Searching for decorative thin, flexible cable for lamp project - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Shellfishgene
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 20, 2023, 02:19:43 pm
content: Hi!First time post, not an electronics, or interior design, expert (yet).I'm looking to build a dining table lamp. I want to hang a medium sized tree branch above the table, and off of that 5-8 small (pedant) lights. The lights will be a short piece of copper tube, with an LED in it. Some Cree or Nichia LED on a star PCB probably, all in series with a constant current supply. There are various details to figure out yet, like how to mount the LEDs in the copper tube with thermal contact, but what I'm stuck on now is the wires.I want the whole thing to look somewhat "classy", think polished copper lamps hanging from an aged tree branch, nice warm light, high CRI. So just some black wire with plastic insulation would not look good. The copper tube part is not large and heavy, like 2,5 cm diameter and ~5 cm long, so the cable can't be too stiff. All of the following options I have found have some disadvantage:Enamel copper wire: Looks nice. But pretty stiff, hard to work with without getting kinks, would have to twist 2 strands somehow.Stranded copper wire with transparent isolation: Looks just ok but still plasticy, maybe I could find silicone wire for flexibility. Easy to get of course.Coaxial cable: Despite transparent plastic insulation I think stuff like RG178 or RG316 looks nice because of the braided wire and because it's nice and round. Probably way too stiff? Seems hard to get in smaller amounts. Don't know if its ok to use for LED power supply.Cable sleeves: Cable sleeves look nice because they are braided, but all I could find are bright colors or shiny plastic white/black. Maybe there is a source for sleeves that are more natural looking? Also the ones I found are often rather large diamenter, minimum 3mm.Braided copper (or other metal) sleeve: This would also be really nice, and they seem to exist, but harder to get and also only in large diameters maybe?Any other ideas? Maybe painting normal cable with silver or copper paint? Or will this peel off?Cheers!

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2023, 03:33:02 pm
content: maybe a bit of old rope,or is 6mm to bighttps://www.lampspares.co.uk/rope-twisted-fabric-cable-3core/

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2023, 10:49:05 pm
content: If you want a metallic look (but yes, coax will be fine for low-voltage LED supplies) you can get a gold pvc cable made with metallic particles for an antique colour. Specialist lamp shops such as the one madhippy linked will have it (https://www.lampspares.co.uk/dull-gold-3-core-flex-round-0-75mm/)Another option might be to have two separate brass rods or tubes to the ceiling from widely spaced points on the branch.

author: Shellfishgene
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 21, 2023, 07:14:42 am
content: Thanks, but both of these options are too thick for me. I would like a diameter of around 3mm or less...

author: DavidKo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2023, 07:30:20 am
content: You need to specify the current. Nichia is not a type of LED, but the LED producer. Types like 171 or 131 series (single chip) can run at 1A. It will be a big difference if they are connected in series or parallel.

author: Shellfishgene
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 22, 2023, 09:24:51 am
content: I wanted to use something like the Cree XP-G2 or Nichia NS6L183AT-H1, but I want LEDs with a CRI > 90 (and warm white), which seem to be not very common, at least pre-solderd on a star pcb or similar. I think it will be enough for a dinner table to run 5 of those at 350 mA, but I'd have to test it. I may also use a dimmable supply for 350-500 mA.

author: inse
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2023, 12:21:15 pm
content: You could strip the outer insulation from RG174 or RG316 as you are only dealing with low voltage

author: sparkydog
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2023, 03:36:22 pm
content: Another possible option... buy whatever boring cable you can get andsleeve it. Look at enthusiast custom PC power cables for inspiration; your standard sleeving should easily fit over a 22GA pair, or if you're willing to put in the effort to remove the core from paracord, your options become nearly endless. At the very least, silver sleeving is definitely available, and I'm pretty sure you can find "copper" (but whether it will matchrealcopper might be a problem; then again, that might be the case with paint, also) and maybe interesting dark metal colors as well. You shouldn't have any problems with durability as you might with painting wire.

author: Shellfishgene
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 24, 2023, 02:58:13 pm
content: With some more searching one can indeed get braided copper sleeving, raw and tinned, but I only found few suppliers and then it seems to be mostly in industrial quantities. Also most sleeves are again pretty thick.I'll have a look at some ropes at the local hardware store, too. Actually I just realized most flat schoelaces are actually braided tubes, also an option, if not as nice as metal braids.

author: sparkydog
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2023, 04:00:26 pm
content: Quote from: Shellfishgene on February 24, 2023, 02:58:13 pm"raw and tinned"... as inactualcopper? I was thinking copper *colored*... although surprisingly I can't seem to find anyone carrying that. (Gold and silver, yes. Copper, no.) Standard sleeving should be about 4.5mm diameter (at least, that's what the sample I had at hand was) on a wire, though it can get a bit thinner by stretching. Or you could order a sample ofthis. Orthismight be closer to what you want, though you'd have to strip the core yourself, and running wire through something this small is probably going to be a bit of a challenge.Actualcopper (bare and tinned) is available in 1/8" i.d., that's still too thick?

author: LaserSteve
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2023, 09:43:40 pm
content: The hanging and power cable in our lights at church is so close to stranded core RG-174 it is not funny. Just a different outside coating, clear in our case, and a silver plating on the braid.I may or may not have displeased the Lord by a RG-174 repair, as the factory cable has a 200$ minimum order. The stuff is patented, and the patent is strongly enforced in the US and China.I spent weeks of spare time looking for the right stuff, with a dual core.Imagine what happens when your 270 Pound Pastor does an accidental chin up on a LED ring light. Three stripped strands, two broke entirely. Now you know the rest of the story.It did arrest his fall enough to prevent injury.Steve

author: nightfire
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2023, 10:02:40 pm
content: Quote from: Shellfishgene on February 20, 2023, 02:19:43 pmThe classic touch here would be cloth wrapped cable, german term "Textilkabel". Put this in google, and Shops (some with textilkabel in their URL) will come up- also some nostalgica shops like Manufactum carry some articles related to this theme, but with heavy prices.

author: Shellfishgene
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 27, 2023, 09:28:43 am
content: Quote from: sparkydog on February 24, 2023, 04:00:26 pmThe paracord link is nice, maybe I'll give that a try, but de-coring 2+ m of thin cord may be very tedious to impossible.Where would I find the 1/8" copper sleeves?

author: Shellfishgene
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 27, 2023, 09:37:40 am
content: Quote from: nightfire on February 26, 2023, 10:02:40 pmThose are all way too thick...

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2023, 11:45:39 am
content: You could maybe somehow use copper tubing to hang with instead of wire. Getting it straightened out might be a pain though. The tubing could even be used as part of the circuit if the voltage is low enough. Just a thought - but probably more trouble than it's worth.

author: sparkydog
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2023, 04:01:51 pm
content: Quote from: Shellfishgene on February 27, 2023, 09:28:43 am🤷 ...just put "1/8 copper sleeving" into your favorite search engine? There's tons oftinned(read: silver-colored) stuff, including on Amazon (example). If you want bare, I foundthison the first page of search results. (Which is apparentlythis; you can probably look around for other, possibly less obscure sellers.) Like cloth sleeving, you might be able to "thin" it somewhat by stretching.Quote from: rdl on February 27, 2023, 11:45:39 amThat thought crossed my mind as well...BTW, I think you've ruled out something like 18/2 or even 20/2 clear-insulated wire? (You can find this sort of thing usually sold as speaker wire. I trust you know what size conductors you are safe for your application!)

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2023, 06:40:16 pm
content: Quote from: Shellfishgene on February 27, 2023, 09:37:40 amThose cloth-covered cables are PVC-insulated, then sleeved. Assuming that a single-conductor cloth cable is not too thick for your taste, you could buy a length of that and transfer its cloth sleeve to a thin coaxial cable.Or just buy suitable (thinnish) round shoelaces and use them as sleeves; these look fine and come in various colors and patterns.