[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-/guides/pin-vice-magnets-guide":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":627,"date":628,"description":629,"extension":630,"heroImage":631,"intro":632,"lastUpdated":628,"marketEditions":633,"meta":634,"navigation":633,"noShopFooter":635,"path":636,"related":637,"seo":641,"shopSearch":642,"stem":643,"tags":644,"__hash__":645},"guides/guides/pin-vice-magnets-guide.md","Pin Vices and Magnets - Pinning and Magnetising Miniatures (2026)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":617},"minimark",[9,19,24,27,34,40,46,54,58,70,98,130,134,162,211,214,218,225,228,265,284,287,290,294,297,303,378,407,410,430,445,451,481,484,488,491,513,563,566,570,608],[10,11,12,13,18],"p",{},"A pin vice is the cheapest tool on the bench that changes what you are allowed to build. With one you can pin a joint so it never snaps again, and magnetise a weapon arm so one model covers four datasheets. Without one you are gluing options you will regret. This is what to buy, which sizes fit what, and the one mistake that cannot be undone. Everything here is priced across the shops we track on our ",[14,15,17],"a",{"href":16},"/accessories/magnets-and-drilling","magnets and pin vices shelf",".",[20,21,23],"h2",{"id":22},"what-a-pin-vice-is-and-why-the-powered-drill-is-wrong","What a pin vice is - and why the powered drill is wrong",[10,25,26],{},"A pin vice is a hand-turned drill. A knurled body, a collet at the end that grips a very small bit, and no motor at all: you hold it like a pen and twist. That sounds like a limitation. It is the entire point.",[10,28,29,33],{},[30,31,32],"strong",{},"Control."," At hand speed you feel the bit bite, you feel it pass through the far wall of a hollow arm, and you stop. A rotary tool gives you no warning at all - the bit is through the part and out the other side before the sound changes. On a 1mm hole in a 3mm shoulder, your fingers are the only depth gauge with a fast enough reaction time.",[10,35,36,39],{},[30,37,38],{},"Melt."," Polystyrene and resin do not machine like wood. A bit spinning at thousands of rpm heats the plastic, the plastic softens, and instead of cutting you get a ragged, oversized hole with a lip of re-solidified plastic around it and melted styrene welded into the flutes of the bit. The hole ends up wider than the magnet you drilled it for, which is the failure you cannot glue your way out of.",[10,41,42,45],{},[30,43,44],{},"Grab."," A small part in your fingers against a powered tool is a part that will be snatched out of them, usually taking a spearhead with it.",[10,47,48,49,53],{},"We do carry the ",[14,50,52],{"href":51},"/accessories/ak-cordless-rotary-tool","AK Interactive Cordless Rotary Tool",", and it earns its place - grinding away resin support rafts, sanding, cutting, opening out a hole that is already there. It is a shaping tool. It is not how you drill a shoulder socket.",[20,55,57],{"id":56},"collets-and-bits-the-compatibility-trap","Collets and bits: the compatibility trap",[10,59,60,61,64,65,69],{},"Every pin vice grips its bit in a ",[30,62,63],{},"collet"," - a split sleeve that closes on the shank. A pin vice covers a ",[66,67,68],"em",{},"range"," of shank diameters, usually with two or four interchangeable collets in the handle, and that range is a hard limit. This is where the money is wasted:",[71,72,73,87],"ul",{},[74,75,76,77,81,82,86],"li",{},"The ",[14,78,80],{"href":79},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pin-vise-d","Tamiya Fine Pin Vise D"," takes anything from 0.1mm to 3.2mm - the full useful span, and the sensible single purchase. Its ",[14,83,85],{"href":84},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pin-vise-d-r","ratchet sibling, the D-R",", covers the same range while letting you drill without releasing your grip, which matters when you are drilling a part you are also holding still.",[74,88,76,89,93,94,97],{},[14,90,92],{"href":91},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pin-vise-s","Tamiya Fine Pin Vise S"," stops at 1.0mm. It is superb for gun barrels and rivet holes and it ",[30,95,96],{},"will not hold the 1.5mm or 2mm bit you need for magnets."," Buying the S first is the commonest mistake on this shelf.",[10,99,100,101,105,106,105,110,114,115,119,120,124,125,129],{},"Beyond Tamiya, the ",[14,102,104],{"href":103},"/accessories/gsw-hobby-hand-drill","Green Stuff World Hobby Hand Drill",", the ",[14,107,109],{"href":108},"/accessories/citadel-tools-drill","Citadel Tools Drill",[14,111,113],{"href":112},"/accessories/army-painter-miniature-and-model-drill","Army Painter Miniature and Model Drill"," and the ",[14,116,118],{"href":117},"/accessories/ak-hand-drill","AK Interactive Hand Drill"," all do the same job with different handles. The ",[14,121,123],{"href":122},"/accessories/vallejo-pin-vice-double-ended-swivel-top","Vallejo double-ended swivel-top pin vice"," keeps two bits loaded at once and has a free-spinning cap you push against your palm, which is the most comfortable way to drill anything deep. If you already own a bit set and just want jaws, the ",[14,126,128],{"href":127},"/accessories/tamiya-modelling-drill-chuck","Tamiya Modelling Drill Chuck"," is that.",[131,132],"accessory-products",{"ids":133},"tamiya-fine-pin-vise-d,tamiya-fine-pin-vise-d-r,vallejo-pin-vice-double-ended-swivel-top,gsw-hobby-hand-drill",[10,135,136,139,140,144,145,144,149,144,153,144,157,161],{},[30,137,138],{},"Shank size is not bit size."," Tamiya's fine pivot bits - ",[14,141,143],{"href":142},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pivot-bit-0-2mm","0.2mm",", ",[14,146,148],{"href":147},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pivot-bit-0-4mm","0.4mm",[14,150,152],{"href":151},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pivot-bit-0-5mm","0.5mm",[14,154,156],{"href":155},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pivot-bit-0-6mm","0.6mm",[14,158,160],{"href":159},"/accessories/tamiya-fine-pivot-bit-0-7mm","0.7mm"," - all sit on a 1mm shank, so a hair-fine cutting tip is held by a collet that can actually grip it. Bits ground to their own diameter at that size snap the moment they twist.",[10,163,164,165,169,170,144,173,144,177,144,181,185,186,190,191,195,196,200,201,205,206,210],{},"For the sizes that do the work, the ",[14,166,168],{"href":167},"/accessories/gsw-drill-bits-set-of-10","Green Stuff World set of 10 drill bits"," covers 1mm, 1.5mm and 2mm, which is close to the whole job, and the singles are sold individually when you snap one - and you will snap one: ",[14,171,160],{"href":172},"/accessories/gsw-drill-bit-0-7mm",[14,174,176],{"href":175},"/accessories/gsw-drill-bit-1mm","1mm",[14,178,180],{"href":179},"/accessories/gsw-drill-bit-1-5mm","1.5mm",[14,182,184],{"href":183},"/accessories/gsw-drill-bit-2mm","2mm",". The ",[14,187,189],{"href":188},"/accessories/vallejo-microbox-drill-set-0-3-1-6mm","Vallejo Microbox set"," runs 0.3mm to 1.6mm in twenty steps for finer work, and ",[14,192,194],{"href":193},"/accessories/ak-drill-bits-set-ak9043","AK's bit sets"," - ",[14,197,199],{"href":198},"/accessories/ak-drill-bits-set-1","Set 1"," and ",[14,202,204],{"href":203},"/accessories/ak-drill-bits-set-2","Set 2"," - and the ",[14,207,209],{"href":208},"/accessories/army-painter-drill-bits","Army Painter replacement bits"," cover the same ground.",[131,212],{"ids":213},"gsw-drill-bits-set-of-10,vallejo-microbox-drill-set-0-3-1-6mm,gsw-drill-bit-1mm,gsw-drill-bit-2mm",[20,215,217],{"id":216},"pinning-the-repair-that-becomes-a-habit","Pinning: the repair that becomes a habit",[10,219,220,221,224],{},"Pinning means drilling both halves of a joint and gluing a short length of metal rod across it. Glue holds two surfaces together; a pin holds them together ",[66,222,223],{},"and"," stops them rotating or shearing, and it triples the bonded area at a wrist where there was almost none. It is how you stop a metal or resin arm falling off forever, how you attach parts superglue alone cannot hold, and how you rescue a model that has already snapped.",[10,226,227],{},"The rod is brass, and the size follows the joint:",[71,229,230,242,250],{},[74,231,232,241],{},[30,233,234,200,238],{},[14,235,237],{"href":236},"/accessories/gsw-pinning-brass-rods-0-3mm","0.3mm",[14,239,152],{"href":240},"/accessories/gsw-pinning-brass-rods-0-5mm"," - wrists, ankles, banner poles, anything where a bigger hole would go through the far side.",[74,243,244,249],{},[30,245,246],{},[14,247,176],{"href":248},"/accessories/gsw-pinning-brass-rods-1mm"," - the default. Infantry arms, heads, weapon joints, pinning a model to its base.",[74,251,252,264],{},[30,253,254,144,257,200,260],{},[14,255,180],{"href":256},"/accessories/gsw-pinning-brass-rods-1-5mm",[14,258,184],{"href":259},"/accessories/gsw-pinning-brass-rods-2mm",[14,261,263],{"href":262},"/accessories/gsw-pinning-brass-rods-3mm","3mm"," - heavy resin torsos, monster limbs, vehicle assemblies and anything with real mass hanging off it.",[10,266,267,268,272,273,200,275,278,279,283],{},"Match the bit to the rod exactly - a 1mm bit for 1mm rod - and drill slightly deeper than half the pin on each side, so the rod never bottoms out and holds the joint apart. ",[14,269,271],{"href":270},"/accessories/gsw-brass-tubes-1mm","Brass tubes"," in ",[14,274,176],{"href":270},[14,276,180],{"href":277},"/accessories/gsw-brass-tubes-1-5mm"," let you sleeve one size inside another for a stiffer joint, and the ",[14,280,282],{"href":281},"/accessories/gsw-square-brass-tubes-2mm","square-section tubes"," are for scratch-building rather than pinning, since a square pin cannot rotate at all.",[10,285,286],{},"The alignment trick: drill one half, cut and insert the pin, dab paint on the exposed end, press the two halves together in the pose you want, and the paint marks precisely where the second hole goes.",[131,288],{"ids":289},"gsw-pinning-brass-rods-0-5mm,gsw-pinning-brass-rods-1mm,gsw-pinning-brass-rods-1-5mm,gsw-brass-tubes-1mm",[20,291,293],{"id":292},"magnetising-the-big-one","Magnetising: the big one",[10,295,296],{},"This is why most people buy a pin vice. Magnetise a weapon arm and one Dreadnought covers every loadout; magnetise a turret and a tank changes role between games. The drill is the same, the magnet is the new part, and the numbers are the whole skill.",[10,298,299,302],{},[30,300,301],{},"Sizes."," For 28mm heroic scale the conventions are narrow:",[71,304,305,326,346,356],{},[74,306,307,310,311,315,316,320,321,325],{},[30,308,309],{},"2x1mm"," - infantry arms, backpacks, small weapon options. The workhorse. ",[14,312,314],{"href":313},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-2x1mm-50-n35","50"," or ",[14,317,319],{"href":318},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-2x1mm-100-n35","100"," from Green Stuff World, or ",[14,322,324],{"href":323},"/accessories/spellcrow-neodymium-magnets-2x1mm","ten at a time from Spellcrow"," if you are magnetising one model rather than an army.",[74,327,328,331,332,200,336,340,341,345],{},[30,329,330],{},"3x1mm"," - the other everyday size: chunkier arms, character weapons, anything where 2x1 lets go under its own weight. ",[14,333,335],{"href":334},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-3x1mm-50-n35","Green Stuff World",[14,337,339],{"href":338},"/accessories/spellcrow-neodymium-magnets-3x1mm","Spellcrow"," both carry it. Where you need the same footprint but a shallower seat, ",[14,342,344],{"href":343},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-3x0-5mm-50-n35","3x0.5mm"," buries in half the depth.",[74,347,348,351,352,18],{},[30,349,350],{},"5x1mm"," - the classic turret and vehicle-hatch size, wide enough to resist twisting without needing a deep hole. ",[14,353,355],{"href":354},"/accessories/gale-force-nine-rare-earth-magnets-5x1mm-80","Gale Force Nine sell them eighty to a pack",[74,357,358,195,361,144,365,144,369,200,373,377],{},[30,359,360],{},"Thicker discs",[14,362,364],{"href":363},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-3x2mm-50-n35","3x2mm",[14,366,368],{"href":367},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-5x2mm-50-n35","5x2mm",[14,370,372],{"href":371},"/accessories/spellcrow-neodymium-magnets-5x3mm","5x3mm",[14,374,376],{"href":375},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-8x2mm-50-n35","8x2mm"," for monster limbs, sponsons and knight-scale weapons, where the joint has to hold a heavy part at the end of a lever.",[10,379,380,381,385,386,390,391,144,394,144,398,200,402,406],{},"If you would rather not choose, the ",[14,382,384],{"href":383},"/accessories/army-painter-miniature-and-model-magnets","Army Painter Miniature & Model Magnets"," are a general hobby pack, and the ",[14,387,389],{"href":388},"/accessories/gsw-rotation-magnets-s","Green Stuff World Rotation Magnets"," - a magnet paired with a steel ball, in ",[14,392,393],{"href":388},"S",[14,395,397],{"href":396},"/accessories/gsw-rotation-magnets-m","M",[14,399,401],{"href":400},"/accessories/gsw-rotation-magnets-l","L",[14,403,405],{"href":404},"/accessories/gsw-rotation-magnets-xl","XL"," - make a joint that swivels as well as detaches, which is the tidy answer for a posable head or a gun mount.",[131,408],{"ids":409},"gsw-neodymium-magnets-2x1mm-50-n35,gsw-neodymium-magnets-3x1mm-50-n35,gale-force-nine-rare-earth-magnets-5x1mm-80,army-painter-miniature-and-model-magnets",[10,411,412,415,416,315,419,423,424,315,426,429],{},[30,413,414],{},"N35 vs N52."," The N-number is the grade of the magnet material: higher is stronger for the same physical size. N52 is roughly a third stronger than N35 and costs more, and Green Stuff World sell both at nearly every size - 2x1mm in ",[14,417,418],{"href":313},"N35",[14,420,422],{"href":421},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-2x1mm-50-n52","N52",", 3x1mm in ",[14,425,418],{"href":334},[14,427,422],{"href":428},"/accessories/gsw-neodymium-magnets-3x1mm-50-n52",", and so on up the range. Buy N52 when the hole size is fixed by the model and N35 is not holding - a 2mm socket in a slim wrist, a heavy arm on a small joint. Buy N35 for everything else, because on an infantry arm the extra grip mostly means the parts snap together hard enough to chip paint.",[10,431,432,435,436,439,440,444],{},[30,433,434],{},"Bit to magnet."," The hole should be the same nominal diameter as the magnet: a 2mm bit for a 2x1mm magnet, 3mm for a 3x1mm. That mapping runs out at 3mm, because the sensible bits stop at 2mm - so for 3mm and larger, drill 2mm and ",[66,437,438],{},"open the hole out"," rather than trying to drill it in one go. A ",[14,441,443],{"href":442},"/accessories/gsw-diamond-burr-set-20-tips","diamond burr"," in the pin vice widens a pilot hole gradually and lets you test-fit as you go, which is far more accurate than a big bit that wanders on a curved surface. Aim for a magnet that drops in flush or a hair proud; recessed magnets lose grip fast, because the pull falls away sharply with distance.",[10,446,447,450],{},[30,448,449],{},"Polarity is the mistake you cannot undo."," A magnet glued in backwards cannot be turned round - the superglue is in the socket, under a part that now repels its own partner, and getting it out usually destroys the joint. So make polarity a mechanical habit rather than something you check:",[71,452,453,459,465,475],{},[74,454,455,458],{},[30,456,457],{},"Never break the stack."," Magnets arrive in a column, and every magnet in it is already the right way round. Peel one off the end, glue it, and take the next one off the same end.",[74,460,461,464],{},[30,462,463],{},"Mark the stack"," with a marker on one exposed face before you start, so \"the marked end faces out\" is a rule you can see.",[74,466,467,470,471,474],{},[30,468,469],{},"Glue the second magnet while it is stuck to the first."," Seat one magnet in the arm, let the mating magnet snap onto it, put gel superglue on the ",[66,472,473],{},"back"," of that second magnet, and press the torso onto the pair. Polarity is then correct by construction, and the alignment is perfect too.",[74,476,477,480],{},[30,478,479],{},"Pick one convention for the whole army"," - all sockets north-facing, all arms south-facing - or your weapons will swap between some models and not others, which defeats the point.",[10,482,483],{},"Use gel superglue: it will not wick into the joint, and it gives you a couple of seconds before the magnet leaps somewhere. Keep the pack away from the drill bits, and away from small children and pets - neodymium is far stronger than the magnets people expect, and swallowed magnets are a genuine hospital case.",[20,485,487],{"id":486},"magnetising-for-transport","Magnetising for transport",[10,489,490],{},"The same shelf solves the other problem: getting a painted army to a club in one piece. Put a magnet or a magnetic disc under the base, line a case or a tin with steel, and models simply stay where you put them.",[10,492,493,494,497,498,502,503,507,508,512],{},"Two halves make a system, and only one of them is magnetic. A magnet needs ",[66,495,496],{},"steel"," to grip, not another magnetic sheet - the ",[14,499,501],{"href":500},"/accessories/gsw-rubber-steel-sheet-self-adhesive","Green Stuff World Rubber Steel Sheet"," is the self-adhesive A4 sheet you stick inside the case or drawer, and the ",[14,504,506],{"href":505},"/accessories/gsw-magnetic-sheet-self-adhesive","self-adhesive magnetic sheet"," is what goes on the model. The ",[14,509,511],{"href":510},"/accessories/gsw-magnetic-sheet-combo-self-adhesive","COMBO pack"," holds both, which is the sane first purchase.",[10,514,515,516,144,520,144,524,144,528,144,532,144,536,144,540,200,544,548,549,553,554,200,558,562],{},"For the bases themselves, pre-cut discs save a great deal of scalpel work and cut cleanly to the standard sizes: round in ",[14,517,519],{"href":518},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-25mm","25mm",[14,521,523],{"href":522},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-28-5mm","28.5mm",[14,525,527],{"href":526},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-30mm","30mm",[14,529,531],{"href":530},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-32mm","32mm",[14,533,535],{"href":534},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-40mm","40mm",[14,537,539],{"href":538},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-50mm","50mm",[14,541,543],{"href":542},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-55mm","55mm",[14,545,547],{"href":546},"/accessories/gsw-round-magnetic-sheet-60mm","60mm","; ",[14,550,552],{"href":551},"/accessories/gsw-oval-magnetic-sheet-60x35mm","ovals"," for cavalry and monsters; ",[14,555,557],{"href":556},"/accessories/gsw-square-magnetic-sheet-25x25mm","squares",[14,559,561],{"href":560},"/accessories/gsw-rectangular-magnetic-sheet-30x60mm","rectangles"," for rank-and-file and movement trays.",[10,564,565],{},"A word of caution about sinking loose neodymium magnets into bases instead: they are strong enough that models will attract each other on the shelf, and stacked bases pull hard enough to lift the flock off the one underneath. For transport, the weak grip of a magnetic sheet on steel is the feature.",[20,567,569],{"id":568},"tips","Tips",[71,571,572,578,584,590,596,602],{},[74,573,574,577],{},[30,575,576],{},"Start every hole with a pin prick."," A bit walks on curved plastic; a dent from a knife tip gives it somewhere to start.",[74,579,580,583],{},[30,581,582],{},"Twist, then back off."," Half a turn in, a quarter back, to clear the swarf. A bit packed with plastic is a bit about to snap.",[74,585,586,589],{},[30,587,588],{},"Buy spare bits with the drill."," 1mm bits break, always at the worst moment, and the singles cost very little.",[74,591,592,595],{},[30,593,594],{},"Dry fit before glue, every time"," - especially on magnets, where you get one attempt.",[74,597,598,601],{},[30,599,600],{},"Never break the magnet stack",", and mark it before you start.",[74,603,604,607],{},[30,605,606],{},"Match the bit to the part, not to the magnet you wish you had."," A hole drilled oversize cannot be un-drilled.",[609,610,614],"affiliate-shop",{"label":611,"search":612,"tid":613},"Shop pin vices and magnets","pin vice miniature hand drill magnets","pin-vice-magnets-guide",[10,615,616],{},"Pin vices, drill bits, brass rod and neodymium magnets in every size are priced side by side on our magnets and pin vices shelf.",{"title":618,"searchDepth":619,"depth":619,"links":620},"",2,[621,622,623,624,625,626],{"id":22,"depth":619,"text":23},{"id":56,"depth":619,"text":57},{"id":216,"depth":619,"text":217},{"id":292,"depth":619,"text":293},{"id":486,"depth":619,"text":487},{"id":568,"depth":619,"text":569},"Buying Guides","2026-09-06","What a pin vice is, why a powered drill is the wrong tool, which collet and bit sizes you need, and the neodymium magnet sizes that actually fit a 28mm model.","md","/images/guides/pin-vice-magnets-guide.webp","The hand drill, the bit sizes, and magnets that fit",true,{},false,"/guides/pin-vice-magnets-guide",[638,639,640],"plastic-glue-for-miniatures","best-sprue-cutters-nippers","basing-miniatures",{"title":5,"description":629},"pin vice hobby drill magnets","guides/pin-vice-magnets-guide",null,"Oh_pcE-XGOxSRHGByi-ZJUwlFg8N-2VocqgGihzenD8"]