In the past, I avoided tweezers because the
tips were too thin — but when I searched online,
I found tweezers with chiseled tips, shown in
Figure
F
. Then I found others with cup-shaped
tips coated in soft plastic, ideal for holding
small, smooth objects such as transistors, as in
Figure
G
.
This gave me the idea of adding compliant
material around the jaws of regular long-nosed
pliers. I bought ⁄" internal-diameter latex tube
from McMaster-Carr, and mounted a couple of
pieces on pliers as in Figure
H
. If you’d prefer not
to spend money on three feet of latex when you
only need an inch of it, you can try using electrical
tape, although personally I found that it doesn’t
work as well.
GOING FURTHER
To achieve total hand stability, I can imagine a
device mounted on the back of each hand using
accelerometers to sense small motions and a
haptic output that generates negative feedback.
This would be just the thing for people who have
difficulty pulling out splinters —and maybe even
for brain surgeons, too.
Universal Aces
Makers, with their broad knowledge and range
of skills, have been producing accessible devices
for many years. Here are a few individuals and
groups that are helping let everyone participate
in all types of activities. —Caleb Kraft
• AbleGamers —ablegamers.org
• SpecialEect —specialeect.org.uk
• Makers Making Change — makersmakingchange.com
• Warfighter Engaged — warfighterengaged.org
• Tikkun Olam Makers —tomglobal.org/about
• e-Nable —enablingthefuture.org
• The Controller Project — thecontrollerproject.com
• Ben Heck —benheck.com
15
make.co
Charles Platt, Akaki Kuumeri
G H
Tweezers with plastic-dipped tips that are
cup-shaped to hold small objects without
slipping — also found on Amazon.
Pliers with 1/8" latex tube.
M81_012-15_GetaGrip_F1.indd 15M81_012-15_GetaGrip_F1.indd 15 4/12/22 1:21 PM4/12/22 1:21 PM