Pin clamps, self made or 3D printed

[TheLurker]

...I love the standard pins in combination with those little black, round pin clamps. A brilliant invention.

You can bodge your own pin clamps if you want. Get a thickish plastic lid, FAGE Total Yoghurt tops are ideal, and stamp out as many discs as you have pins using a hole punch. Then push the T-pins through the discs. 

It's not my idea, I came across it on HPA I, but it works a treat.  The discs do work loose eventually, but it's easy enough to make new.

[steve-de24]

Pin clamps, I love the idea, thanks for sharing, wish I'd known of it 65 years ago! I've just tried it with the plastic lid from a 'spreadable butter' carton and it works a treat - they will be used tonight when I build a tailplane.
Steve

[Piecost]

Yes, thanks for sharing Lurker

[Jmk89]

Hi Lurk

The brand of Yoghurt is not known (or at least commonly available) in Oz and I don't recognise it from my time in the UK in the 90s.

Could you perhaps measure the thickness of the plastic?  Many thanks

[Spiros]

It's a Greek yogurt, very popular.......in Greece, although I think it's exported in many countries.

This kind of lid is very common. I assume you would find it in other food products as well.

[Jmk89]

This kind of lid is very common. I assume you would find it in other food products as well.

I'm sure it is, but I just want to get an idea of the thickness so I can focus my search at the supermarket - my local supermarket is quite used to me using a digital calliper to measure packaging 

[TheLurker]

Morning,

Polypropylene, recycling code 05, and about 0.5mm thick.

Cheers,
Lurk

[Jmk89]

Morning,

Polypropylene, recycling code 05, and about 0.5mm thick.

Cheers,
Lurk

Many thanks, O Lurk

[cvasec]

I had a friend 3D print some. There is a hole but it really needed drilling out. As good as the original ones.
Ron

[Piecost]

Very good Ron, but they look like some kind fungle growth!

[Prosper]

. . . but they look like some kind fungle growth!

Eeuuugh - never mind AI - that stuff is gonna take over the world

[OZPAF]

 

[Jmk89]

I remembered that I have already done a 3D printing exercise for pinclamps.  I have uploaded an .stl file that will print a dozen pinclamps.  Like Ron's (Cvasec), the hole sometimes needs clearing with a drill (0.7mm seems pretty good for standard T-pins.  Thicker or thinner pins need larger or smaller holes to get the right interference fit).

[Jmk89]

The upload is the the Plans Gallery in the Miscellaneous section.

[Jmk89]

A couple of photos of my 3D printed pinclamps.  The second picture shows the convenient way of storing these until needed on one pin shaft.