Holding small parts.

[dgbot]

Since I was diagnosed last Jan. I have had to go on a lot of prescription medicine.  After awhile those bottles add up.  I know a few who used to use 35MM film canisters.  Now I tell people to save those bottles or if they have friends ask them for the empties.  You would be surprised at how indestructable they are.  From holding parts or for solutions or a mix of paint.  In my case I do not have to clean them just throw it away and grab another one from the shopping bag on the shelf.

David B

Edited July 4, 2014 by dgbot

[cwboland]

That's a great idea.  Don't think I've seen those bottles used for that before

[hornet]

Another Storage Solution:  A while ago I invested in a compressor and airbrush. Once I worked out the correct air pressure to run it at and the correct dilution of paint, I found it to be a great addition to my workshop. However, I found that I could cover a lot of area with a relatively small amount of paint and I often ended up with some left over. The paint was mixed with a 50-50 solution of clear windex and distilled water to use in the airbrush, so I didn't really want to pour it back into the original bottle. I am using Admiralty acrylic paints at the moment and they aren't cheap so I wasn't happy to pour leftover paint down the drain either (even if I only had 1 ml left in the airbrush bowl !!) I ended up buying a heap of syringes from ebay. The beauty of these was that I could suck the unused paint right out of the airbrush cup with very little wastage. I cut the ends off nails and ground them to a point so I could use them to seal the end of the syringe once the paint was salvaged. Another benefit of the syringe was that I could carefully squeeze the plunger and bleed off all the air from it before `stoppering' it with the nail.  As a result, the paint lasts indefinitely. All I do is give the syringe a shake to mix and then squeeze into the airbrush bowl and I'm off and running!

 

 

syringe with leftover paint and nail `stopper'

 

 

removing the paint from the airbrush bowl

 

 

I made a simple stand to house the paint syringes

[jdbradford]

Do you all have any suggestions for holding onto really tiny parts such as thin brass photo-etched pieces?  I just glued everyone of them to my fingers trying to position them.  I have a pair of tweezers that squeeze shut, not sure what they are called, but they are too strong and if they don't deform the piece, then they slip off and them piece goes flying to God knows where.  Very frustrating.

[michael mott]

One very simple way to hold small parts is to warm a little beeswax and squash in onto the end of a toothpick then shape the wax to look like a fine spear point.

I used to help my mum put rhinestones in costume jewelry, for pocket money when I was a kid the beeswax sticks were the only easy way to pick up the stones and place them into the lacquer glue that was brushed over the piece before the stone were placed. 

 

It works equally well for all sorts of small parts wood metal or plastic.

 

Michael

Edited August 24, 2014 by michael mott

[jdbradford]

I will give that a shot Michael, thanks

[hornet]

I hold small parts in a variety of ways. What I use most is a cheap fly tying vice (obviously originally designed for tying fly fishing lures) Because it can be adjusted in an almost infinite variety of ways it is very handy for working with fiddly little parts.

You can pick one up on ebay for $30 - $50. Money well spent I think!

 

 

I also use alligator clips attached to  small wooden stand with tie wire (so they are easily adjusted/bent into a variety if positions) This I mostly use for holding parts to be painted with my airbrush.

 

 

I even use a lump of blu-tac on the end of an extra long match (held in a vice) on some occasions.

 

 

The fly tying vice is probably what I use the most!

 

Hope this helps!

[jdbradford]

All of your suggestions look like they would work well on a piece of the ship that is sitting steady, but what about them trying to place a tiny piece of brass to simulate shutters over an extremely tiny window opening?  I am still trying to debond the pieces from my fingers.

[hornet]

My only other suggestion is to invest in a set of dental tools. Using a combination of tweezers and the other pointy/pokey things in the set gets most fiddly jobs done for me. These are available on ......yes, you guessed it ....... ebay. Just remember most problems can be solved if you throw enough money at them AND he who dies with the most toys.... WINS!!

 

 

PS - The dental tools are also great for getting bits of steak out from between your teeth. Just make sure you wipe the CA glue off first!

[michael mott]

The beeswax would work very well for the brass over the window openings. fancy beeswax candles are a good source.

 

Michael