Hooks from Staples

17 Jan 2020

I am doing an "Elias Air Sport" and need hook fittings for my removable wings and struts. It is very simple to make hooks from any wire with the appropriate tools: a side cutter and a pair of needle nosed pliers. I tried with paper clips and did all the fittings I will need but came up with an idea using the stapler. A bit of experimenting and here is the procedure:

1. Place a paperclip between the stapler's jaws.
2. Press down on the stapler, the paperclip prevents the jaws from clamping all the way and the resulting staple has open hooked ends.
3. Twist the ends of the open-hooked-ends-staple 90 degrees and it is ready to be hotglued.

I am pleased with the hooks made. They are uniform, very light and the simple process is repeatable. I didn't need to cut wire or use needle nosed pliers. 

The paperclip in step 1 may be replaced with something slightly thicker to get shorter but bigger hook ends. I would say to grip the ends with two pairs of pliers to make neat 90 degrees bend in step 3. Slight variations will make a few varied hooks.