Yet another pinning question... this time with tiny hands!

[terminalmancer]

I just got Bombshell Babes 2 and look at all of those tiny tiny hands, so very separate from their arms!

 

I've had a lot of trouble with tiny hands on tiny miniatures... they're far too big for my big fat fingers to hold steady while drilling and they seem to break off at the slightest touch if I don't pin them.

 

How do you guys usually pin tiny hands?

 

Disclosure: I usually use minis for gaming, soooo.... they're gonna get handled. And not always nicely.

[Sylverthorne]

Padded .. ugh. Clamp? Locking tweezers? Hemostat? It's a grabby-tool with narrow jaws that locks. I have one somewhere, and I've found it useful to hold tiny things steady while I mangle them.

.. or attempt to not mangle them, while trying not to have butterfingers.

 

Mebbe stick a pair of tweezers in the small vise that you may or may not own? I'unno. That's not one that's come up (yet).

[Doug Sundseth]

1. Make a divot with the tip of a sharp knife at the point where you want the pin to go. This will tend to keep your drill bit from slipping before you can get it fairly started.
2. Insert a drill bit smaller than your final hole into a pin vise.
3. Lubricate the tip of the drill bit (light machine oil like 3-in-1 works well, but other lubricants will also work).
4. Drill as deeply as you need to.
5. Using that hole as a pilot hole, drill again with a drill bit barely larger than the pin you will be using. This should also be lubricated.
6. Repeat for the other side of the hole. This tutorial might help: http://www.coolminiornot.com/articles/1589-joint-pinning-made-easy

FWIW, with this procedure I've not had too much trouble holding figures and bits with my hands.

[TGP]

A couple of questions because:

I don't have pins or drill bits for 28mm hands that small. (Luckily I don't believe I have any BBabes w/detachable hands either, but still I'd like to know how.)

 

• Where do I look for finer pin vise bits than I have?

 

• Would a nylon bristle be useful as a pin?

 

At super thin diameters no wire is very stiff. Nylon is tough. And springy. Wondering if springy is better than stiffness in this application.

[Doug Sundseth]

Hobby stores that care model railroad supplies often have very small bits. IME, a #76 or so will work well for a pilot hole.

 

I'd prefer the rigidity of a 0.020" brass rod to anything flexible. The rigidity that you do get will be aided by the glue you use. FWIW, I prefer epoxy for this purpose to superglue, because it is more resistant to sheer and torsion. That said, I've never tried nylon, so I could be wrong.

[knarthex]

Your online retailer for all those fiddly little tools that you didn't know you needed until you see them....

 

Micro Mark.

 

Sign up for their newsletter for all sorts of goodness....

 

Great customer service as well....

 

Can also look here, as this question came up with Chivane, the Red Mantis assassin....

Edited June 14, 2016 by knarthex

[CashWiley]

The thinnest thing I've pinned was a pair of tiny feet sculpted by....Patrick :)

 

I used a tiny bit and some really thin guitar string.

[Corporea]

I use jewelry wire often.  It isn't as strong, but seems to work well.

[Doug Sundseth]

The thinnest thing I've pinned was a pair of tiny feet sculpted by....Patrick :)

 

I used a tiny bit and some really thin guitar string.

 

I forgot about guitar string, which is a classic choice for pinning. Be aware when cutting guitar string or music wire that they can be harder than the jaws on your cutter and can notch the cutters. If you plan to do this regularly, get dedicated hard-wire cutters.

 

FWIW, the most difficult pinning I've done was reattaching a broken sword blade (not one of the anime-scaled swords) by pinning down the length of the blade. You can drill and pin some pretty small stuff if you're careful.

[Gadgetman!]

I believe #76 bits are approx. 0.5mm in diameter?

 

It's not difficult to find 0.3mm or even 0.25mm bits on evilbay. 

 

I have a set of 0.3mm with 3.175mm - 1/8" shanks on their way.

(They're often called PCB drills)

With the thick shank you won't even need a pin vise for them.

[ub3r_n3rd]

Can always do the superglue + baking soda trick. No pinning necessary.

 

Just powder one part of a mini lightly with baking soda, place your super glue on the other piece, and hold together for about 20-30 seconds to allow the glue to dry. Hopefully it'll work like a charm for you.

 

The bond is a lot stronger, like a cement and best of all, it can be sanded or trimmed easily after its dry.

 

Wear a mask tho, it creates vapors.

Edited June 14, 2016 by ub3r_n3rd

[Auberon]

A couple of questions because:

I don't have pins or drill bits for 28mm hands that small. (Luckily I don't believe I have any BBabes w/detachable hands either, but still I'd like to know how.)

 

• Where do I look for finer pin vise bits than I have?

 

• Would a nylon bristle be useful as a pin?

 

At super thin diameters no wire is very stiff. Nylon is tough. And springy. Wondering if springy is better than stiffness in this application.

 

CML supply has a line of micro bits Mini Micro Drill Bit Set

 

cmlsupply -> All products -> Drilling Tools -> Drill Bit Sets Micro Size

 

OR you can do as above but select individual rather than the sets and just get what you want.  It will list the info you need. Ex. #76 (0.0200", 0.51mm).  As I recall they run their ebay page like a storefront.

 

K&S Precision Metals makes all sorts of wire that are of a useful size.  They are carried by Hobby Lobby and usually have their own little display in the store.  Caution - even the 0.015" music wire is hard enough to damage cutters.  You will want the ones designed to cut music wire.

[Pegazus]

I believe I got my little set of needle bits from Harbor Freight. Had to pull out the visor to see the print on the smallest one. 00.25. I'm assuming that's in mm.

[pinkymadigan]

Brilliant stuff in this thread. I'll promptly forget it all the next time I need to pin something small, of course. I never remember guide holes. I never remember the baking soda trick. I never remember to save old guitar strings. I do love Micro Mark though.

Edited June 15, 2016 by pinkymadigan

[Doug Sundseth]

Brilliant stuff in this thread. I'll promptly forget it all the next time I need to pin something small, of course. I never remember guide holes. I never remember the baking soda trick. I never remember to save old guitar strings. I do love Micro Mark though.

 

If you were to replace the pikes on a few hundred 15mm ancients and medievals*, you'd probably remember lots of stuff.

 

* I painted both later Swiss and Sumerians for DBM. I could do without ever drilling out tiny hands again.