Model Clamps

Clothespins have the spring sticking out past the sides, so to make them into parts holders for glueing or painting, I glue bits of basswood scrap to the sides. They then sit nice and flat with no wobble.

Hi ;

   I use the smaller version of the clamps next to the rubber bands too . Besides we can't have enough Erwins now can we ?

 There is also a softer alligator clamp with teeth you can smooth down some .( I don't )  I take the end that accomodates the wire and bend it outward . Why ? this way the clamp opens it's jaws further .

    I have been known to use my Micro - Mark table saw to cut clothes pins in half lengthwise to make very narrow clamps too . This way when I reverse the clothes pin sides , I get smooth straight jaws as well .

   Note ; when reversing the clothes pins you do diminish the opening a lot .This does work well for clamping sheet goods and such though . I thought I was the only one who had Brass bar clamps .

 Last time I saw those I was in high school .Oh , and I do have six . T.B. P.S. The small thin clamps used for heat sinks in soldering , come in handy for a light duty thin clamp for small parts too.

I love those Irwin bar clamps with the "micro" adjustment. They are so smooth that you can get exactly the clamping pressure you want.  I use the six inch versions, just right for most models.

Also found some that work the same way at Harbor Freight that were cheaper, but not quite as smooth to operate.

I do plastic and wood ships in various scales. These are clamps I use, sometimes in many combinations. The bar clamps are from Home Depot, clothes pins from the dime store, teeny alligator clips with smooth jaws from an electronics supplier, the long skinny clamps from Harbor freight, the small skinny ones and the flat small ones from Micro Mark. I've got some really nice ones made of brass bar stock, but rarely use them (not in the picture). Sometimes, just a rubber band, masking tape or a bread bag twisty or piece of wire will do the trick. Model ships require some inventiveness to clamp those weird spots and angles.

The clamps

Some extra stuff, but there are some good ones in this list:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_12?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A6925831011%2Ck%3Ahobby+clamps&keywords=hobby+clamps&ie=UTF8&qid=1493852726&rnid=2941120011

I second Micro Mark.

John

I build ships and tanks and I found that I need clamps from the smallest size (1/4") opening to 3-4" openings along with the size of the clamp. 

Go online to Micro-Mark, they have every type of clamp a modeler would need.