How to Make Model Power Poles Out of Matchsticks
- 1). Create the horizontal crossbars that are placed toward the top of the pole to hold the power wires. You can build a simple model of a power pole with only two crossbars. Measure a point on two matchsticks that's 9/10th of an inch in length. Mark this point with your pencil. Place the matchstick into the matchstick cutter along the cutting groove. Align the marked point with the notch in the groove. Press down the cutter lever, pushing the cutter blade through the matchstick.
- 2). Sand the cut edges of the matchstick cross bars smooth.
- 3). Mark the cross bars at four points, two points about 1/10th of an inch from the two ends of the bars, and two points about 2/10th of an inch from the ends.
- 4). Push four straight pins through the matchsticks at the marked points. Push them all the way through until the ends of the pins remain about 1/10th of an inch from the stick surface. Make sure that all of the pinheads rise from the same side of the matchstick. The pinheads serve as the connection points for the wires connecting the power poles to one another via the utility wires.
- 5). Use the wire cutters to cut the points from the pins at the surface of the matchstick. Pull the pins slightly upward through the matchstick with the pliers, so that the former point leaves a slight indentation.
- 6). Mark a point on the 2-inch matchstick that you're using as the body for your pole about 3/10th of an inch from the top. Glue the two crossbars onto the pole body using the wood glue. Position each crossbar centered horizontally, parallel to one another on two of the pole body sides with the pin heads sticking toward the top. Allow the glue to set for about 30 minutes.
- 7). Paint the poles brown using the paintbrush and allow them to dry for 30 minutes. Apply a layer of diluted black paint as a weathering technique to age the poles. Dilute the black paint with 90 percent thinner to 10 percent paint and then paint a layer of the thinned paint onto the poles. Allow the poles to dry for an hour before installing them to your model.
- 8). Connect multiple poles together when mounted to your model by stringing piano wire between them. Loot the wire around the pinheads to connect them to the poles. Cut the wire using the wire cutters when necessary.