Hi Tin, i seen your post. Thought you could use this nice little
gadget.
- ralph

http://www.thesmallshop.com/demo.html

Oh yeah - get it - you'll like it! I've got the smaller one...

Gunnie

The Hold and fold is slicker n' squid poo-pooe. One of the guys in the local AMPS chapter has one. I want to pick one up at AMPS in April.

LOL! I got mine from Rich Sullivan (R&J Enterprises) this Sunday at the IPMS Silicon Valley model contest and show. I paid $37 for the little guy as demonstrated on the hyperlinked page. I've been playing with it ever since. Rich always seems to go to the AMPS Nationals...

Gunnie

I started in my business as a tinsmith, now that's one mini brake.

Ron C.
Ashtabula, Oh

ron,
do you make tin soldiers too ? Or use tin to cast models ?

Thanks screamingeagle....Ron mentioned that to me as well. I don't work with photoetch but have been looking at making custom tool brackets and such using brass strips found in most hobby stores. A question about those. I have yet to find brass strips that are narrow enough to be used as a bracket. Is there an easy way to cut these things down to size?

Bryan,

my own experience with cutting copper strips lengthwise is not very positive. It would work with a knife, but an X-acto will be blunt after only a few cuts.
Copper can be cut with heavy-duty scissors, but you have to be picky in choosing the right type of scissors. Some leave the "clipped edge" a bit curled.
Even with scissors, I don't give your intentions to cut thin strips lengthwise a high success rate.



I had the same problem : smallest copper stip was 0.5 by 1 mm thick. Then recently in another shop, I discovered strips less thick and less wide.

For very thin strips, I tried cutting them with such scissors from coke (or beer) cans. The metal is harder than copper, but there's plenty going around to practise on - at no cost. Just be careful with cans :you can have a nasty cut from the thin metal... ! For some applications, this works.

Until now, I resolved the problem you quote by using polystyrene strips. They come in all sizes, even the most narrow.

Lead can be an alternative, too. Contrary to copper, it can easily be cut with a sharp knife. But then again it bends easily...

I'd suggest you try to find thinner copper strips.

One golden rule for finding scratchbuilding material : don't concentrate on hobby shops only. Plenty of other specialist shops may have products that - unintentionally - serve your purpose. Keep an open eye at all times !

Jan

Thanks Jan. I'm about ready to give the styrene strips a shot now. I know how to bend them into the correct shape by forming them around a wood mold and then inserting them into boiling water for a few seconds but being able to attach a buckle to is eluding me at the moment. Now that I think about this maybe I wanna try the lead material. Ahhhhh this is so frustrating! LOL!

Hi TC, XURON makes a good line of cutting pliers that should suit
your needs. Check it out: http://www.modelexpo-online.com

XUR2175 CRAFTERS SHEAR $10.39 (Yes)
XUR2175B TRACK CUTTER $10.39 (Yes)
XUR2193 HARD WIRE AND CABLE CUTTER $12.79
XUR440PET PRECISION SCISSOR PHOTO-ETCH SHEAR $12.79 (Yes)
XUR450 TWEEZERNOSE PLIERS - SMOOTH $14.39
XUR450S TWEEZERNOSE PLIERS - SERRATED $14.39 (Yes)
XUR485 LONGNOSE PLIERS - SMOOTH $8.79
XUR485S LONG NOSE PLIERS - SERRATED $8.79
XUR488 ROUND NOSE PLIERS $11.99
XUR9200 PREMIUM QUALITY SHEAR - TAPERED HEAD $15.99 (Yes)

Screaming Eagle---get the Hold and Fold out of R&J. I called them and received it in two days. Superbly built. High quality piece of equipment. I have been bending scrap PE all day! You should see the box you can create with a little practice. Now what do I do with a metal can? Ammo boxes!
"2-67 Armor ruled the 2 AD"
DJ

DJ - glad to hear you're enjoying the Hold and Fold!

Gunnie

Bryan,
For straps and brackets, try lead foil. Ask your dentist for the small pieces from the xray thingies when he xrays your teeth. Also, they make lead strips as weights for golf clubs. They have an adhesive on one side, but that can be removed with Testors liquid cement. If the lead is too thick, roll it out with a piece of dowel or a #2 Xacto handle.( Remove blade first.)

Thanks for the lead tip Ron.

Bryan--Jim posted the photo of the Sherman with the VS-17 panel. Go to the Armor Forum and the recognition Flag topic area.
DJ

I just got a pair of the Xuron shears that are supposed to work on photo-etch and other thin metal parts. They look really nice so far, but I haven't had a chance to stress them much yet.

-Neil

p.s. The more Xuron tools I buy, the better I like 'em.

Finally got a hold of the hold & fold folks. I wasn't going to try to do all the Aber PE for my 1/16 Tiger with the razor blades. Apparently he has a new and improved H&F, black anodized base, better machining, tighter fit, etc. He doesn't offer free US shippng any more and charges $43.95 delivered. Just about everyone was out of the old type, but hopefully the new one will be worth the extra bucks.

Dang, surpassed 800 posts sometime today.

After reading all the comments on this thread, I REALLY wanted a "Hold and Fold." Unfortunately, I spent my modeling tools budget for the next month or two on my "Sensi-Press" and "Riveter" (I love 'em). So, this past weekend I decided to make my own PE bender. I like machining as much as I like modeling, and it seemed like just the right scale for a weekend project.

I used the basic principle of the "Hold and Fold," but with a few design differences; I also used some cheap extruded aluminum I had laying around, instead of the good stuff like TheSmallShop uses. My primary goal was to minimize out-of-pocket expense. The final cost for new materials ran about $4, plus nearly that much in gas driving around town, and about another $5 buying stuff I didn't really need "since I was in the hardware store anyway," plus $8 "since the hobby store was just down the street." The most surprising things were the little black knob and spring -- surprising in that I was able to find them, and surprising in that the cost of the knob exceeded the combined cost of all the other materials!

It took about nine hours to make, including the driving around town and lots of prototyping (and putting on ointment where I slipped with the hacksaw). I've got about another hour left for deburring, etc., and I need to re-grind the top part a little flatter -- my cheap aluminum warped ever so slightly under the stress of milling. However, now I've got a very serviceable PE bender and lot more experience doing things like countersinking for springs, etc.

Bottom line: although it seems expensive at first glance, unless your main hobby is machining and modeling is secondary, I think the "Hold and Fold" from the TheSmallShop is a pretty darn good deal. After trying it myself, I have a lot more respect for what they've accomplished -- I may buy one myself when the budget allows.

-Neil