Best method to stretch lights

[Samj435]

I picked up a few boxes of incan icicle lights about a week ago for next years display. I hung up one strand on the gutter over the garage (easy to reach), hoping that being weathered would help them hang a bit straighter. So far, i'm not noticing a difference, and they are all still curled up. I'm curious if anyone has ever taken the time to pull them out and make them look a bit better, and if so how did you do it?

[dj merritt]

When its nice and warm out hangem up and let nature do it !!

[PinakBERT]

Will that method also work on coiled up rope lighting? I stopped using it because it wouldn't be straight when trying to lay it out.

[dowis]

Yep. Warm weather works well. Plug in the rope light will speed it up too.

[rstehle]

I opened them up and suspended them from 2 rafters in my attic during the summer. They looked nice and straight when I went to hang them in November. Heat and gravity did all the work!

[Samj435]

I opened them up and suspended them from 2 rafters in my attic during the summer. They looked nice and straight when I went to hang them in November. Heat and gravity did all the work!

Thank you! I figured I needed to get it warm and in it's natural state, but didn't want to mess with then in the summer. I will have them hanging all year now.

[dirknerkle]

I think N7XG has a light stretcher he uses. Looks kind of like a medieval "rack" that they used for torture... I hear he rents it out every now and then during Halloween...

[ErnieHorning]

I started mine in October one year, so I couldn't just let nature do it. I attached mine to PVC pipe (for ease of installation), hung them from a couple of door hanger hooks, hung the weight of a Vice-Grip to each string and relaxed them with a hair dryer on high heat. When they cooled, they were nice and straight. They hang in the attic now, right next to the roof.