How do you hold small parts?

[chaos]

Just wondering whether you guys have any tips on holding them itty-bitty parts. My hands are too big and they keep jumping from the tweezers. Any tips?

[christofurr]

I use a little PCB stand, which consists of a fairly heavy base, and a couple of adjustable arms with small aligator clips on the end. Works a treat, and only cost around $6 USD. Most electronics stores should carry them.

[lumpulus]

For really small PE parts like bolt heads, screw heads, I just stick them on the end of an exacto blade till I cyano them onto the model.

You can't see any mark afterword.

For larger parts up to 1/24 scale hoods and down to parking light lenses I use a Vacuum Pen. what's that you ask?

It's a pen shaped hollow tube with a tiny suction cup at one end and a manual or electric(in my case) vacuum pump at the other.


Here's a pic.....



Mine has a finger hole on it that when you put your finger over it the little suction cup will hold the part. When you let go of the finger hole the part is let go. Really slick.

They can be had for as little as $12 for a manual one, to over $200 for a fancy one. I got mine because my girlfriend works in a lab as a chemist, and thought it would be perfect for little parts. She was right!

[Sidewinder-03]

I use a pair of hemostats, like the kind the surgeons use on the operateing table.

[008]

Tweezers that people use to pluck eyebrows and nose hairs just won't cut it in modeling. There are much better tweezers out there, such as sharp ones, flat, rounded, and the really handy self-closing ones to hold parts as they dry. You can find these at Micromark (http://www.dxmarket.com/micromark/dir/35.html) or check the local surgical supply store. I get mine at car show swap meets where I can get brand new ones for half of what Micromark charges.