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:550:0] I picked up these clamps when I was at the Home Depot. They are thirty eight cents each. I picked up four. They work great, except for delicate parts. I used them to hold tires together and various other non delicate assemblies. A bit more expensive than clothes pins, however they are coated at the tips with rubber or latex.They are about 2 inches long. Certainly not a must, but pick em up if your there.
Keep it real and have fun!!!..Scott(chazzer)
Sometimes trousers/PANTS etc come on hangers with 2 wide clamps on them.
I cut 1 arm of the hanger off & put both clamps on the rail, perfect for wings, etc. I also use wooden pegs with the ends shaped as here…
I like economy, so I can spend more on kits!
Be careful of those metal clamps with the vinyl/plastic coating. When you least expect it the coating fails and the sharp edge of the clamp bites into your model causing a repair job of the model.
I neglected to say in my post that the tips are removable and quite thick. I doubt that anyone will have any problems but its good to watch out for wearing and splitting. As I said earlier I just happened into them while shopping. I bought em, used em on tires and heaver applications and liked em very much… They were only 38 cents! Just don’t use them for delicate jobs.
Thanks for the heads up “hawk”.
A little duct tape or electrical tape could reinforce or replace the padding on the clamps. That said, I’m going to try this. Thanks for the tip.
MAJ Mike,
I’ve been using them with out any problems. A very inexpensive clamp at only 38 cents each! The tips won’t slip off. They are fitted good to the tips. And the tips are thick latex, I don’t think they will split.
Good modeling.
Got some clips at Home Depot. Plastic sprue fits perfectly into the “handle” of the alligator clip. They were cheap enough that I set of 8. Again, thanks for the tip.
I’m glad I could help.
Have fun!
HEY , CHAZZER ;I got one for you for the very delicate stuff . Do you ever go to OFFICE DEPOT ? or OFFICE MAX ? The reason I asked is I found the other day little tiny WOODEN clothspins . They can,t be more than an inch long .You can turn them over like the big guys or just sand the tips down till they are narrow . I have tried like many other modelers the little tiny plastic ones and they usually wont last a year if used a lot .Now wood on the other hand ,hmmm. Well , anyway there it is . tankerbuilder
Fingers…
The other day I bought a couple of sets of 4 mini racheting plastic clamps at the Dollar Tree. I tried them out in the store and deemed them adequate for model building. Each set of 4 was only a buck.
While I also have several types of plastic clamps, my main supply of clamps is wooden clothespins (yes, they are still available. I use some as is, others I modify with my band saw to cut back and sharpen the ends. Cheap, and a little less pressure than most of the plastic clamps.
When I need clamps for delicate stuff, I get little brass electronics clamps at Radio Shack. A pack of about a dozen costs maybe a buck. I use 'em for everything. They are small enough to hold some of the tiniest parts, but they are also robust enough to clamp some larger stuff too. Another advantage is that, although they have a metal (brass) jaw, there are no teeth on the clamps, so I can put them right on a piece without any ‘protection’.
By the way, Chazzer, I use those same Home Depot clamps that you do. Love 'em! [Y]