tweezers??

[Jimbo]

can some one recommend some good tweezers??  i tried to detail one locomotive, it took an hour an a half to install the hand rails an a whistle!! ive tried paint on the tips of the tweezers didnt work, i ended up useing masking tape,but that became a pain! i just need something that can hold those little parts!! thanks' 

[cteno4]

@Jimbo,

 

ive used the liquid plastic before for this and it’s worked. It’s basically sort of a liquid rubber you dip like plier handles in to get that vinyl rubber handle material on them. It makes the tips of fine tweezers pudgier, but much more gripable. I’ve seen some on ebay like this but usually bigger tips and not great for tiny parts.
 

Could also try dipping the tips in rubber cement and letting it dry well. This will be a bit tacky, but may work. I’ve also used the painters tape solution and works well but as you say a bit bulky and a pain to deal with.

 

 My main tool for tiny poking on tiny parts now are these nut tweezers. They have a little slot cut in the tip that leads to a pocket. Things like antennas just fit in the slot and other more bulbous parts can fit in the pocket and the mount in pin sticking out the slot. Good deal for $4.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364131004597?hash=item54c7e630b5:g:ICoAAOSwUhJil1qG&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4FbpAPj8sKkuX2xlcinGsKkWrbU1txYtSTSWUuWQHO4LMamz9nDCpxzFIwLv%2FN7bSzqRBpPTukvr1dIsndD6jor0%2Fc%2Fk6IdjsYrDHlyfcq39tj70uZqWh1T0JvZRYuSmkan52mL6M3R%2FdXP863WYgTgbr6Z1a662X2L2FmXHxpOT2kpSnJ%2BKo0tZOENDVUzxU9kmQMRoHs4Zi2zpTngHKXZrELYBGkCQoB5dKi0aeXH%2BCg7CNpN3gKZvOnCmLcqdHiShgCrqJHJoZx51nncKEPwwLZjITH8fTn2pnCyixgSI|tkp%3ABk9SR4Cn257jYQ

 

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803034500718.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.1bd11802LzB74D&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

 

Kato has a very nicely machined version for $75! While I love my tools I’ve not succumbed to them…

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10827263

 

there are also bead tweezers that have cupped ends to hold small round/bulbous things, good for bits that are a bit bigger but hard to hold with flat jawed tweezers.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/191885293494?hash=item2cad4137b6:g:-l4AAOSwNsdXTSY3&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4E1VDZkHWfocYE9cpkZNi02g6k3wQ%2BJTK%2FLdZHf%2Be5qC%2BIIQnQXFpoBbqbPv%2BGHISsuyGopAaOGZtWuO9ewLLNkkeU1VEPWuo7x%2FdqUFeTmMg2HfFUm7h0JIbSjZVgg1Z8FXmY%2F7A8xsHhzrijIEnRVToigZuvY%2BxBWeclxxPFuul9BawocAJXh7ekJksPRbH6f3Zgv8CRu4K5e25BuggWXYCJwbLWlIGt2%2B53KLQ23BW%2FbrtUjW7SYKhgrVE1YaBrGbVPn4VSqc25CJEpjE2DWWbYWI2obLV0rNHt4k%2BmDM|tkp%3ABk9SR7S0vJ_jYQ
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/350308215065?hash=item518fff2919:g:aicAAOxyYTRSVkcH&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4ATxpKRj%2BNJkc%2FrCZGaK0rrYprH14%2FLxIVaTq1jHEu4GkjxPJETIvv5L4xL8OxwXc%2Fpo3uNWyaTg%2FFBGhP%2F2hPlfcBwWfxIlnBNF4rGYXuQFsonOj44jWDbeDzNxabeOIRvfMIuAWT8GV9trPbsdbck6nyncn3kxGBdGMkVy%2B5pOpO0oMnpq4R7x0yEH9iTREQcPjFSUv9e1zMaHIcMFwqmYHZ8kck1ARw5F8R21qfv6FMNXhGzZiQgbyH0QiK%2Fs0D18%2BTN2mkJod7%2FqMF7n0U5bEduixVeIXDsl17DON9Vm|tkp%3ABk9SR7a0vJ_jYQ

 

just stumbled on these notched tweezers that look interesting and ordered a pair for myself to play with.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/331943594691?hash=item4d49614ac3:g:v50AAOSw1UFdSGHa&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAwNWfSykI019NpwPI616aYYZAoxC4gYVVSX8QJZjcnebfwW4tdNp59Sr9U97WAE38cXkpgudmZebXjQ5GBjyY1%2FolamZwN7ZfCEINTHRRnL9X5EwHgGdJHYE%2B%2Bl%2FZoW4%2FoFM9MZbxNyo%2BvIPDvf3iKDgqRCd0XRrq7YR1yz1RKdVAnvRIUbVS7GRkczECqprBrLl4SzdmfFhmhZDeDV61FceQ%2FPuElyix3quOoe3%2FPPl8Fv5ubPP4CJnAmkS5dt59mw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4Kn257jYQ

one thing to always do when working with those tiny parts with tweezers is to get a yard or medium pile black velour fabric at the fabric store (Check the remnant bit) and spread it out over your work space and down onto your lap. You can even use some stuff from the workbench to make a little wall around your work area and cover with the cloth. The velour is great at catching a small part that has gone ping out of your tweezers. Most other surfaces and little parts slide and bounce and go poof fast. It’s an old watchmaker’s trick.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Madsing]

I’d like to add this one to the list:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL0M4BM

The ceramic tips are really great!

Marc

 

[ianlaw]

On 3/25/2023 at 3:01 PM, Jimbo said:

can some one recommend some good tweezers??  i tried to detail one locomotive, it took an hour an a half to install the hand rails an a whistle!! ive tried paint on the tips of the tweezers didnt work, i ended up useing masking tape,but that became a pain! i just need something that can hold those little parts!! thanks' 

I've recently started using small pliers and now I can get these parts on in minutes.

[cteno4]

I agree I use my fine xuron needle nose pliers a lot for small pieces and I have a pair of generic fine needle nose pliers I’ve ground the tips down to about 2mm wide and even some off the back so the are closer to tweezer ends. Pliers do tend to give you a better grip and way less prone to the tweezer “ping”, but you can crush mar small parts if you are not gentle, sort of an exercise in isometrics.

 

jeff

[bc6]

I love those tweezers from Kato they are perfect for adding details to the roofs of train cars. The nextime I need to order something overseas I'm going to try to get a pair of them.

[cteno4]

Try these first, $3, and see how they work for you. Usually show up in a couple of weeks.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364131004597?hash=item54c7e630b5:g:ICoAAOSwUhJil1qG&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4FbpAPj8sKkuX2xlcinGsKkWrbU1txYtSTSWUuWQHO4LMamz9nDCpxzFIwLv%2FN7bSzqRBpPTukvr1dIsndD6jor0%2Fc%2Fk6IdjsYrDHlyfcq39tj70uZqWh1T0JvZRYuSmkan52mL6M3R%2FdXP863WYgTgbr6Z1a662X2L2FmXHxpOT2kpSnJ%2BKo0tZOENDVUzxU9kmQMRoHs4Zi2zpTngHKXZrELYBGkCQoB5dKi0aeXH%2BCg7CNpN3gKZvOnCmLcqdHiShgCrqJHJoZx51nncKEPwwLZjITH8fTn2pnCyixgSI|tkp%3ABk9SR4Cn257jYQ

 

while not as finely made as the Kato ones, they do the job for me fine on small parts and have been to go to for roof details. I’m a total tool junkie but since the cheap ones do the job I’ve not gotten to the point of dropping the $80 on the Kato ones. They are beautiful…

 

jeff

[bc6]

Did you say the Kato tweezers are $80 if thats the case it'll be a long time before I buy a pair lol. 

 

Thanks for the link those look like they'll do the job for detail parts.

[cteno4]

Yes I think the Kato tweezers are custom made, thus the price. I took a look at some watch tool sites and could not find something like them. Closest were some to hold gears but slot did not go all the way out the tip.

 

the cheapo ones are not bad, definitely worth $3 and better suited to roof antenna installs than regular tweezers. Little or no Ping potential but may not hold the tiniest parts well enough, and then I usually revert to my tiny needle nose pliers. I have been meaning to take a small cutting disc to a pair of my needle nose plier jaws and see if I can make the Kato T pattern on one. Get the best of both worlds. Also may try cutting the slots using a drill through the side and end of a closed pair of needle nose pliers or tweezers. But that will require very careful clamping down in the drill press as well careful drilling with a small high quality metal bit. Been on the to fiddle with list but the cheapo plies work well enough it’s not pushed this up the to fiddle with list.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[bc6]

You know great minds think alike lol because I was thinking I could get me a pair of tweezers and use my Dremel tool to cut a T pattern in the tweezers like the Kato tweezers.

If you were to outline the T pattern with a cutoff disk you could finish off the pattern with some micro files if you had them. 

The $3 ones dont look bad at all but before I splurge on those lol I may look at my tweezer collection and see what I can modify . 

[Andrew Nummelin]

I recently saw a suggestion on the traintools io group from Brian  Kopp for locking pliers called Mathieu pliers as used by orthodontists - less than $10 on eBay.  He uses them for holding spikes for code 55 rail. I’ll be investigating supply in the UK.

[bc6]

That sounds like a good idea I'm going to look around ebay and see if I can find those pliers thanks 

[cteno4]

They are similar to regular locking forceps. I’ve not found locking forceps to be much good for most modeling stuff as usually bit too much pressure. 
 

indo have suture tweezers that have a notch in them to hold a needle. Some are back the jaws some and some at the tips. Tip ones are pretty much like the other Kato like tweezers I lined above but have serrated tips and don’t have the cross cut.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153214327659?hash=item23ac491b6b:g:vpsAAOSwjQVcB2Ne&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwJ%2FqxY8oJzagAlcyS1t9vgTFxDKWT7hDwnX9V%2FORDvquRmX1SySJl4Y5tjV4WrhPpkV%2BmKsmev4LPzktbZ1foJe%2BrQF6B4M5C9KX4r5XrIfJs7G1VOYaf1pi7It%2FZGae7eCc14AQyxLWj%2FQ2ihaIyInWWF8PO14%2BU8shMNmHu0rzql1f4KbjkoPIGe66NPSIa7aREYzzlEA%2Bt%2F8R6q5lMrCfEUzuNXilPdbbtyqAfHj891%2Beo9GkNpFWGpBRuhsZoA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR46uz7LuYQ

there are a ton of medical tweezers and forceps.

 

jeff

[bc6]

3 hours ago, cteno4 said:

They are similar to regular locking forceps. I’ve not found locking forceps to be much good for most modeling stuff as usually bit too much pressure. 
 

indo have suture tweezers that have a notch in them to hold a needle. Some are back the jaws some and some at the tips. Tip ones are pretty much like the other Kato like tweezers I lined above but have serrated tips and don’t have the cross cut.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153214327659?hash=item23ac491b6b:g:vpsAAOSwjQVcB2Ne&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwJ%2FqxY8oJzagAlcyS1t9vgTFxDKWT7hDwnX9V%2FORDvquRmX1SySJl4Y5tjV4WrhPpkV%2BmKsmev4LPzktbZ1foJe%2BrQF6B4M5C9KX4r5XrIfJs7G1VOYaf1pi7It%2FZGae7eCc14AQyxLWj%2FQ2ihaIyInWWF8PO14%2BU8shMNmHu0rzql1f4KbjkoPIGe66NPSIa7aREYzzlEA%2Bt%2F8R6q5lMrCfEUzuNXilPdbbtyqAfHj891%2Beo9GkNpFWGpBRuhsZoA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR46uz7LuYQ

there are a ton of medical tweezers and forceps.

 

jeff

Nice find Jeff those look like something I would use to grasp small detail with..

[cteno4]

They are serrated though, so could potentially bite into a part if larger than than the groove. I don’t think I ever found a non serrated pair except for those others with the additional cross cut (I think that how I had found those).

 

jeff