Magnetic Gluing Jig

Figuring out how to hold small parts together while gluing can give your imagination a workout, but if you had this magnetic gluing jig from Micro-Mark, you’d no longer have to dream up wacky jigs to connect those small pieces.
This jig lets you quickly assemble and glue model parts, small frames, or whatever fits in the 10-1/4″ square metal pan. The 7/8″ tall sides of the 21ga steel pan are bent at a 90˚ angle to the base. Eight magnetic holding plates are included to hold pieces in place against the metal pan while the glue dries.
Although it’s a neat idea, you must be paying for the novelty factor because the metal pan and set of eight magnetic plates runs $35. If the inflated cost for eight extra magnetic plates is $12, you’re paying at least $23 for a piece of 21ga steel with a few bends. For that cost it would almost be worth picking up a cheap Harbor Freight brake and making one yourself.
Magnetic Gluing Jig [Micro-Mark]
Or you could just buy twice as many magnets, and use a flat plate of steel.
@Tom Jackson: or build yourself a little frame out of some one-by, and secure a piece of 1/8″ hardboard covered with the thinnest sheet steel you can find, in a groove similar to what holds a drawer bottom.
For my small parts work I made up a bunch of lead shot filled 35mm plastic film containers. The plastic won’t mar anything I work on. A number of them on a flat piece provides a nice even clamp. A few of them pushed up against a small part will hold it upright.
…Or like it has been said before…use a flat piece and a bunch of these for cheap: http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/maca.html
Looks kind of handy though if you had a larger flat piece for building balsa airplanes etc.
This looks awsome I will be building on of these very shortly …
p.s I would lamiate the thin steal stock to a piece of mdf so that you have a “perfectly” flat surface…. just a thought…