Trouble with clamps

**paperino** · #1 12-04-2011, 07:20 PM

I am having trouble gluing the front edges of the wings of my current project (Modelart F-15 E)

- I got some small paper clips, but they are not good enough, they leave marks on the card stock.

So, it's clear I need an expert advice from you guys

- what is the best solution ?
What kind of clips or clamps should I get ?

What do you guys use (we are talking about 0.2 mm card or 250 g per square meter) for clamps ?

Something strong, but not too much - any help is welcome.

I forgot to mention, I am new to this hobby, so no flaming, please.

**D-H** · #2 12-04-2011, 11:53 PM

Can you use low-tack tape on the inside? or what we call cling-film (Saran wrap) on the outside?

D

**Darwin** · #3 12-05-2011, 02:13 AM

Gee, what forums have you been associated with that would flame a newbie for asking for a bit of help? No problem with that kind of thing around here. For this particular model, my recommendation would be to remove the tab, and use a strip of bond paper (about a quarter-inch wide) as a joining strip. Join the upper and lower wing panels at the leading edge. Glue the joining strip to the back of one of the panels such than about half of it's width extends past the edge of the wing panel, lie that panel on a flat surface, put a thin bead of glue on the back of the leading edge of the other panel, and butt-join the panels. I just use my fingers to "clamp" the join until the glue sets a bit, then I place a weight (like a book) on the join to hold the panels flat until the glue is dry. Then score (or otherwise form) the leading edge so the panels fit on the wing ribs. My normal approach is to glue the lower panel to the bottoms of the ribs, hold the assembly against a flat surface until the glue is set, then put glue on the tops of the ribs and along the trailing edge of the lower panel and wrap the upper panel around the ribs. I use a metal ruler to clamp the trailing edge against the flat building surface until the glue is dry. A couple of ways of doing that...one is to lie the ruler against the upper surface of the wing, with the edge of the ruler lined up with the wing trailing edge. The other is to put the ruler in back of the wing, with as little overlap on the wing trailing edge as you can get by with...no more than a 1/16 inch of the wing edge in the 'clamp.' Another option is to use the clothespin-like clips that are used to 'seal' the top of opened potato-chip bags as a clamp for wing trailing edges. Personally, I've had lots better results using the straight-edge-and-mk-I-fingers approach. Hope this helped.

**SCEtoAUX** · #4 12-05-2011, 06:57 AM

Try finding some spring type wooden clothespins with a weak spring and reversing the wood parts if you still want some clamps.
Here is a pic of the type of clothespin referenced with a before and after:

The squares are 1 inch.

Those clothespins come in varying qualities. Some have a strong spring while others (usually found at a discount store) have a weak spring. The quality of the wood varies greatly too. Go for the cheap kind, they work just fine. You can mess around with them some more to modify the performance to suit your clamping needs.

**rmks2000** · #5 12-05-2011, 07:28 AM

I've done a variation of the clothespin approach by gluing 2 inch strips of brass to the upper and lower jaws so that the clamps are wider and less prone to crease. This is similar to the clamps you see for keeping snack bags closed. You could use popsicle sticks or any other stiff material, I just happened to have some brass laying around. You can also wrap thin foam material around the jaws to keep them from creasing the paper.

**nebeltex** · #6 12-05-2011, 08:47 AM

try using a "chip-clip". you may have to weaken the spring or use some padding to avoid marks, but they work well for long edges...

**doctormax** · #7 12-05-2011, 09:04 AM

What i use is clips for holding a cloth when cutting hair and one that came with a set of earphones for a mobile phone works nice i did use for a while some pegs that were for hanging Christmas cards on a string I may get more since they are in shops again and they come in very handy for holding parts in place.

**papersmithforge** · #8 12-05-2011, 01:13 PM

To clamp things together I find the best way is a magnetic cutting mat with magnetic posts as illustrated here:

If you need to clamp smaller things or need less force get yourself a set of neodynium magnets in various sizes. I wouldn't use this as a cutting mat though (even though that's partially its intent) just as a clamping station. You could achieve the same result with a steel plate and magnets.

**Stephenb** · #9 12-05-2011, 04:52 PM

This looks great, where did you find this?

**peter taft** · #10 12-05-2011, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCEtoAUX

Try finding some spring type wooden clothespins with a weak spring and reversing the wood parts if you still want some clamps.
Here is a pic of the type of clothespin referenced with a before and after:
Attachment 109895
The squares are 1 inch.

Those clothespins come in varying qualities. Some have a strong spring while others (usually found at a discount store) have a weak spring. The quality of the wood varies greatly too. Go for the cheap kind, they work just fine. You can mess around with them some more to modify the performance to suit your clamping needs.

Well.... just when you think you've thought of everything

me going to try this clothes peg reversal, looks like they can be made pretty accurate with some additional sanding and shaping - GREAT IDEA, cheers