New to PE, essential tools?

We'll since you asked...

Some very good tweezers and a pair of Xuron's PE Shears

Sanding discs/rotary tool for sanding of parts.

Pliers can be very helpful too.

The right tools makes the job easier! 

Thanks.

Are the pliers for cutting, can quite make it out from the picture? EDIT: just noticed you called them shears, so they cut.

I have some tweezers that i think will be ok, wife is a nurse and got me some surgical tweezers.

Not sure i trust myself to use powered sanding on PE as yet, is it easier/safer by hand?

The high rpm of a fine grit disc makes very quick work of the excess fret material attached to the part by just barely touch the part to the disc. Using a sanding stick or other handheld device one could be temped to apply too much pressure thus bending the part. Once a PE part is bent (in a damaging way), it just isn't the same...much like crushing a soda can.

Trying to cut/trim PE parts with a knife can be a means to inflict unwanted creasing or bending to a part, plus the risk of a part launching into the great unkown never to be seen again. 

TIP: Use a little masking tape when working with PE parts to ensure they stay where you want them while working with them. Here I am bending a throttle quadrant, using a drill bit as my form. The tape holds the part in place and also aids in bending process. The part is too small (for my fingers) to grasp, so I pull the edges of the tape around the drill bit which inturn causes the PE part to bend around the shaft of the bit taking the on the desired radius desired.

Many thanks, I understand why you say sanding discs now.

I may practice on some of the spare fret.

Great tip with the masking tape!

I've been experimenting with PE for the better part of a year now, trying to find what works best.

I've found the best way to get it off the sprue is with a #11 blade.  All the eduard PE sprues I've come across are packed too tightly together to get the shear tips in there.  To nip the itty bitty parts that are left, I cut them off with a  plastic sprue cutter.  It has a flat bottom for making flush cuts.

To pick up the tiny PE parts, I use Pick n' sticks.  They're like one-sided q-tips, but instead of cotton, it has wax.  It sticks to everything, but releases easily.  In the 8 months or so I've been using them, I've gone through just about 4 sticks (I think they are packs of 8, like a book of matches).  They're reusable, so every once in a while, I reshape the wax and it's like a whole new stick.

For bending, I have to say, I just started using a tool called The Bug - and boy, does it make a difference.  I'm getting bends I could never get with my tweezers, pliers and razor blade.  It's a little pricey at $40, but it's definitely worth it.

-Fred

Hi Fred,

Great suggestions and much appreciated.  Where does one find the "Pick n' Sticks"?

Cheers, Rick 

Here ya go  http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=80339

it helps if I spell it correctly

-Fred

They do pack those parts into the smallest of spaces on the frets. I will cut the fret into more managable pieces to facilitate easier removal of the parts and prevent the rest of the parts on the fret from being damaged.

From my experience the parts are generally laid out into sub assemblies on the fret so dividing them up is pretty easily done. Also as I use the parts, I remove the now empty fret framework, which I keep it in a old tuna can as a scratchbuilding resource. I trim my sprue trees in the same way, discarding the empty sections to reduce the clutter on the bench and in the box as the build progresses. It makes finding parts easier because of less sprues/frets to sort through.

The biggest advocate for using a PE shear is it doesn't lauch the PE part into the air! I lost one once...only to find it imbedded in my face an hour later...never felt it until I rubbed my face...thankfully I had glasses on! 

After you lose a few you'll find that shearing versus cutting does make better sense. It's just learning the proper "fret management" technique. 

Well, there are a few tricks to keep your PE from flying away when using the #11 removal trick.  You can first press the PE onto to a piece of masking tape that's been folded over on itself (sticky side out).  Or the trick that I use, is to hold the piece in place with the pic-n-stick. Then once I've cut it free, I'm all ready to pick it up.  Either way, there are no projectile PE.

-Fred

I hope so.  Otherwise, we could've just done this whole thing through PM

-Fred

One other thing to consider.

If you have the money to spend I would highly recommend the PE Part Cut-Out Kit that The Small Shop offers. When I purchased The Bug a few weeks ago, I also bought that. It makes cutting PE parts from the fret a hassle free snap. The hold down piece included guaruntees that parts won't end up anywhere you don't want them to.

Regards,

Jeff 

Gigatron wrote:

I hope so.  Otherwise, we could've just done this whole thing through PM -Fred

Oh I was reading and taking mental notes :) Thanks for sharing!

Hi guys; I appreciate this conversation. I'm new to PE, and back into modelling after 50 yrs in the 'real world'. PE is a trip! First a 1/700 USN cruiser to get my feet wet (those railings are like cobwebs!), now a 1/350 Tirpitz which I plan to do RIGHT! Ha; I'm sure I'll screw up more than once - when I do I'm sure it will be in fumbling the railings.

Q: is there a "slow set" super glue? Securing small parts is tricky, even if wicking the glue into the edge of a pre-positioned piece is done. And if this is how I do it, how do I best clean up glue smear on the surrounding plastic?

Note: I've found that using Tamiya's 400 grit diamond PE file works super on Eduard's Stainless Steel PE pieces, no matter how small, but if working with Gold Medal Models or White Ensign brass PE (which is much softer), the file is too coarse and the PE will easily give up on you. Unfortunately, both of the latter kits use a lot of fretting, which entails that much more cutting, snipping, and filing. Can a high rpm sanding disc really do the job here? So far, I've not been able to press-cut with a #11 blade or snip close enough to get it it smooth.  ?

Thanks, y'all.  It's good to be back!

Stephen 

Best way to clean up a CA glue spill is quickly, with acetone (commonly found in nail polish remover).  Dab a q-tip in the acetone before the glue has time to dry.  Rub the q-tip over the glue and eventually, the acetone will disolve the glue and wipe up the mess all at once - without effecting the plastic.

As for slower setting glue, usually, the thicker the glue, the slower it sets.  I like crazy glue gel when I need a slower setting CA.  It's the difference between 1 second and 10 seconds, but sometimes, that's all you need.

-Fred

Thanx, Fred.  That tells me exactly what I wanted to know!

Good luck to you!

Stephen 

EJ,

www.thesmallshop.com is where you need to go. Great customer service and fast delivery. You won't regret it. No one has.

Regards,

Jeff 

You'r right about The Smallshop. Got my Bug and the cutoff tool today. ordered on the 10th, got it on the 12th. Tried it out this afternoon, boy what a difference in handling 700 pe. I was having fits before but this thing helps these 68 year old eyes and fingers do the job. Thanks to firesmacker for the advice.

 EJ

www.thesmallshop.com is where you need to go. Great customer service and fast delivery. You won't regret it.

Thanks. I just spent 80.00 plus at The Small Shop.

I rarley use PE but I do have a few nice sets for my Wildcat, Mosquito, P-38, and Fokker D.XX1.

I bought the hold-down set and the Hold and Fold.

Hold and Fold:

http://thesmallshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=10

Hold-down set:

http://thesmallshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=14

I almost bought the Etch Mate 3C from Micro-Mark:

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83682

The Hold and Fold just looked nicer. Plus it come with a folding balde and case.