Manufacturer: The
Small Shop
Product: “The Bug”
Photo-etch workstation
MSRP: $39.99 from The
Small Shop Website (http://www.thesmallshop.com)
Reviewed by: Pablo Bauleo
Reviewed by: Pablo Bauleo
Photo-etch bending could sound
intimidating but it shouldn’t, particularly if you have the right tools for it.
The Small Shop has designed “The Bug” to be the one-stop photo-etch bending
tool. The tool is very well designed, compact, versatile, easy to use and made
of aircraft grade aluminum.
The rotating head has a 2-inch
straight edge for long bending lines, a “swiss comb” side with 6 “teeth” for
boxes, and a variety of fixtures to fold parts of different sizes and material
strengths, or for scratchbuilt handles. All of these in a compact 2x2.5 inch
base. It should be mentioned that some of hold-down fingers are reinforced for
bending thicker brass, while others designed for thinner, more delicate parts. It
is a nice touch from the Small Shop to include a razor blade (used for folding)
with the tool.
It is very simple to use: It has
a spring-loaded knob that will lift the tool-head. Then you can align the part
under the head and move down the head by gently applying pressure on it. Finally
screw down the knob to firmly hold the part against the base. Don’t over-tighten
the screw or you could damage the photo-etch part, or even the tool. Make sure
you use a dull blade for the folding action, otherwise you could scratch or
damage the folding base.
Unless you need a bend line longer
than 2-inches for your models, this photo-etching folding tool has all the
features you will ever need. The attractive MSRP likely makes it to be the best
buy for PE workstations. (At time of writing this review there is a 10% off
discount and The Small Shop has had IPMS member discounts in the past.)
Highly recommended for the
regular user of photo-etch.
Many thanks to the Small Shop for
the review sample.
