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Easy to make soft jaws for alligator clips.

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7 replies
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  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Connecticut, East of the River
Easy to make soft jaws for alligator clips.
Posted by tlivancso on Tuesday, May 10, 2005 10:12 PM
Hello all,

I thought I would pass this little tip I have for making soft jaws on my aligator clips along to the group.

All I do is buy shrink tubing used in electronic work from one of the stores (Radio Shack, or Fry's, etc..)

I usually buy the assorted size pack because I find it very useful for other things in model building.

Well find a size that fits over one of the clip jaws till it reaches the pivot pin, then trim it off to a little longer then the tip of the clip.

Then with a hair dryer, heat gun or lighter (careful not to get it to close with the lighter or it well burn the tube)

Let the tube shrink around the clip jaw and repeat for the other jaw.

Clean the jaws with a little soap and water to remove any residue.

Now you can securly hold your parts without marring them or the finish and when they get too dirty with paint, just use an hobby knife to cut them off and apply another set.

hth Big Smile [:D]

Cheers
Thom

IPMS Member #42958 /  AMPS Member #2091

IPMS Central Connecticut (President)

IPMS Northeast Military Modelers Association (Web Master)

Like Alice "I try to believe in three impossible things before breakfast"

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 12:10 PM
Excellent tip, Thom I'll have to try that.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 4:13 PM
Thumbs Up [tup]..........works great !!!!!!.............last a long time
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Central USA
Posted by qmiester on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 6:37 PM
And if you use a lighter or match, use the black tubing - anything else will show carbon marking which is very hard to remove. A good soldering iron will also work on shrink tubing.
Quincy
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 13, 2005 1:23 AM
hey mate i do something similar with my tweezers,
i got some clear insulated wire (dunno what diameter, but its about 1/2 cm) took out the wire from the middle, cut it into 1cm lenghts, than i slip the insulations over the tips of the tweezers and there u have tweezers that wont scratch the plastic!!!
i also fin that he rubberyness (if thats even a word!) help grip smaller parts
hope this helps!!!
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 17, 2005 10:39 PM
Drat, and I thought I was clever using electrical tape wrapped around the teeth Banged Head [banghead], Thx 4 a much better system, i'm learnin' , i'm learnin'.Smile,Wink, & Grin [swg]
  • Member since
    August 2003
Posted by 46 mech on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 12:21 PM
Thom, thank you for that tip. excellent idea!!! Thumbs Up [tup]
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Connecticut, East of the River
Posted by tlivancso on Thursday, May 19, 2005 11:50 AM
Glad I could be of some help on the fourm and give back a little bit. Big Smile [:D]

Cheers
Thom

IPMS Member #42958 /  AMPS Member #2091

IPMS Central Connecticut (President)

IPMS Northeast Military Modelers Association (Web Master)

Like Alice "I try to believe in three impossible things before breakfast"

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