uses a left handed glove but the instructions are the same regardless of what hand glove you are using.

Step 1: Cut Up Glove


Cut bottom half of the glove, about 1 inch below where the thumb begins. It's better to leave more space below the thumb then not enough space, you can always trim it later. Save the piece you just cut off for making pockets.


Next, cut the tip of the index and ring finger


Next, cut off the tip of the thumb then cut down the middle of the thumb to open the glove as shown. Cut the tip of the middle finger off, about 1" from the top. Save the tip, this will form the hood. You can always trim it later if the hood is too long.


Join the edges of the glove where you just cut open the thumb. Make sure the edges are even (you can tape them with masking tape if necessary). Then, cut down the middle of the glove, but do not cut through the middle finger.


Cut off the pinky finger then cut open the side under where the pinky finger was.

The next blog entry will proceed onto Step 2.

Entry Making a Mini Raincoat - Step 2 & 3

 | Category: Mini Raincoat Tutorial
entry Dec 30 2008, 01:59 PM
Making a Miniature Raincoat - Continued

Step 2: Glue the seams together


Fold the seam under the pinky finger and tape with masking tape (do not glue yet). Repeat with the other side (thumb side). Make sure to tuck the "hole" where the pinky finger was into the seam to make a nice flat edge.


Now if you have a doll who will be wearing the raincoat, get him (or her) out now and fit the raincoat on them. You want to make sure the raincoat isn't too wide. If it is, adjust the seams accordingly. Depending on your preference, you can have the coat meet in the middle or overlap a bit.

If you don't have a doll, that's ok too. Try to judge the width of the body of the raincoat. It should be about 2" to 2 1/2" depending on the look you are going for.

Once you are satisfied with the width of the coat, go ahead and glue the seams. It may be helpful to keep them taped while the glue dries and even weight them down with books or other heavy objects.

Step 3: Make the Hood

When the glue is dry, cut off the middle finger leaving about 1/4" from the base of the finger where it meets the glove. (This will form the collar and give you something to glue the hood onto)


Form a hood from the tip of the middle you saved earlier. Cut open the front of the finger to form the hood and trim the bottom if the hood looks too long. The hood in the picture above is about 1" long.


Glue the hood onto the coat where the middle finger was. Attach it right to the flap from the middle finger. Again, you may have to use a heavy book or other object to hold the hood and coat flat while the glue dries.

Entry Making a Mini Raincoat - Step 4

 | Category: Mini Raincoat Tutorial
entry Dec 30 2008, 01:59 PM
Make a Mini Raincoat - Step 4

Step 4: Embellish the raincoat with pockets and buttons


That's all there is to it! You're just about finished! Fold up the edges of the sleeves to form cuffs. You can glue them if you like, but they will stay without glue. Embellish the coat with pockets made from scraps and add the buttons to the front.

At this point, you may have to do a little finagling with the cuffs to get them to your desired look, depending if you like wide cuffs or thin cuffs. Also, you may need to trim the bottom of the coat depending on how long you want the coat to be on the doll.

The sleeves will naturally stick up in the air. If you put the raincoat on a doll, the form of the doll will adjust the sleeves accordingly. If you decide to use the coat without a doll, you can glue the arms down at the sides.

You can also leave the hood up or fold it down if you put the coat on the doll. The pictures below show the hood up and down on the doll.


Enjoy your new homemade Miniature Raincoat!


Entry How to lengthen wires on dollhouse lights

 | Category: Extending wires on lights
entry Aug 4 2008, 01:59 PM
How to lengthen wires on dollhouse lights.

If you have a light where the wire is too short to reach to the tapewire or socket/power strip, you can extend the wire by splicing extra wire onto the existing wire. Splicing wire together is easy with the proper tools and a bit of patience.

Step 1 - Gather the Materials you Need

The following is a list of items with pictures to help identify each item that you will need. All of the items can be easily purchased from a local hardware store and/or your local miniature dealer or miniature website shops on the internet.




Liquid Electrical tape
Used for protecting newly soldered wires and splices.




Soldering Iron
This is used for splicing wires together and connecting to the tapewire.




Solder
Used with the soldering iron to solder.




Extra Wire - 32 gauge
This is used for lengthening wires on lights.




Light that needs to be lengthened

Additional items needed but not pictured:

tweezers, masking tape, clamp, wet cloth, fire extinguisher




Entry Step 2 Remove plug and strip insulation

 | Category: Extending wires on lights
entry Aug 4 2008, 01:59 PM
Step 2 Remove plug and strip insulation from wire

Plug your soldering iron in so it can heat up while you do the next step.

  • Remove the plug from the light
    The plug needs to be removed to expose the bare wires to be spliced together. To do this, take your tweezers and gently pull off the brass points that are on the end of the plug. Push the bare wire through the plug head and pull the plug head off the wires.




  • Measure the length of wire
    Take the spool of wire and measure a length of wire you need to extend the existing wire. Remember, you can always shorten the wire but it's more difficult to add on so make sure you make the extension long enough.
  • Stagger the cuts
    Trim one of the strands of wires on the light about an inch or so shorter then the other one. Do the same thing for one of the strands of wires on one end of the extension. This will stagger the splices to reduce the chance of creating any shorts when the wires are spliced together. This will also reduce any bulk from having both wire spiced together at the same point.


Strip the insulation
Take one strand of wire from the light and using your thumb fingernail, pinch the white insulation over one of the strands of wire and pull. This will pull the insulation off without breaking the wires. You want to have about 1/2" of bare wires showing to give you enough wire to solder together. Strip the insulation from each strand separately. You will have to do this on both strands of one end of the the wire extension and on both strands of the wire from the light.

With your tweezers, twist each end to make sure the fine wires are gathered up together. This will help with soldering and with splicing wires together.



Entry Step 3 prepare the wires for soldering

 | Category: Extending wires on lights
entry Aug 4 2008, 01:59 PM
Step 3. Prepare the wires for soldering

  • To prepare the wires for soldering, we are going to use a technique called "tinning" the wires. What this does is apply solder to each end of the wire to make it easier for them to be soldered together and reduces the amount of solder you have to apply when soldering the ends together..
  • Take one wire (it doesn't matter what one) and put it between a clamp. This will hold the wire while you solder it together. You need both hands to hold the soldering iron and solder. You could also have someone hold the wire for you, but a clamp is easier and probably more handy then a second pair of hands.


  • Take your soldering iron and solder. Touch the soldering iron to the bare ends of the wire for about 1-2 seconds. Then touch the tip of the solder to the wires, not the soldering iron. If the wires are hot enough, the solder should flow between the wires.

  • Do not hold the soldering iron to the wires too long or you will melt the insulation on the wires. After the solder flowed onto the wires, remove the solder then the soldering iron. Repeat the process until all four wires are tinned.

Step 3a. Solder the Wires together

  • Match the long end of one strand of wire from the light with the short end of a strand of wire from the extension. Using your tweezers, gently twist the wires together to hold them while you solder. Use your clamp to hold the extension wire as you did while tinning the wires.

  • Take your soldering iron and heat the solder that is on both strands of wires. If you properly tinned the wires, you will see the solder melt together. Remove your soldering iron and let the solder set (about 1-2 seconds).

  • Repeat this process to solder the other strands together.

[b]One strand of wire Soldered Together


Both strands of wires soldered together
extending the length of the wires[/b]

Entry Step 4 Apply electrical tape to secure the connection

 | Category: Extending wires on lights
entry Aug 4 2008, 01:58 PM
Step 4. Apply Electrical Tape to Secure the Solder

  • Once the solder has set on all four strands, take your liquid electrical tape and dab a bit on each of the soldered joints. Let that dry (about 5-10 minutes). This provides an added layer of insulation to the soldered joints.

Step 5. Test the Lights.

  • If you are using the socket/powerstrip method to light your dollhouse, thread the wires through the room out the side of the dollhouse by the socket/powerstrip. Reattach the plug to the bare end of the extension wire.
  • If you are using the roundwire hybrid method, thread the wire through the room and solder to the tapewire.
  • Turn on the power to the dollhouse to test the lights.

Congratulations! You successfully extended the wires on the lights in your dollhouse.


Entry Light a Dollhouse using a Roundwire Method

entry Aug 4 2008, 01:32 PM
INTRODUCTION

This tutorial provides step by step directions on how to light a dollhouse using the Roundwire Hybrid method. I personally find this method to be the most reliable and durable method that allows the wires to be completely hidden.

This tutorial for lighting a dollhouse is for houses that are either not assembled or completely assembled but do not have wallpaper, final coats of paint, flooring, etc. The steps are the same regardless if the dollhouse is assembled or not.

2 Pages V   1 2 >  
Last entries
Lighting a Front Opening Dollhouse Step 1
Lighting a Front Opening Dollhouse Step 2
Miniature Raincoat Tutorial
Making a Mini Raincoat - Step 2 & 3
Making a Mini Raincoat - Step 4
How to lengthen wires on dollhouse lights
Step 2 Remove plug and strip insulation
Step 3 prepare the wires for soldering
Step 4 Apply electrical tape to secure the connection
Light a Dollhouse using a Roundwire Method

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