Months ago, I set out to look for a source of split axles. I think the ones in #10 came from the EM Gauge Society, but they require modification for the narrower track of Proto:87. As I was Googling, I came across a post on the Scalefour Forum about making them from thin-walled steel tube.
Now that Scalefour modeller has the advantage of being on the same continent as Eileen’s Emporium. I wasn’t able to come up with suitably thin tube on a satisfactory timeline and cost. However, I do have a lathe, and it is relatively easy to make thin-walled tube out of thick-walled tube because a drill will want to follow the hole down the middle of the tube.
I never liked the idea of thread wrapped around the central axle to space it from the walls. The thick-walled tube offers an alternative, though: simply make the axle too long and don’t drill all the way to the end. Then epoxy the central axle in and cut off the ends. The ends hold the central axle away from the walls while the epoxy sets, resulting in electrically isolated axle halves.
Pembroke:87 