Clever Connections: Joining together to fit as one.

[CA Whitecloud]

All things gluing the unglue-able and attaching the un... well you get it.

[CA Whitecloud]

Any secrets to share for affixing the fiddley bits? Obviously you just glue them on and all is well, right?

 

[CA Whitecloud]

If you can tell in the pic above, I tried to get a hole started for a .45mm wire but quite before I hacked up the pieces.

[NOBLNG]

39 minutes ago, CA Whitecloud said:

If you can tell in the pic above, I tried to get a hole started for a .45mm wire but quite before I hacked up the pieces.

You’ve got the right Idea. I like to use .020” brass for really tiny parts like mirrors, but any tiny solid wire will work. Best to drill and install the pins in the mirrors and pre mount them before any painting is done. It’s easy to re-open the holes in the body if they get filled with paint, and the pins in the mirrors give you something to hold onto while painting. Get a large sewing needle to make a divot for starting the drill bit. Good quality bits are a must…cheap ones may never stay on center or may drill an oversize hole if they will drill a hole at all. Just a very tiny dab of CA is needed for final assembly.

Edited May 12 by NOBLNG

[Miatatom]

I use small 0.025 needles.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I use cheapo .020 shirt pins for a LOT of things, including kingpins in poseable steering setups.

Plenty strong if Fido or the baybays don't play with your models...and cheap.

NOBLNG's right about getting yourself a set of QUALITY wire number drills, and a decent pin vise to hold them.

Get an inexpensive digital caliper too. It's always helpful to actually know what size wire you're using, and what size hole you're drilling (as the drills aren't always dead-on-the-money what they're marked).

AND...when you stick the wire into your nice little hole, don't just put a blob of gloo on the end and shove it home.

If you do that, gloo will squooze out around the base of your part and make a mess you'll have to clean up.

[Deathgoblin]

For pinning small parts, I use plastic coated flower wrapping wire from Hobby Lobby.  Got a huge roll for a couple of dollars, and I use a tiny amount each time.  I usually use a sharp pointed sculpting tool (more like an awl) to mark where I want the hole to go first, then drill using a bit the same size as the wire.  I usually superglue the wire into the hole on the part first and let it dry, then glue it onto the car.

[peteski]

I do pin quite a bit of parts in my builds.  Not only for attachment, but sometimes as alignment pins for parts which do not have any alignment aids otherwise.

I mostly use hard brass rod (wire) in various diameters (depending on the size of the parts being pinned). From 0.020" down to 0.010". For that one I use #80 drill bit (0.013"). I use CA as  adhesive.  This is a very helpful technique for clean (no glue stains) joints for small items like the rear-view mirrors on the doors or fenders.

[Bainford]

Yup, pinning is the way to go. I pin pretty much everything that is attached to a painted body (mirrors, door handles, hood scoops, wings, air dams, spoilers, roof racks, etc). One thing I didn't see mentioned above, I always apply the CA glue to the inside of the body after the pin is inserted. This keeps the glue well away from the paint, eliminating the potential for any glue to show at the joint. 
 

Also, when drilling a small hole in a precise location, I heat the tip of a needle with a lighter. I have a sewing needle that I keep chucked in a cheap pin vise for that purpose. The hot tip allows me to make the starting mark without applying a lot of pressure to a fragile part. Only a tiny spot is needed. And if I screw up the hole location a little bit, the hot tip allows me to adjust the location of the mark. 

Edited May 13 by Bainford

[CA Whitecloud]

Thanks all. Lots of great info here. My takeaways:

• I need a smaller dia. wire or brass
• Create a divot with a HEATED needle
• Invest in better quality pin vise drill set. (any brand suggestions?)
• Glue inside the body

We'll give it another go!

 

[NOBLNG]

4 hours ago, CA Whitecloud said:

Thanks all. Lots of great info here. My takeaways:

• I need a smaller dia. wire or brass
• Create a divot with a HEATED needle
• Invest in better quality pin vise drill set. (any brand suggestions?)
• Glue inside the body

We'll give it another go!

 

Micro Mark apparently has good quality drill bits and a variety of pin vises and push drills. I have a set of Vallejo #60-81 drill bits that are very good. I also have some Godhand drill bits that are very good quality.

https://www.micromark.com/search?keywords=Pin%20vise

 

[bobss396]

I pin quite a bit of my stuff. I use .020 brass wire, .032 and ,047 brass rod quite a bit. I bought 3 lengths of 1/32" stainless steel pins from McMaster-Carr, 1/8", 3/16" and 1/4". I'll save the core from wire wrap wire which is .010". I have used staples to attach door handles and mirrors in the past,paper clips too, also floral wire which is dirt cheap.

I have 2 pin vises with drills in them permanently, .027", .039" for distributor wires and 1/32" pinning. Of course I use mainly CA glues. Sometimes it sets up real fast.

 

[espo]

As everyone else has pointed out, "pinning" small trim parts like this seems to be the best way to secure them. The only thing I might suggest using are simple staples from an old fashion swing arm stapler like you would find on any office desk. A box of the staples would last you a lifetime and they are a little bendable to help when positioning the part on the body. 

[Mike 1017]

What do you guys use to hold the tiny parts in place while drilling them?

Mike

[Bainford]

27 minutes ago, Mike 1017 said:

What do you guys use to hold the tiny parts in place while drilling them?

Mike

Holding very small parts while working on them is probably the biggest issue I have to deal with when building. Each instance often requires its own solution. I have a couple of hand vises that are quite handy for this, provided there is an area to grab the part without damaging it. I have also used pins or tacks into the end-grain of a piece of wood to secure the part. Sometimes it is simply a matter of holding the part down against the bench surface with a finger nail, and magnification helps. The hole in the part into which the pin will be glued is usually quite shallow, especially when drilling into a door handle or thin mirror stalk. This is where good quality drill bits shine; they will make a clean, straight hole in thin material without wandering, and with little feed force.

I don't think there is a catch-all solution, but I am interested to see what others may be doing.

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, Mike 1017 said:

What do you guys use to hold the tiny parts in place while drilling them?

Mike

Depends what part and where it is. Best to install pins before paint so any marks can be repaired if necessary. I will usually install the pin in the mirror or door handle first then just eyeball where the corresponding hole needs to be in the body. For more accurate placements or multiple pins, I have used short sharpened pins in the part (not glued in) to mark where the corresponding holes need to be. For something like a bumper, I might drill the hole in the body rom the outside, tape the bumper in place and then from the inside, drill out into the bumper…carefully so as not to go right through.😬

I added some rubber tips to a set of tweezers to hold small parts. A pin vise is better for controlled drilling of shallow holes  than a  spring loaded push drill.

[bobss396]

I hold most parts by hand when I'm drilling. I have padded tweezers (aka parts launchers..) before. I also use a small Palmgren vise quite a bit, it is 1.5" wide and less than 1" deep. Pin vises are good to hold round parts. 

If I am making parts that need pinning, I make them extra long, drill the hole where I want it and remove the excess. An old machine shop trick, adding a :handle" to the part.

[ksnow]

On 5/13/2024 at 12:33 PM, espo said:

As everyone else has pointed out, "pinning" small trim parts like this seems to be the best way to secure them. The only thing I might suggest using are simple staples from an old fashion swing arm stapler like you would find on any office desk. A box of the staples would last you a lifetime and they are a little bendable to help when positioning the part on the body. 

I tried this method for the first time with the spotlights on the supernatural Impala. Worked like a charm. I might need two boxes of staples though, every time I cut a pin, I lose two before I can get them glued in.

[peteski]

On 5/13/2024 at 6:07 AM, NOBLNG said:

Micro Mark apparently has good quality drill bits and a variety of pin vises and push drills. I have a set of Vallejo #60-81 drill bits that are very good. I also have some Godhand drill bits that are very good quality.

https://www.micromark.com/search?keywords=Pin%20vise

 

I recommend reading the following threads for some good drill bit discussions (as that is a whole another subject).  As it will become apparent there, whenever possible I highly prefer using the PC Board Tungsten Carbide drill bits with 1/8" shanks.

 

[bobss396]

The carbide drills are fragile over HSS drills. They mainly break when they break through or when they bind up with chips. They are best for starting a new hole as they don't tend to wander off.

[peteski]

8 hours ago, bobss396 said:

The carbide drills are fragile over HSS drills. They mainly break when they break through or when they bind up with chips. They are best for starting a new hole as they don't tend to wander off.

They are very hard and brittle (especially the small sizes), with split point which as you mentioned does not wonder and will quickly bite into most materials. They cut plastic like butter.

The fragility is why I like to get mine  in larger quantities. I had  some really good deals for boxes of 50 bits. Also whenever I can, I used them in a drill press., but I also often just drill by hand if I can't easily use a drill press. The 1/8" shaft makes hand drilling easy.  You do need steady hands.  I still do use standard HSS bits, but only as a last resort for some specific jobs.

[Andrew McD]

When pinning parts what do you do to get proper alignment between the pin in the part and the hole?  How do you ensure that the location of the pin in the part is correct so the part is in the correct location when inserted in the locating hole?

[bobss396]

15 hours ago, peteski said:

They are very hard and brittle (especially the small sizes), with split point which as you mentioned does not wonder and will quickly bite into most materials. They cut plastic like butter.

The fragility is why I like to get mine  in larger quantities. I had  some really good deals for boxes of 50 bits. Also whenever I can, I used them in a drill press., but I also often just drill by hand if I can't easily use a drill press. The 1/8" shaft makes hand drilling easy.  You do need steady hands.  I still do use standard HSS bits, but only as a last resort for some specific jobs.

I have a bunch that were being chucked out at work, boxes and boxes of 50. So if one snaps.... grab another. I like them in my Micro Mark drill press. I do use mainly HSS drills, I have lots of them as well.

I did pick up a 60-80 HSS index at a show... a really poor design, as the plastic case that is difficult to open even with both hands. I picked up a 1.0 mm thru 1.6 mm small case at a hobby shop, handy sizes, but 2 of the 6 were improperly sharpened, the rake is backwards.

So I have a big number drill index, 1-60 that I used in my shop. Now I work out of 3 old endmill plastic tubes, some drills I have tagged with the size. I also have some envelopes with real small drills, .013 to around .025.

[bobss396]

9 hours ago, Andrew McD said:

When pinning parts what do you do to get proper alignment between the pin in the part and the hole?  How do you ensure that the location of the pin in the part is correct so the part is in the correct location when inserted in the locating hole?

Excellent question. I transfer drill from one part into the other pretty often. I have even glued 2 parts together with a water-soluble glue and slpit them apart later. I have made up quick-and-dirty "drill jigs" from styrene scraps.

I have learned to make the clearance holes bigger than I would expect. For an .031" pin, I use .040" so the mating parts fit together easily. Some I open them up if I have to, it permits a larger glue-line and will be stronger.

I have a couple of holes I need evenly-spaced in a modified rear axle, the items to be located are .093" tubing with a .047" hole, the spacing is .50" and not critical, they do however have to be lined up. So I will fixture that.