kahuna46 Posted February 16, 2014 #1 Posted February 16, 2014 I'm very new to this forum and this hobby. I'm building a 1/400 model of BB-63 and was totally unprepared for dealing with the number of tiny parts. I've already lost two little vent pipes that flipped out of my surgical tweezers. What kind of needle nose tweezers are best for gripping these things? I have surgical clamps, but they crush the pieces out of shape. I have surgical tweezers, but they lose their grip and the parts fly off to Neverland. There must be a solution. Thanks in advance for any tips!! Kahuna Quote
jud Posted February 16, 2014 #2 Posted February 16, 2014 How about a small dowel, one end reshaped so there is a small flat surface then treated with some adhesive that drys to a consistency of the sticky side of tape. Use it to pick up those tiny pieces and to place them where they were intended to be. Could use another similar but untreated dowel, or maybe a dental tool, to release the part once correctly placed. Would need to do some research and testing to find out what adhesive would work best. jud Quote
kahuna46 Posted February 16, 2014 Author #4 Posted February 16, 2014 I honestly don't think the dowel idea would work. I've already had a couple of close calls with sticky tape to hold little parts in place until I needed them. The clamps resemble what I have and I guess would not crush the parts, but those covers would likely be larger than some of the pieces. We're talking under 1/2 inch here. Several are about 1/4 or less. Those are the ones making me crazy. I'll fool around with a dowel and adhesive to see if I can manage anything with it. Thanks, both! Quote
jud Posted February 16, 2014 #5 Posted February 16, 2014 As an experiment, try double sided tape on a dowel like stick, be a quick way to determine if the idea was worth pursuing. good luck jud Quote
kahuna46 Posted February 16, 2014 Author #6 Posted February 16, 2014 Good idea! I'll try it and post result. I also ordered a set of jeweler's needle nose tweezers! Quote
cwraase Posted February 16, 2014 #7 Posted February 16, 2014 Self-locking tweezers may like http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/fine-point-self-locking-tweezers.html?gclid=CI3YwobL0bwCFa1lOgod7h8ADg may work also. Quote Current build: HMS Bounty - Scientific Models
sawdust Posted February 17, 2014 #9 Posted February 17, 2014 I find pearl tweezers are good for holding small objects . Each jaw has a hollow indent which helps hold small objects securely. Kip kahuna46 1 Quote
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