Review: Grabhandler - new tool from Mission Models

Looks interesting, but at $55, a bit on the pricey side. You would need to make a whole lot of grabhandles to amortize the cost. Tom Dougherty ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com)

The biggest problem I see with it is that there is nothing to keep the wire perpendicular to the tool's axis. If the wire moves, the handles will vary in width. You could say that this is where the modeler's skill comes into play, but if you've got the skills to keep everything square, you could probably make your own jigs and fixtures to bend stuff.

A more minor issue is that the scribed numbers are not center-to-center distances. (Without know what size wire you are using, they couldn't be anything else.) This will cause the most problems with modelers, I think, because you'll need to drill holes in the plastic parts to fit the handles. If not, you'll have to finish the height of each exactly the same and good'n'square without pinched and chamfered ends for flush mounting. (Which besides being nearly impossible to pull off, is very weak and usually results in unrealistic glue gobs at the base.)

I typically use rather small gage wire (.025 or less) and make a jig from plastic stock that both sets the wire spacing and the hole spacing in the kit part.

KL

That's true, but such grooves could make the tool less useful for bending flat metal strips, as grooves could scar/deform the surface of part. I must admit that indeed setting the material perpendicularly to the tool axis was something that required some attention, but it was so easy and "obvious" thing to do, that I didn't even think about mentioning it in the review. But that's true that setting the wire at an angle would change the width of grab handle.

I cut those four handles on the picture already after removing them from the tool, so the thickness of tool jaws didn't matter. I used eyeball Mk.1 to measure the height of handles, but honestly didn't even try to make them perfectly even in this dimension - that's why they are not really uniform. My goal was to show that they are even in width.

That's exactly what I do - I always drill holes through, so the length of handle "legs" is never an issue. The only exception is when "the other side" of plastic part is also visible and I don't want to have holes in it. But even in such case I try to drill shallow "not-through" holes to accomodate handle ends.

I picked up a bending jig recently in England, but its only major drawback is that it is for OO scale (1/76) railway equipment.

That being said, it is a piece of brass about .025" thick and with about 40-50 different length setups for grab irons.

All one does is insert one end in a hole, bend it, and then fold the wire down over the matching edge groove. Boom! done, less the cutting.

For drilling, you drill one hole, line up the hole with a pin or broken drill bit, align the jig, and use the notch to drill the other hole. Done.

Cost all of L1.85 (about $3.25) and should last a long time. Now all I gotta do is convert the 1/76 dimensions to 1/35...

Cookie Sewell

Well yeah, a simple CNC milling job when they make it.

If it's a butt jointed handle I just take extra care cutting, all those years of harness work help. Mostly I through hole joins when I can, not always possible like with open hatches but I usually drill shallow index holes. For gluing I use the thinnest CA I have for the actual joint then if I want a weld bead very carefully apply medium CA with a fine wire. I generally do all my bending, length cutting and such by eye for handles.

Your method works but for me I'm just so used to doing spaceflight wiring stuff by eye that I can almost do it in my sleep. The years of practice and the right tools to do it make a difference.

As long as it works for you that's all that counts.

Not necessarily related only to the Grabhandler, but I've got a question. Why are CAD, CNC, and aerospace tolerances such selling points? I work for a large aerospace manufacturing concern as a final inspector. Sure CNC machines can crank out consistent parts (under the watchful eye of a good operator) but the parts are not necessarily of any better quality than those made by hand. Cheaper maybe, but not better. CAD design? It's just as easy to design crap with CAD as it is good hardware, and good designs can most assuredly be done without CAD. Aerospace tolerances? Like any other area of manufacturing, close tolerances are used only when necessary. The tighter the tolerance, the more expensive the hardware, and this is true throughout industry. Aerospace parts may be looked at a little more critically fore burrs and overall finish, but they really no different that any other hardware. There, that feels better, Jim

"Jim Hockett" wrote

Because it's exotic.

KL