MAKING EYE'S AND HOOKS

[Peter6172]

I have found that making my own eyes and hooks means getting them the size and shape I need and using brass means I can easily solder when making up more complex assemblies with them.  This comes from my background in brass locomotive construction where handrail stanchions were required in relatively large quantities.

I use a standard pair of cheep Circles pliers (the type that operate like normal pliers not reverse pliers).  I file down one of the circular tips to a fine cone with needles files then use a flat file to make sure that there is an even, parallel flat between the two jaws of the pliers.  

I can then make quite small eyes/hooks clamping the brass wire between the flats at the point along the cone where I want the desired diameter.

In the attached image I have made 1.0mm eyes with 0.5mm hard brass wire (unsoftened wire could also be employed but I like the hardened wire).  I could go smaller using finer wire as I have done in N scale locomotive constructions....

These 1mm eyes represent 50mm (2in) at 1/50 or 65mm (2 1/2in) in 1/65 for my ENDEAVOUR.  A little more realistic than the 3mm (195mm or 7 3/4in) versions provided in the kit

(but as a newbie I could be wrong.....)

[ccoyle]

Yep, this is the method I suggest when folks ask about where to buy eye bolts. Why buy them when you can quickly and easily make them yourself? And for much less money, too!

[Bob Cleek]

For those who can't bring themselves to sacrifice a pair of needle nose pliers, or just love an excuse to buy another tool, "store boughten" "wire looping pliers" are now available from jewelers' supply houses in many different styles and sizes, permitting three or more different sized loops from a single pair of pliers. 

 

For really small eyes, I resort to using a drill bit of the desired size, bend a length of wire over the middle of the drill bit, and, holding the two ends of the wire, use the drill bit to twist up the wire ends. I then slide out the drill bit and snip the "pig tail" to the desired length. The twisted ends hold really tiny eyebolts better when glued into holes, too.!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by Bob Cleek

[Roger Pellett]

Two very fine nails with the heads filed off in a block of wood work fine too!

[rwiederrich]

I make 3 sizes for my 1/96 models.  Wrap wire around a specially made hook(3 sizes) in a pin vice and twist it to form the eye.

 

Rob

[Michael Scarborough]

Hello, Peter, Chris, Bob, Roger and Rob,

 

Thanks very much for this info, gents. Much appreciated.

 

Cheers from NYC,

Michael

[BenD]

21 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

I make 3 sizes for my 1/96 models.  Wrap wire around a specially made hook(3 sizes) in a pin vice and twist it to form the eye.

Not only is that way easier but the twisted end will probably hold glue better.

Edited February 11, 2022 by BenD

[rwiederrich]

3 hours ago, BenD said:

Not only is that way easier but the twisted end will probable hold glue better.

Actually...this is quite true.

 

These are so easy to make too.  I just cut a piece of wire about an inch long...crease it back onto itself, forming a *U*.  Then grip the two ends with a plier....then using a *Hook* of the desired size(Diameter of the eye) in a pin vice, I hook the looped wire and then turn the wire, winding it, onto itself.  when the turns are tight, prior to breaking, I cut the shank to the desired length.  Then slide the pad eye off the *Hook*.

 

Easy- Peasy....

 

Rob

[KeithAug]

On 2/10/2022 at 12:33 AM, Peter6172 said:

I use a standard pair of cheep Circles pliers (the type that operate like normal pliers not reverse pliers).  I file down one of the circular tips to a fine cone with needles files then use a flat file to make sure that there is an even, parallel flat between the two jaws of the pliers.  

Peter, I am wondering how the pliers can be soft enough to file down while being strong enough not to bend when being used? Do you harden them? Perhaps you can explain?

 

Ideally the answer would be to buy hardened conical nosed pliers. However I have not yet found any with very small points to the cones. Most available on the web seem to have cones with a minimum diameter of about 1mm, whereas I would agree that 0.5mm is more useful. Does anyone know of conical nosed pliers with very small tip diameters?

Edited February 11, 2022 by KeithAug

[Gregory]

4 hours ago, BenD said:

Not only is that way easier but the twisted end will probably hold glue better.

I've found the twisted end can be twisted into a hole like a screw and require no glue..

[mtaylor]

2 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Ideally the answer would be to buy hardened conical nosed pliers. However I have not yet found any with very small points to the cones. Most available on the web seem to have cones with a minimum diameter of about 1mm, whereas I would agree that 0.5mm is more useful. Does anyone know of conical nosed pliers with very small tip diameters?

Try looking at jewelry tools.  I think I've seen some that small while looking for a specific size in the past though my needs weren't that small.

[KeithAug]

Thank you Mark. I find it difficult to ascertain from the web any specific reference to the minimum diameter and I see many references to mal alignment and other quality issues. I was just wondering whether anyone could recommend a specific make that met the criteria.

[mtaylor]

Keith, are there any jewelers or even watch repair shops near you?  Might be worth talking to them.   By jewelers I'm speaking of the big chain types but more the old "mom and pop" shops that actually make jewelry.

[Tim Holt]

I have a pair of these which I quite like. They let me do pretty fine loops.  Forewarned they aren’t cheap…

 

Lindstrom RX7590 - RX Series Ergonomic Pliers - Round Nose - Fine Jaw - 4.72" L https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LNHMRS

[Peter6172]

5 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Peter, I am wondering how the pliers can be soft enough to file down while being strong enough not to bend when being used? Do you harden them? Perhaps you can explain?

 

Ideally the answer would be to buy hardened conical nosed pliers. However I have not yet found any with very small points to the cones. Most available on the web seem to have cones with a minimum diameter of about 1mm, whereas I would agree that 0.5mm is more useful. Does anyone know of conical nosed pliers with very small tip diameters?

Keith, I bought a very cheap pair from the local Bunnings (hardware) store.   While there may have been some surface hardening, They were fairly easy to file down.   I used needle files to turn one cylinder end into a cone with nearly a point on it and a large (near new) flat file to file flats so that there was a parallel flat face on each side to hold the wire (albeit about 0.2mm wide at the tip.

The tip is certainly robust enough to hold and bend hard brass wire.  The key is the height to diameter ratio of the cone.  Keep it to no more than 2; anything more and you might well fine that the tip starts to bend.

[shipman]

I just had delivered the following pliers. The tip of the taper is 1mm. Looks useful.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325033490349

[shipman]

Don't see an issue filing the end down to a point if required. The concave opposing jaw should help keeping the wire 'square'.

[Michael Scarborough]

23 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

These are so easy to make too.

Thanks, Rob...this all makes sense.

 

Cheers from NYC,

Michael