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Nice job Dan, looks like the company party will be at your place!

Dan, if you can go to a plumbing or electrical supply house, they will have a 2" holesaw that is actually 2 3/8". Pipe (and rigid conduit) is sized by the inside diameter. 2" is actually 2 3/8" OD. If you ask an electrician for a 2" holesaw, it'll be 2 3/8". A 2 1/2" hole may end up a bit sloppy. Project is lookin' good......

wynnm1951 wrote:Dan, if you can go to a plumbing or electrical supply house, they will have a 2" holesaw that is actually 2 3/8". Pipe (and rigid conduit) is sized by the inside diameter. 2" is actually 2 3/8" OD. If you ask an electrician for a 2" holesaw, it'll be 2 3/8". A 2 1/2" hole may end up a bit sloppy. Project is lookin' good......

Good to know! I've already got the 2 in. hole saw with arbor, and none of the 2-3/8" hole saws I can find come with arbors, so I'll probably just go buy the 2-3/8" hole saw without arbor and put it on the arbor from the 2". Gotta start a collection of hole saws anyway! Maybe while I'm at it I'll get a good center punch too, I've needed one forever and I definitely want to make sure my pilot hole doesn't miss the mark on this one!

Slick! I was always curious about the banding process. Good info and nice job!

Well, phase 1 is complete!


2013-08-18 17.35.49 by dbsound06, on Flickr


2013-08-18 17.35.30 by dbsound06, on Flickr


2013-08-18 17.36.56 by dbsound06, on Flickr


2013-08-18 17.37.28 by dbsound06, on Flickr

View from my upstairs neighbors' deck:

Signals viewed from upstairs neighbors' deck by dbsound06, on Flickr


2013-08-18 20.10.59 by dbsound06, on Flickr


2013-08-18 20.11.31 by dbsound06, on Flickr

I did have one slight snafu: I installed the condulet from the cabinet to the pole, but I intended on using a lock nut on the outside and inside of the cabinet to position it correctly. However, the outside lock nut apparently threaded on wrong, and I can't get it to move anymore. I can't put a nut on the inside of the pole because my hand/arm won't fit, so it's just sitting, supported by the nut on the inside of the cabinet. It works fine that way, I'll just use some silicone to seal it up.

2013-08-18 17.37.07 by dbsound06, on Flickr

Drilling the pole with the 2-3/8" hole saw was not quite as hard as I thought it would be -- hardest part was when the saw initially bit down and the whole thing kind of bound up on me. From there, it was cake. The pole is pretty darn thick!

2013-08-18 17.43.02 by dbsound06, on Flickr

It's hard to tell, but the back of the signal on the right is really interesting looking -- it's got black paint splattered all over it, part of the backplate was repainted gray, and the signal itself was painted a sort of bronze-like brown at some point. It sounds horrible but it looks cool! (Also note the adorable dog who posed for the picture)

Back of signals by dbsound06, on Flickr

Phase 1.5 of this project is making some improvements to the controller -- getting a dial with a brake coil and adding a ped push button so I can make it semi-actuated if I wish, cleaning up the contacts a bit, stuff like that. Then, the possible phase 2 is to put my Econolte E-8 ped out on the pole as well. I'm not positive whether or not I want to do that yet for sure, but I'm definitely considering it. I have to get that thing working first, and repaint it.

Also, I have a backplate for the second signal, but I haven't put it on yet. My wife likes it as-is, with only one signal "plated", so I may leave it that way. The odd geometry I had to use for the hardware may make the backplate on the other signal a bit weird anyway so this may be the best I can do. I had to aim the signals such that they didn't shine across the street or in my neighbors' windows. I think it looks pretty neat!

Cool setup, I like the last picture with your helper standing guard.

Fantastic work!

Thanks guys! I can't wait to see this thing in the snow, I'm curious to see how much the full circle visors fill up, then how fast I can clean them out by powering up the signals with their 60W bulbs

Nice Dan. I'm wondering if I'll be able to see your setup from my folks' house.

dont know how I missed the picts, Nice work Dan, looks like Christmas in Cali!