Cheap tweezers?...and is there a reason I can't solder etching plates?

It was brought up at the last meeting someone knew where to get cheap tweezers…or general tools. I definitely need to add some cross lock tweezers and pin vises to our cabinet at work and online they’re running about $6 each

So far our approved suppliers are also only selling copper and brass “etching plates”…anyone familiar with these? Home Depot copper sheet turned out to be aluminum crap with a colored coating

Here. http://www.mazbot-tools.com/Contact.html

Very nice. They’re wholesale (need a sales tax number) in Arlington. You go in person to their warehouse. If I see you soon (I’ll be at space tomorrow/fri and next Tuesday) I can bring their catalog. They’re not a retail shop-around browse store, it’s a warehouse and you give them your part numbers and they pull them. Very good prices. To give you an idea, I paid $3@ for the pliers I had in class that night. They’d be $10-12@ at Rio Grande for same. They have two pages of tweezers. Have cross lock.

Pin vises, several flavors. Where I got class ones. Note, there was inconsistency with the interior chuck on two of the six so I need to exchange. For my wire jewelry class purposes, MUST have chuck that closes completely when collet tightened. Two didn’t. I’ll pay closer attention next time. Should have been the same but just weird. No biggie.

Call before you go, especially Fridays. If you get vmail (always full) he’ll call back pretty fast anyway.


I’m going there next week to exchange those to pin vises and also to return some rawhide mallets. Nothing wrong with them, just funny story. So he’s showing me different rawhide mallets ($6-8 btw) and I picked the style/size I wanted and the other 8-10 rejects got put in a pile to the side. Well, we got to front office to finish the money part and he leaves his helper to box everything up. You can see where this is going. I don’t find out until I get home that the helper scooped up ALL the mallets, not just my three. I called him next day to let him know what happened (he had no idea, I guess assumed helper put those away). Obviously don’t need that many and don’t want to keep them without paying so I am taking him back that silly pile of mallets too :slight_smile:

My point with all this is if you get a look at catalog, wanna call him and pay over phone and have him pull the order, I can bring it back with me and save you a trip. Or if we coordinate and you just wanna come with me, road trip :slight_smile: lemme know.

@artg_dms I wonder if electronics would be interested in this resource? REALLY good prices on smaller pliers. I’ve heard how fast y’all go through them :slight_smile:

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What about wire cutters?

Probably not the very highest quality, but for price reference, at least:

https://www.amazon.com/TWEEZERS-Locking-Action-Straight-HANDLES/dp/B000TD1SYA
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https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-93-Adjustable-Vise/dp/B000COYPG4

They have everything like that. I think they lean towards cheaper stuff (imports from Pakistan etc) but it’s good wholesale if not wanting the higher end brands

So much yes to this! So, so much yes. I’ll find out if a school is considered wholesale or not. Otherwise I might just draw sad kittens until you let me pay you for things haha

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