Hi all,

Just a couple of questions about tweezers. First, does anyone have locking tweezers they can comment on, good or bad? I was planning on getting a pair of the slide lock tweezers, such as offered by Micro Mark and was wondering if anyone had recommendations.

Second, does anyone know of any tweezers with soft jaws that would be better able to grip small parts? Normal tweezers seem to flip or twist parts and I thought possibly soft jaws would grip better.

Thanks for any help.

I have two 'hemostat' type tweezers. The kind that look like locking scissors. I use them for tight wire work or thread work. When tieing pack straps or antena ties etc.
IMHO - I think they destroy plastic if you lock them. When I paint figures and small parts I usually attach a wire (in a hole I drilled). I use these for holding the wire during painting.

I have another kind of tweezer it is a 'squeeze to let go' kind. It works in reverse. It is criss crosses in the middle thus reversing the 'action' when squeezed. It is nice when working with softer materials such as foil or cloth or plastic. I use these for general long term holding.

I don't know of any soft surface tweezer. One thought is to make them You can get padding in felt or rubber from a DIY store for protecting furniture. Cut it to shape and glue it on the tweezer.
Another form of 'tweezer' I use A Lot are electrical clips. I went to Radio Shack and picked up a bag of 10 little clamps. They are small, about .5" long, sping loaded, and have flat tweezer ends (not the raggid toothy allegator type). I have mounted one on a stick so it is longer and easier to use. They are great, they have a hole in one handle so you can hang it on a hook to let something dry. You can mount it on a stick with a built on wrap around piece.
Very good investment.

I don't use hemostats as they grip too tight for me.

I have the Squadron normally closed (squeeze to open) blunt and I like it for gripping large pieces. I also have a Squadron pointed Forceps for small thingy-s. I don't use this much as it is too long.

You know what works for me? I "borrowed" the wife's eye brow pluckers. They are small. I need the short working distance. I also loosened them up by pulling on them. Works fine for me.

This is another one of those "technique" things. What works for me may not work for you! #:-)

Keith

I've used a couple self locking tweezers but found them less than satisfactory for most work. I have a couple "extra hands" with roach clip, I mean electrical clamps. I've wrapped several layers of masing tape over the teeth and use this to hold figures or lock onto thread I twirled while it was being saturated with white glue before painting.

What about tweezer that are often called postage stamp tweezers?, Kinda a broad flat blade, Any good?, I was thinking of buying squadrons

I have a couple of tweezers that have broad flat tips that are kind of smooth and rounded. they work good for decals because they don't damage them as easily as the sharp edged tweezers do but i've not found any other use for them. I don't have any self-locking ones but I do keep a selection of regular tweezers and the type that you have to press to open. I find use's for both kinds. I have a couple of Hemostate types but they will damage plastic so I only use them on wire.

propboy - stamp tweezers are decent for large decals. I use them quite a bit at that stage of the game.
I was given a gift set of tweezers I believe from MicroMarx - It had little pointy one (I love these), regular size, regular size angled at 45 degrees, reverse gripers, and stamp flavored. I have found a use for all of these guys on a pretty regular basis. So I would recommend this set.

I agree with the other fellas. I use the locking tweezers that I already use for fly tying purposes (the tiny flies used for fishing). The grip is not as strong as the hemostats ones and they hold well small parts.
Ciao

You could visit your nearest dental or medical supply store and ask around for those.

However, if it's too strong, I do recommend those binder clips or even clothes pins to hold small parts. HTH

I have about 5-6 hemostats (gift given by medical friends for free ) and i use em for wire soldering work or for gluing parts that they tend to go away so for 1-2 minutes i put a lo of pressure and they are ok. In general they will cause problem to soft plastic but i also use a piece of folded tissue in between the part and the hemostat and i dont have any problems. Tha stamp pliers are good for big decals and for putting softly stuff in certain places in a diorama when other objects are around and want to simply slide and let another object between them. But i ve found uses for all this tools (i have about 2-30 different shapes and sizes) and everytime in a difficult job one of them does it !!! so if money is no problem buy 2-3 more of different kinds and shapes and ends and u will find uses for sure (:-)