I wanted some operating switchstands for my garden layout, but didn’t want to spend a lot of money acquiring them.   Since I need more than ten of these, I wanted to come up with an easy design that required minimal bending.  

I used 1/16” brass strips, 7/32” o.d. brass tube, .116” brass rod and some other parts to build a switchstand.  My idea was to do very little bending.

Using my trusty Dremel, I cut a slot in the 1/2” wide base piece.

The two strips slip into the slot, with the tubing sandwiched between them.

A homebuilt jig holds the pieces in place to be soldered.  I use a mini-torch to apply heat - and burn the jig.

A penny is soldered to the top, and the legs are soldered in place.

Next, I drill a hole for the brass rod and cut slots in the penny.

I use a short piece of 1/32” brass strip bent around the rod to act as a base for the handle.  It’s held in place with a small eye pin.

A circular brass piece is soldered to the brass rod and it’s ready for installation.

An article describing how to make these switchstands was published in the June 2007 issue of Garden Railways on page 60.