I sruggling to bend a tiny sliver of PE (lengthwise!) for a 1/72 Ferdinand, and I am trying to squeeze the Etch MAte into my Chrsitmas money inbetween the E-100 and the 1/35 Cobra and a bunch of other tools, but currently, it does not look very possible.

what is a good technique for bending these pesky objects that love to go airborne and hide amongst the strands of the carpet hair waiting to ambush one's foot?

Well, have a clean floor and a flashlight when they dogo flying. Use the flash light at a low level and look for long shadows.

As far as bending goes, I use a set of squared off pliers to hold the pieces, then I use a hard flat surface to bend over the part.. Maybe an exacto blade or the back end of the handle, or another pair of pliers.

I used to use a single edge razor blade (slightly used and dull) along with a 6" steel ruler available at local hardware shops.

Rigid piece of flat mketal (ruler maybe) held down by small C-Clamps & a razor blade to bend with .... takes care of the simple shapes ... after that get a bit inventive ... basswood strips also work in lieu of metal for the narrow pieces ...

John

long fingernails....really

I find that the straight ended tweezers which are angled, rather than squared to the legs work best for me. I'll line up the fold in the edge of the tweezers, and do the bending with my hand. The angled ones seem to work best for me, because if I have to "move into" something that's in place, these let me do it from an angle rather than straight down.

Occasionally I will use something like a ruler or the edge of an Exacto to help in the bending.

The comments about a clean hard floor, and a good strong flashlight are right on the money. Trust me!!!

One other thing that may help is to have something in your lap to catch parts and keep them from falling to the floor. Something like a carpenter's apron works well.

The other secret seems to be not to pinch too tight as that's what seems to propel stuff off into another dimension!!!


Tom

I use two razor blades. I put one on the actual bed, then I slide the other one under the part to be bended, and lift up.

Heres a diagram....

Hi there

Here's a brilliant Feature by Martin Ramsden (BrandydogUK) - http://groups.msn.com/Armoramauk/workingwithetchedbrassdetailsthebrandydogway.msnw
We really must get this one ported across to the Main Site!

All the best

Rowan

saved to favs, and thanks.



reb

thanks guys, but would the above techniques work on PE that are about 2-3mm wide and the fold is along the length so there are overwhelming chances of the part flying into a time warp. Just wondering...
man, I HAVE to lay off of the 1/72 stuff!

Yes, you want to try some 1:144 scale....

try this grouser box for starters...


Sleep well..

Cheers
Henk

Touche Henk, Touche.... :-) :-) :-)