Jumper wires

[MX5]

What are people using for DIY jumper wires? I’m considering thermostat wire. It’s available as 18-gauge solid wire, 5 color-coded conductors in a PVC jacket. (Yes, 1 more wire than I need.). I figure the solid wire can be folded several times and friction-fit into the track without needing to solder proprietary clips on the end. Thoughts?

[Fourshipp]

Pick up some sheet brass or copper from hobby lobby or micheals and make your own clips. Easy peasy.

[HomeRacingWorld]

If you strip stranded wire in longer sections, you can just insert them into the rails and seal with hot glue. Flexible stranded copper is much easier to work with than solid IMHO.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Here is my old Artin track build that shows the wire.

Building Dixon Hills

[Wobble]

MX5, can't help with your query but love your forum name and

thought I'd share this with you.

My wife and I have this little darling sitting in our garage.

[chappyman66]

If you strip stranded wire in longer sections, you can just insert them into the rails and seal with hot glue. Flexible stranded copper is much easier to work with than solid IMHO.

What Harry said.
This has worked very well on several tracks I have built.

[mattb]

like they said, but try some individual 16gg in red and black and white from Home Depot, by the foot. Stranded works best.

It is cheaper to buy 25 foot of 14 gg with ground copper home wire. It is solid copper and a little harder to use, but it will work fine and you can use the ground wire (with a jumper) for common on both lanes and the black positive and white neutral wires for the positive leads to each lane. I have used this for all the tracks I've built. It is solid core and stripping 2-3 inches of insulation off the end lets you slide that wire inside a track rail with no soldering or gluing. It can be bent slightly to make it a tight fit.

[MX5]

Thanks to all for the good advice.
For Wobble, here's my 2011 MX5 in the driveway.